The Battle of Agaarweyne (also known as Gumburu) was fought on 15 April 1903, in Agaarweyne between the British under Colonel Plunkett and the forces of HajiMuhammad Abdullah Hassan. Reinforced with a superiority in firearms, Hassan was victorious and defeated the allied force.[2]
Following a prior defeat at Beerdhiga, the British regrouped their forces in the Horn of Africa under new leadership, focusing their efforts against Sayid Mahamed Abdulle Hasan, a figure they referred to as the "Mad Mullah." The British devised a plan to launch a three-pronged attack on the Daraawiish. The first front, from Hobyo, consisted of 2,296 soldiers, including British and Boer troops from South Africa, as well as Somali, Yao, and Sikh fighters. The second front moved from Berbera, passing through Buhodle, with a force of 1,745 soldiers, which included Somalis, Sudanese, Sikhs, and Yaos, alongside British Royal Engineers. The third front advanced from Jigjiga via Dhagahbur, consisting mostly of Ethiopian troops under British leadership. These three groups were supposed to converge at Agarweyne by mid-October 1903.[3]
Battle
The Dervishes had prior knowledge of the approaching three columns of British troops and had already prepared for battle, while the British, unaware of this, intended to launch a surprise attack. On the afternoon of April 14th, the column from Hobyo arrived at the Geledi well, where they encountered a Dervish man with a water-carrying camel. When interrogated, he claimed, "I am not aware of any Dervishes here". They detained him, but he escaped at night and alerted the Dervishes about the British army’s strength, weapons, conversations, and overall situation. On April 15th, the British column reached Agaarweyne and set up a large defensive encampment, unaware that the Dervishes, led by Isman Boos, were preparing for a jihad to be launched at dawn. The Dervishes split their forces into two groups and attacked the British from four directions at first light, following a well-coordinated plan. The first Dervish forces fought until around 11:00 A.M. on April 16th, after which they were replaced by the second shift as planned. The fighting, fierce and continuous, lasted until late in the day. Meanwhile, the British government had coordinated efforts with Italy on the Hobyo front and Ethiopia on the Jigjiga front, as the colonial powers sought to crush the Dervish threat. However, the Dervishes, fully aware of the British maneuverers, had prepared meticulously, even deciding the type of horses to deploy during the heat of the day and the cooler hours of the morning.[4][5]
Many Dervishes who took part in the battle reported that the British left the army alone to fight, and tied themselves in pairs to leave and run away. and no one is out of place. At around 1:00 p.m., there was no movement or firing from either side. What happened and the war ended? The Dervish, chanting songs and killing songs, gathered the fire, the bullets and the wealth of the infidels.[6]
On April 17th, according to accounts from the African survivors, after encountering Olivey roughly a mile from the camp, Plunkett united his forces with him. Instead of retreating, they formed a defensive square with the Sikhs positioned at the front, marching west for about six miles. They reached an open clearing encircled by dense bush, where a large group of dervishes had gathered to confront them. The troops faced an overwhelming assault from around 4,000 mounted fighters and 10,000 infantry, seemingly under the direct leadership of the Mullah. With a fanatical disregard for death often displayed in the Mullah’s presence, the Dervishes launched an attack from all sides.[7] First came the horsemen, followed by riflemen on foot, and finally masses of spearmen, whose sheer momentum broke through the square despite the intense gunfire from maxims and rifles. Plunkett was among the first to be struck, suffering injuries from both bullets and spears. As their ammunition ran low, he ordered a breakout, instructing his men to charge back toward the zariba using their bayonets. However, by this point, many had already been killed or wounded. The remaining soldiers rushed forward, but only a few managed to make significant progress. The maxim guns were destroyed before the enemy could seize them, and soon the small force was overrun and overwhelmed.[7]
At 11.45 a.m. some of the Somalis at Cobbe's encampment reported that they had heard the sound of firing. It was scarcely audible, but Cobbe sent out some mounted troops to investigate. An hour later one of them returned carrying Plunkett's guide. wounded, upon his pony, who said that the force had been cut up. Cobbe sent back reports to Manning, and dispatched more mounted men for news, realizing that at least a hundred of the 250 men with him were needed to defend the camp, and that it was already too late to send out reinforcements. By now survivors from the battle were coming in, assisted by the mounted patrols. They were followed by Dervish horsemen right up to the zariba, who had to be driven off with shrapnel, though their scouts remained closely on the watch.[8]
It is reported that the British army that went into the war left only six men, as written by H. F. Pervosi Battersby said:
"After fighting magnificently, the British force, its ammunition exhausted, was overwhelmed; only 41 men rejoined Colonel Cobbe’s column, of whom but 6 were unwounded; our loss being British officers and over 200 men."[9]
