by Lieut -Colonel E. W. C. Sandes (Author)
A record of the achievements of the RE in all the campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan from 1800 to 1936. Lieut.-Colonel Sandes declared aim had been to produce an accurate and comprehensive, but essentially readable narrative, avoiding technicalities, and concentrating as much as possible on the work of the engineers.
He has divided it into two parts, Part I deals with the achievements of the RE in all the campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan from 1800 onwards, beginning with Napoleon's unsuccessful invasion of Egypt and on through the campaign of 1882 (against Arabi Pasha), Osman Digna, the Mahdi, Gordon, Kitchener, Dongola Expedition of 1896, Omdurman, the Fashoda Incident and on to 1914-1918, the defence of the frontier and the Suez Canal and post-war operations. Part II describes the work of the RE in various civil departments encompassing such subjects as irrigation, railways, erecting telegraph lines amid such hazards as wild elephants and crocodiles, survey and exploration, archaeology and geology.