Book Description

Excerpt from Lord Kitchener: The Story of His Life and Work The life of Kitchener is embraced in an epoch of European history which the Great World War brings to a close. "He belongs to history," a French poet has declared; "he entered it while still alive, there to remain for ever." His "baptism of fire" was received in the Franco-Prussian War, and it was directly due to the Russo-Turkish War, which resulted in the setting up of independent states in the Balkans, where the political influences of Austria and Russia were for a generation to quiver in the balance, that his genius for organization and administration was given a chance of development, especially in Cyprus and Asia Minor. In Egypt, too, Kitchener figures in a distinct historical epoch. He entered that country, in a military capacity, immediately after the bombardment of Alexandria, of which he was an eyewitness; he took part in the stamping out of the Arabi Pasha rebellion; he assisted in the training and organization of the new native army, of which he became in time the Sirdar; he was associated with Gordon, the hero of Khartoum, and, as a soldier and administrator, he realized Gordon's ambition by reclaiming the Sudan from barbarism. After a brief but brilliant period of service as British Agent in Egypt, he took part, as a member of the British Government, in shaping the policy that finally freed Egypt from the thraldom of Turkey and ushered in a new age in the history of the ancient land of the Pharaohs. Had Kitchener's services been confined to Egypt alone, they would have ensured his undying reputation as a great soldier and great administrator. With the progress of time, however, they became more universal. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.