Kitchener, Horatio (Herbert) (1850–1916)

The Battle of Omdurman, September 2, 1898 by A Sutherland. At this decisive battle General Horatio Kitchener led British and Egyptian troops to victory over Sudanese tribesmen led by Khalifa Abdullah al-Taashi, thus establishing British dominance in the Sudan.

A glass negative by Bassano of the British soldier and statesman Horatio Kitchener, who reconquered the Sudan and later became secretary of state for war during World War I. He was responsible for initiating the large volunteer force, creating a new army of 70 divisions, which was to fight on the western front. His powerful image appeared on recruiting posters which urged ‘Your country needs you!’

Irish soldier and administrator. He defeated the Sudanese at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898 and reoccupied Khartoum. In South Africa, he was commander-in-chief 1900–02 during the Boer War, and he commanded the forces in India 1902–09. Appointed war minister on the outbreak of World War I, he was successful in his campaign calling for voluntary recruitment.

He was appointed to the Egyptian army in 1882 and made commander-in-chief in 1892. He was governor general of the Sudan 1898–1900. In the Boer War he conducted a scorched-earth policy and created the earliest concentration camps for civilians. He drowned when his ship struck a German mine on the way to Russia.