Battle of Dul Madoba

Battle of Dul Madoba
Part of Dervish Movement
British camel troopers in 1913, between Berbera and Odweyne in British Somaliland.
Date 4 August 1913 Location Dul Madoba, British Somaliland Result Dervish victory
Belligerents
British Somaliland	Dervish Movement
Commanders and leaders
Richard Corfield †	Mohamed Abdullah Hassan
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 (English: Ibrahim Hoorane) killed Richard Corfield.^[1] A native Somali account of the battle is found in the poem Annagoo Taleex naal.^[2][3]

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 Dhulbahante tribesmen sought refuge with Corfield who was stationed at Ber with the Somaliland Camel Constabulary. The Dhulbahante informed him that the Dervish raided their settlements and captured their camel herds.^[4] Corfield set out to punish the Dervish and return the looted Dhulbahante livestock. The battle took place on 9 August 1913. On one side 110 members of the SSC from British Somaliland and 300 British-allied Dhulbahante tribesmen all under the command of Colonel Richard Corfield faced some 2,750 well-armed Dervish followers of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, nicknamed by the British as the Mad Mullah.

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 center 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.^[5]

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 which had been left behind^[6][7]

See also

• Dervish Movement

References

1. Xasan, Sayid Maxamad Cabdille; Ciise, Jaamac Cumar (2005). Taariikhdii daraawiishta iyo (in Somali). p. 275.
2. Samatar, Said S. (1980). "Gabay-Ḥayir: A Somali Mock Heroic Song". Research in African Literatures. 11 (4): 462. JSTOR 3818223.
3. "Buuraha Dulmadoobe (Dulmadoobe Buuraha) Map, Weather and Photos - Somalia: hills - Lat:9.1 and Long:45.8667". www.getamap.net. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
4. Laurence, M. (2003). Heart of a Stranger. Canada: University of Alberta Press.pp.44-45
5. Douglas Jardine (1923). textsThe Mad Mullah Of Somaliland. Bellew. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-947792-43-5.
6. Irons, Roy (4 November 2013). Churchill and the Mad Mullah of Somaliland: Betrayal and Redemption 1899-1921 p.156. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781783463800.
7. Douglas Jardine (1923). textsThe Mad Mullah Of Somaliland. Bellew. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-947792-43-5.

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.