Desert Warfare

The period saw the transition of British Army uniform from red wool serge coats to khaki cotton, and gaiters were replaced by puttees. Pioneered on the North West Frontier of India, both had important advantages in desert conditions: puttees prevented sand from working into a soldier's boots, and the wearing of khaki, a dust-coloured uniform, ensured that troops were less prominent. Supply lines also developed – from the riverboat to the railway. In the re-conquest of the Sudan in 1898 another new development allowed  Kitchener's army to take advantage of desert visibility: the Lee-Metford fired cordite .303 rounds at a range of 2,800 yards, and at the Battle of Omdurman in September 1898 the British opened fire on the advancing Dervish army at a distance of over a mile. Such advanced weaponry was unmatched by the enemy force, and the British marched victoriously back into Khartoum.