The Dervish forces decisively defeated the English army, and they even managed to push back the reinforcements sent by the English. The English forces retreated peacefully from the battlefield, and the Dervish also left the battlefield carrying a great victory. They not only took the loot and goods from the battlefield, but also left behind the English dead bodies, along with some sheep and camels, and the Dervish returned with honor. The English army received a harsh lesson that day as they fled before the mighty Dervish forces.[10]
Aftermath
An interesting story about the battle's aftermath was told by Mohammed Haji Hussein who was a well-known elder of the area. He said, “During the battle, I was staying with the people near the place called Faal, close to the Kebri Dahar area. After the enemy fled, I saw the battlefield with the bodies of those killed, and there was a huge tree that stood in the middle of the battlefield. As I stood there, I noticed an eagle circling above, and my father said to me, ‘This is a sign. Where the eagle goes, something significant has happened.’ I looked and saw the eagle land on a spot, and I knew that the battle was over, and victory had been achieved.’”[11] He later said "My father’s prediction came true just a few days later. The eagle had been hovering over the battlefield where a fierce fight had taken place. The tree under which the bodies lay had been the scene of the fiercest fighting, and the enemy was completely vanquished."[12]
This battle was described as so deadly that the aforementioned birds of prey who were dissected by the Dervishes were found to have human remains of the casualties inside:
Nin la oran jirey Maxamuud Gurey ayaa gorgorkii dooxay, waxaana calooshiisii laga soo saaray 500 oo xiniinyo rag ah. Inta dhabannada la qabsaday ayaa lays wada eegay oo waxa la yiri, ‘War maanta geyiga Soomaaliyeed wax weyn baa ka dhacay oo aan horay loo arkin bal aan war dhawrro
A man called Mahamud Gurey dissected an eagle. Once dissected he found the remains of 500 human testicles inside. Everyone grabbed their own cheeks surprised and looked at one another and said "It seems that the lands of the Somalis have experienced an event of an extreme magnitude, the likes of which have never been seen before! We must investigate further.[13]
One of the famous warriors, Mahamed Issa, remembered the battle vividly. He said, “Even though the English soldiers had many reinforcements, they were no match for the might and strength of the Dervish. The battle was fierce, but in the end, the Dervish emerged victorious. The soldiers who remained told us that it was the biggest defeat the English had ever suffered in the region, and that the Dervish were stronger than they had ever expected.”[14]
He also remembered the words of the elders, who sang:[15]
Hindigaa ridi doona, Soodaantaa rogi doonta Yamyamkaan rinjijiirsan, Rag cad baynnu u geyn "Reedhi" baynnu. ahaan, Ruqe weeye farduu Rasaastoodu ma fiicna, Rabbigay talin maayo Rugtoodaynu galnaa, ninba reer ha kaxaysto Sow wixii na hor roorayee, Raggi ay qoranaysiyo Rogay gaalyada maaha eey!!!
They tried to force me into a task, but I wasn't willing, They planned evil, but God was against them, I would have gone searching for camels, but no illusions will distract me, I didn’t carry the luggage of a camel or lead it to pasture, Since I have led my people safely to peace, Praise be to You, my Lord!
The Indians will be driven away, And the empire will be overthrown, The one trembling with fear will meet brave men, We will face men in white, We will charge with the ‘reedhi’ (traditional Somali spear), The spear is like a horse, Their bullets are ineffective, for God does not favor them, We will enter their camp, each man leading his clan, Is it not those who charged ahead of us, The men they recruited and the forces of the infidels? They shall be overturned!
Haji Saleh Guled, one of the prominent religious ulama in the area, sent a letter to the Sayyid after the Battle of Cagaarweyne, informing him of the victory. The letter was written in Arabic:[16]
We killed more than six hundred whites, and made the rest like scattered moths.
Douglas Jardine wrote the following about the casualties:[17]
"As has already been stated, all the British officers with the force had been killed. In addition to Plunkett and Oliver, you also included Captain J. John-Stewart of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Captain H. H. de B. Morris of the East Kent Regiment, Captain L. MacKinnon of the Notts Derby Regiment and Lieutenant J.A. Gaynor of the 2nd Regiment. Our total casualties were 9 British Officers killed, and 187 men killed and 29 wounded. There were only six unwounded survivors. But it had almost a Pyrrhic victory for the Dervishes; and the dead bodies lying in heaps around the spot where the square had stood were a grim monument to the gallant defenders. Indeed, it subsequently transpired that, not long before the rejoicings of his victorious Dervishes yelled to depression as they grimly reflected that the small indeed force, before being overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers, had inflicted a loss in killed and wounded, had inflicted a loss more than they had ever suffered on any previous occasion."[18]
Related Research Articles
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. A native Somali account of the battle is found in the poem Annagoo Taleex naal.
The Ogaden is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa.
Aw Jama Omar Issa commonly known as Aw Jaamac, was a Somali scholar, historian and collector of oral literature of Somalia. He wrote the first authoritative study of Dervishes, the polity of monarch Diiriye Guure.
Dodai, also called Doddi or Dodhais, is a border-locality in the Sool region of Somaliland, opposite to Geida Debabo which is across the border in the Garowe District in Somalia.
Taleh is a historical town in Sool region of Somalia. The town served as the capital of the pre-independence Dervish movement.
