KITCHENER

kitchener, horatio herbert kitchener, viscount (1850- ), british field marshal, was the son of lieut.-colonel h. h. kitchener and was born at bally longford, co. kerry, on the 24th of june 1850. he entered the royal military academy, woolwich, in 1868, and was commissioned second lieutenant, royal engineers, in 1871. as a subaltern he was employed in survey work in cyprus and palestine, and on promotion to captain in 1883 was attached to the egyptian army, then in course of re-organization under british officers. in the following year he served on the staff of the british expeditionary force on the nile, and was promoted successively major and lieutenant-colonel by brevet for his services. from 1886 to 1888 he was commandant at suakin, commanding and receiving a severe wound in the action of handub in 1888. in 1888 he commanded a brigade in the actions of gamaizieh and toski. from 1889 to 1892 he served as adjutant-general of the army. he had become brevet-colonel in the british army in 1888, and he received the c.b. in 1889 after the action of toski. in 1892 colonel kitchener succeeded sir francis (lord) grenfell as sirdar of the egyptian army, and three years later, when he had completed his predecessor's work of re-organizing the forces of the khedive, he began the formation of an expeditionary force on the vexed military frontier of wady halfa. the advance into the sudan (see egypt, _military operations_) was prepared by thorough administrative work on his part which gained universal admiration. in 1896 kitchener won the action of ferket (june 7) and advanced the frontier and the railway to dongola. in 1897 sir archibald hunter's victory of abu hamed (aug. 7) carried the egyptian flag one stage farther, and in 1898 the resolve to destroy the mahdi's power was openly indicated by the despatch of a british force to co-operate with the egyptians. the sirdar, who in 1896 became a british major-general and received the k.c.b., commanded the united force, which stormed the mahdist zareba on the river atbara on the 8th of april, and, the outposts being soon afterwards advanced to metemmeh and shendy, the british force was augmented to the strength of a division for the final advance on khartum. kitchener's work was crowned and the power of the mahdists utterly destroyed by the victory of omdurman (sept. 2), for which he was raised to the peerage as baron kitchener of khartoum, received the g.c.b., the thanks of parliament and a grant of £30,000. little more than a year afterwards, while still sirdar of the egyptian army, he was promoted lieutenant-general and appointed chief-of-staff to lord roberts in the south african war (see