This product is sold unpainted. It contains four figures.
Additional Images.
1. A card issued in 1910 by Price's Patent Candle Company Limited, London. It illustrates the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882. The battleships were HMS Alexandra, Sultan, Superb, Inflexible, Temeraire, Monarch, Invincible (Flag) and Penelope.
2. A scratch-built model of a Royal Navy steam gunboat by Jack Alexander. The figures and guns are from the Jacklex range.
3. Damaged Egyptian guns following the British bombardment and landing, 1882.
4. The Jacklex Egyptian Gun crew with Krupp 6Pdr Field gun.
THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA 1882
'In June 1882 Britain declared her support for the Khedive of Egypt against Arabi pasha, his own Minister of War, who had set himself up as virtual dictator of Egypt. The Mediterranean fleet, under the command of Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour, lay off Alexandria for some weeks, unable to intervene to stop the rioting and massacre of Christians taking place in the town. During this period Arabi grew bolder, whilst his trained engineers frantically worked to strengthen the forts and to throw up new earthworks as they mounted heavy guns.
On the morning of 10 July, the British demanded the surrender of the forts: if the demand was not met, they would be bombarded. Arabi rejected the ultimatum and so the British ships cleared for action. The fleet consisted of eight battleships mounting sixty- and eighty-ton guns, with 11 small gunboats armed with sixty-four-pounders and seven-inch rifled-guns. The forts mounted mainly eighteen-ton and twelve-ton guns and large numbers of smaller calibre weapons.
At 7 am on 11 July the fleet opened fire a and soon clouds of smoke and dust began to veil the forts. Under the dashing command of Lord Charles Beresford, little gunboats darted bravely inshore until they were under the very guns of the forts; their Gatlings and small-calibre guns sent fire rattling through the embrasures of the gun positions, causing heavy casualties amongst the gunners. By one o'clock the return fire of the Egyptian guns ceased and a force was landed to occupy the forts. There was no sound or movement within the battered position and without any resistance the landing-party spiked the guns and burst the barrels of those that had not been put out of action by the bombardment.
Although one ship had received twenty-three hits and another fourteen, the fleet had only 10 men killed and 27 wounded after facing fire from more than 100 guns for six hours. Arabi had lost almost every engineer and gunner in his service, as well as all his artillery. The fleet lay off-shore for two days while rioting, incendiarism and murder ran unchecked in the city, until at last landing-parties were ordered ashore and the sailors and marines fought a house-to-house battle with the looters until peace was restored.'
Taken from: 'Colonial Small Wars 1837-1901', Donald Featherstone, David & Charles, 1973.
Jacklex Miniatures Colonial 20mm metal wargame figures.
