No Road to Khartoum Quotes

“Will they stand sir?”
“Stand? I’ll have trouble stopping them charging. These men are the 9th Sudanese battalion, all from the South Sudan and the Nuba Hills. Bloody fine soldiers with just a little discipline imposed by their officers. You’ll see and so will the Dervishes.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“McGuire started to rub the soap across himself, amazed at the change in his own skin colour as the filth of years of poverty floated off him.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“The troops arrived at the wall together and swept into the village, some through the gates and some through the holes blasted by the artillery. Then the slaughter began as they went from hut to hut, winkling out the defenders at bayonet point. The screaming showed the progress of the individual battles across the village until at last it was quiet.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“My worry is that they will look down on our enemies. They have seen the Arabs in these mud towns and think the Dervishes are the same quality. That can’t be true. These are the people that wiped out Billy Hicks and his column. He had modern weapons and they had sticks and swords. That speaks to a rare sort of courage and determination.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“Dervishes died as the bullets smacked into them, but the rest never even thought of pausing. In a society where bravery and reputation counted for much more than mere wealth, the warrior creed drove them forward. Ancient blades flashed in the sunlight and swung again, now covered in fresh blood. In short order the ground was littered with torn and mangled Egyptian corpses and the battle was over.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“The rigid rifle drill of the British infantryman had been their most potent weapon since the wars against Napoleon. Now it was the turn of the Dervishes to feel the impact of those heavy lead Martini Henry bullets. By now any European army would have staggered and might even have stopped. The Dervishes never paused, but ran forward screaming their war cries and trying to get within killing distance of the steady lines of men before them.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“Haroun shook his head. “This is not a thing for rifles. If they are seen there will be questions. For tonight we have daggers only.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“The millions of flies did not bother the dark skinned tribesman as he wandered through the mass of bodies scattered around him.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“The losses in the Dervish ranks were horrendous as whole families and tribal groups were wiped out. No European army would have dreamed of facing such a wall of fire, but still they came on.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum

“You know sir. When we get home nobody is going to believe this. How the hell could anybody be that brave? It makes no sense.”
“You’re right, but we’ll know. Everybody who has stood and watched a Dervish charge is never going to forget it.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum