Khedivate of Egypt minority of European and Egyptian inhabitants. Instead of evacuating the city, Gordon prepared for a siege and held out from 1884 to 1885. However, Khartoum eventually fell, and he was killed. The British Gordon Relief Expedition was delayed by several battles, and was thus unable to reach Khartoum and save Gordon. The fall of Khartoum resulted in the proclamation of an Islamic state, ruled over first by the Mahdi and then by his successor Khalifa Abdullahi. In 1896, during the reign of Tewfik's son, Abbas II, a massive Anglo-Egyptian force, under the command of General Herbert Kitchener, began the reconquest
HMS Khartoum (F45) and the sloop in search for "Torricelli" near Perim Island. After interception, "Khartoum" and these warships took part in a surface engagement with the submarine, during which "Torricelli" was sunk and "Shoreham" damaged. However, during the battle, "Khartoum" was hit by return fire which damaged the after torpedo tube mounting. Some five and a half hours later, at 11.50am (local time), a torpedo's compressed air chamber exploded, propelling the warhead through the deck house of number 3 4.7-inch mount. and causing a serious uncontrollable fire from a ruptured oil tank there. This resulted in an explosion of the ship's artillery