Battle of Dul Madoba

Battle of Dul Madoba
Part of the Dervish War

British camel troopers in 1913, between Berbera and Odweyne in British Somaliland.
Date4 August 1913 (4 August 1913)
Location
Dul Madoba, British Somaliland
Result Dervish victory
Belligerents
British Somaliland Dervish State
Commanders and leaders
British Somaliland Richard Corfield  †
British Somaliland Gerald Henry Summers  (DOW)		 Ismail Mire[1]
Strength
110 Somaliland Camel Constabulary 2,750
Casualties and losses
36 killed
21 wounded
24 deserted		 395 killed

The Battle of Dul Madoba was an engagement between British forces and the Dervish movement on 4 August 1913. During the battle, Ibraahin Xoorane killed Richard Corfield.[2] A native Somali account of the battle is found in the poem Annagoo Taleex naal.[3][4]

Battle

Dul Madoba is a ridge some 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Burao in what was then British Somaliland. On 8 August 1913, fleeing people from 5 British-friendly tribes sought refuge with Corfield who was stationed at Ber with the Somaliland Camel Constabulary.[5] The men from the 5 kinship groups[5] informed him that the Dervish raided their settlements and captured their camel herds.[6] Corfield set out to punish the Dervish and return the looted livestock of the 5 kinship groups[5] . The battle took place on 9 August 1913. On one side 110 members of the Somaliland Camel Constabulary from British Somaliland and 300 allied tribesmen of the 5 lineages[5] all under the command of Colonel Richard Corfield faced some 2,750 well-armed Dervish soldiers under the command of general Ismail Mire, who composed the poem Residing in Taleh after his triumph.[1]

As soon as the Dervishes charged forward, all of the Dhulbahante tribesmen immediately fled the battlefield. The Constabulary were quickly outflanked on the right causing some of Corfield's men to disperse to the rear. The Maxim gun in the centre fired a couple belts before it was jammed. Richard Corfield, who had positioned himself near the gun, was shot in the head and died instantly.[7]

Captain G.H. Summers, who was badly wounded, and Cecil de Sivrac Dunn rallied the surviving Constabulary and formed a protective cover from the bodies of the dead camels. Dervish attacks, which consisted of forward rushes, continued in endless succession, and hand-to-hand fighting ensued. Several Dervishes penetrated the defenses, and attempted to capture the disabled Maxim gun. But at that critical moment, the Dervishes withdrew altogether as their stocks of ammunition were exhausted. The Dhulbahante who had initially fled the battle now returned to loot the bodies on the battlefield. 36 of the Constabulary including Corfield were killed in action, 21 were wounded, and 24 had deserted. The survivors counted 395 dead Dervishes who had been left behind[8][9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Samatar, Said (1982). Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism. p. 132. Dervish raiding party at Dulmadooba near Oodweyne on 9 August 1913. Although the constabulary fought courageously, they were overwhelmed and savagely cut up, Corfield being killed in action. The Dervishes sustained considerable losses but proudly carried off the looted stock and Corfield's severed arm as a war trophy. On arrival at the harun, Ismaa'iil Mire, one of the commanders of the raid, composed a gabay, the second in the series, 'Residing in Taleeh', celebrating the success which attended his operation
  2. ↑ Xasan, Sayid Maxamad Cabdille; Ciise, Jaamac Cumar (2005). Taariikhdii daraawiishta iyo (in Somali). p. 275.
  3. ↑ Samatar, Said S. (1980). "Gabay-Ḥayir: A Somali Mock Heroic Song". Research in African Literatures. 11 (4): 462. JSTOR 3818223.
  4. ↑ "Buuraha Dulmadoobe (Dulmadoobe Buuraha) Map, Weather and Photos - Somalia: hills - Lat:9.1 and Long:45.8667". www.getamap.net. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Glazebrook, MR (1914). Commons Sitting. A Dervish raid with 2,200 man had taken place, and it was reported that five Somali friendly tribes had been looted, and their camels and their stock had been driven off.
  6. ↑ Laurence, M. (2003). Heart of a Stranger. Canada: University of Alberta Press.pp.44-45
  7. ↑ Douglas Jardine (1923). textsThe Mad Mullah Of Somaliland. Bellew. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-947792-43-5. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  8. ↑ Irons, Roy (4 November 2013). Churchill and the Mad Mullah of Somaliland: Betrayal and Redemption 1899-1921 p.156. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781783463800.
  9. ↑ Douglas Jardine (1923). textsThe Mad Mullah Of Somaliland. Bellew. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-947792-43-5. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

Further reading

  • Bartholet, Jeffrey (12 October 2009). "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". Newsweek. pp. 43–47.
  • Jardine, Douglas. The Mad Mullah of Somaliland.
  • Skoulding, F.A. (July 1931). "With 'Z' Unit in Somaliland". RAF Quarterly. 2 (3): 387–396.


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