Goryasan, also known as Goriasan was the headquarters of the Dervish movement in 1910, and is contemporarily a ruin and vestige located seven kilometers to the northeast of the town of Taleh. It was the former location of the Xarun in 1910 after it moved from Gaulo, which is also in the Taleh District. There are also other Darawiish heritage sites immediately to the east of Taleh such as Halin, and Dhummay which is halfway between Taleh and Halin, both of which used to have Darawiish fortifications. The year when the Darawiish xarun was settled at Goryasan was known as the Xaaraamacune era.
Garad Saleban Garad Mohamed was a Somali clan leader. He was the supreme Garad of the Mohamoud Garad and the second most senior traditional leader of the Dhulbahante clan.
Gumburka Cagaare, or simply Cagaare is a town in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, near the border with Somalia.
Haroun, also called Fadhiweyn, and natively transliterated as Xarunta in Somali, was a government and headquarters of the Dervishes, headed by Faarax Mahmud Sugulle. According to Claude Edward Marjoribanks Dansey, the political officer in the British Somali Coast Protectorate consisted of 400 individuals. The capture of the haroun was regarded as conceivably resulting in the Sayyid's surrender. In the third expedition, major Paul Kenna was tasked "by every means" to find where the haroun is.
Haji Yusuf Barre was the commander at the battle of Jidbali, the largest and deadliest engagement between the dervishes and the British empire in the Horn of Africa. Haji Yusuf Barre is also noted for being the person whom held the last stand at the Dhulbahante garesa at Taleh, in the aftermath of the bombings at Taleh wherein Taleh became the first place to be targeted in Africa through aerial attacks.
Kaladi Madlay was the head of a portion of the Huwan region in the early 1900s decade as well as the highest ranked avowed Ogaden within the Darawiish in the early years of this decade until his purported desertion in 1903. He was succeeded as leader of the Huwan region by Hamed Sultan.
Ciid or 'Iid is an archaic native geographic name for the land between the region of Mudug and the Nugaal Valley, roughly congruous with the northern Bookh district in Ethiopia. As such, Ciid constitutes the tripoint of the two former colonial powers Britain and Italy, as well as neighboring Ethiopia, thus situating Mudug immediately southeast of Ciid, the Nugaal Valley immediately north of Ciid, and Haud to the west of Ciid. One historian referred to it as the syrup-colored land and it is today embodied by Ciid towns such as Futoxum, Magacley, Qoriley, Biriqodey, Beerdhiga and Gumburka Cagaare.
Dalyare fort is an open-top Dhulbahante garesa of the Darawiish era which was ordered built by the Dervish as a strategy for countering the colonization efforts of the Europeans. The building is located in the Nugaal Valley a few miles east of Las Anod. The purpose of the Dalyare fort was to serve as a refuge and escape route for Darawiish retreating from colonial forces who intend to head south towards the Shabelle River. However, retrospectively, some analysts have described the building as a setback to the previous tactic of maneuverability on the part of the Darawiish. Cali Jalax was the builder. The native Darawiish referred to the building as Sool-Daryare. On the other hand, the colonialists who launched attacks against the Darawiish referred to the building as Dariali.
Jidali fort was a cross-shaped fort of the Dervish era located in the town of Jidali in Sanaag, Somalia and is also the first place in Africa to be bombed via aerial bombardment by a tally of four sorties of De Havilland DH-9's on 21 January 1920. An April 1920 letter between the Sayid and Italian-Somali governor Giacomo De Martino states that the Dervishes built a total of twenty-seven forts which are described as Dhulbahante garesas.
Adan Ali Gurey was a political advisor in the Darawiish, an anti-colonial instigator, the commander of Golaweyne, a chieftain of the Dhulbahante, and an arms supplier.
Dhowre Ali Sheneeleh was the castellan of the Darawiish fort / Dhulbahante garesa of Eyl, whilst the governor of Nugaaleed-Bari for the Darawiish was Ali Meggar. He was also the primary commander which spearheaded opposition to Abyssinian expansionism towards the east in the 1900s.
Abdallah Mohamed Shihiri was a senior Khusuusi member of the Somali Dervish movement and was part of the movement since its inception. He was long time companion and a childhood friend of Mohamed Abdullah Hassan and notable weapons smuggler. He belonged to the Adan Madoba sub-clan of the Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq clan family.
The Mohamoud Garad is a Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Dhulbahante, a sub-division of the Harti/Darod clan-family. The clan is divided into three main sub-clans ― namely the Jama Siad, the Ugaadhyahan and Omar Wa’eys.
The Farah Garad or the Garad Farah is a Somali clan which is part of the Dhulbahante clan-family, a sub-division of the larger Harti/Darod clan. The Farah Garad are divided into two sub-clans — Yassin Garad and Abdalla Garad. Abdalla has four clan eponyms, Ahmed Garad, Mohamed Garad (Baharsame), Guled Garad (Barkad) and Ali Garad. They are largely significant in Sool and Togdheer regions of Somaliland, and Dollo Somali region of Ethiopia.
The Dhulbahante Garadship begun in the 16th century, as a successor to the Sultanate of Adal with Garad Shishore assuming the royal title in approximately 1530. The current Garad, Garad Jama Garad Ali hails from this long line of succession.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Dervish Movement 
British Empire 
Ethiopia 
Italy 
