This was one of the last full-scale cavalry charges of the British Army. The battle took place outside Omdurman, just north of Khartoum and marked the culmination of Kitchener’s campaign for the re-conquest of the Sudan.

The 350 men of the 21st Lancers attacked what they believed to be a body of about 700 dervishes. However, the situation soon changed; 2,000 tribesmen who had remained concealed in a deep ditch or gulley sprang out and engaged the lancers in desperate hand-to-hand combat. Although the 21st Lancers had not seen battle before, they managed to cut their way out of the ambush. The regiment suffered 70 men killed or wounded and the loss of 119 horses, the highest casualty figures of any British regiment engaged at Omdurman. Three Victoria Crosses were later awarded to members of the 21st Lancers who had helped to rescue wounded comrades during the action.