Battle of Agagia
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Agagiya was a battle on February 26, 1916 in the Senussi Campaign which ended the Senussi Revolt in the Northern part of western Egypt. The battle took place at Aqaqia (also known as Agagiya or Aqqaqia) east of Sidi Barrani
.
The Senussi
had fought the Italians recently in Libya, which had been part of the Ottoman Empire
until 1912, only four years earlier. The Italians had succeeded in taking Libya from Ottoman Turkey, but after World War I
broke out, the Turks with the aid of German weapons landed by submarine encouraged the Senussi to revolt against British-ruled Egypt.
By February, 1916 the Senussi forces on the Mediterranean coast were commanded by Jaafar Pasha, an Arab from Bagdad, which was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The Western Frontier Force
was commanded by Major General W.E. Peyton, and included the 1st South African Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General H. T. Lukin
. The South African Brigade and associated units moved in the direction of Sollum, at the western border of Egypt. General Lukin’s force had two battalions of South African infantry, plus the Dorset Yeomanry, Bucks Hussars
, Royal Scots and guns of the 1st Nottinghamshire Battery Royal Horse Artillery. Major Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
commanded the armoured cars of the Cheshire Yeomanry
.
The South African brigade attacked the entrenched Sennusi position and captured it. The Senussi then retreated. The Dorset Yeomanry charged the retreating Senussi under heavy fire across 1,200 yards of open desert. The 184 yeomen cavalry charged with sabres drawn against 500 Senussi with four machine guns. Dorset Yeomanry casualties were 5 officers and 27 men killed and 28 wounded. Jaafar Pasha was captured and the Sennusi broke.
Subsequently the border town of Sollum was reoccupied by British forces on 14 March. Jaafar Pasha remained in captivity in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Later Cairo until the famous “Lawrence of Arabia” revolt of the Arabs in what is now Saudi Arabia against Ottoman Turkish rule. Jaafar Pasha joined the Arab army of Feisal, and eventually commanded of the Arab regulars. Later Jaafar Pasha was Minister of War and Prime Minister of Iraq when Feisal became king.
Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk, Libya.Probably named after Sidi Mohammed el Barrani, a Senussi fighter in the early 1900s, the village is mainly a Bedouin community...
.
The Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
had fought the Italians recently in Libya, which had been part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
until 1912, only four years earlier. The Italians had succeeded in taking Libya from Ottoman Turkey, but after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, the Turks with the aid of German weapons landed by submarine encouraged the Senussi to revolt against British-ruled Egypt.
By February, 1916 the Senussi forces on the Mediterranean coast were commanded by Jaafar Pasha, an Arab from Bagdad, which was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The Western Frontier Force
Western Frontier Force
The Western Frontier Force was a force of British Empire troops formed in response to the Senussi Uprising and coming under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force....
was commanded by Major General W.E. Peyton, and included the 1st South African Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General H. T. Lukin
Henry Lukin
Major General Sir Henry Timson Lukin KCB, CMG, DSO was a South African military commander. He fought in the Anglo-Zulu War and the Basutoland Gun War , the Bechuanaland Campaign , and the Anglo-Boer War when he was in command of the artillery during the defence of Wepener for which action he was...
. The South African Brigade and associated units moved in the direction of Sollum, at the western border of Egypt. General Lukin’s force had two battalions of South African infantry, plus the Dorset Yeomanry, Bucks Hussars
Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry
The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry was formed in 1794, when King George III was on the throne and William Pitt the Younger was the Prime Minister, of Great Britain. Across the English Channel, Britain was faced by a French nation which had recently guillotined its King and which possessed a...
, Royal Scots and guns of the 1st Nottinghamshire Battery Royal Horse Artillery. Major Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
commanded the armoured cars of the Cheshire Yeomanry
Cheshire Yeomanry
The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Fleming Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France....
.
The South African brigade attacked the entrenched Sennusi position and captured it. The Senussi then retreated. The Dorset Yeomanry charged the retreating Senussi under heavy fire across 1,200 yards of open desert. The 184 yeomen cavalry charged with sabres drawn against 500 Senussi with four machine guns. Dorset Yeomanry casualties were 5 officers and 27 men killed and 28 wounded. Jaafar Pasha was captured and the Sennusi broke.
Subsequently the border town of Sollum was reoccupied by British forces on 14 March. Jaafar Pasha remained in captivity in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Later Cairo until the famous “Lawrence of Arabia” revolt of the Arabs in what is now Saudi Arabia against Ottoman Turkish rule. Jaafar Pasha joined the Arab army of Feisal, and eventually commanded of the Arab regulars. Later Jaafar Pasha was Minister of War and Prime Minister of Iraq when Feisal became king.