Using the Nile for transports

JohnnieCash · Post by **JohnnieCash** » 07 Apr 2006 15:24

This might be a bit fartetched, but really didnt find anything better place to post it.

Was only wondering how deep and wide the Nile is? Was it able to sail on it with, say cargoships as far up to the Nile falls (in nowadays north Sudan)? Meaning you could transport warmaterials quite a bit into africa in an eventual operation to capture/defend the african eastern colonies?

Regards
Johnnie

JonS · Post by **JonS** » 07 Apr 2006 20:15

Yes, and it was done.

JohnnieCash · Post by **JohnnieCash** » 08 Apr 2006 00:11

And any info on what kind of ships were used? It wasnt as deep and wide you could let oceanliners pass into it? And how far up could you go, as long to the Nile Falls?

Brian Ross · Post by **Brian Ross** » 08 Apr 2006 00:24

The Nile isn't particularly deep for most of its length in Egypt. There are also the problems of the cateracts, there are several which make navigation impossible - everything would be needed to be ported around them. I'd recommend reading up on the Relief Expeditions to Khartoum at the end of the 19th century if you want some idea of how difficult it was to operate even semi-modern logistics for an army up and down the Nile. The British in the end used it but found it easier to use Port Sudan and then trek overland to the area.

Bronsky · Post by **Bronsky** » 16 Apr 2006 12:07

JohnnieCash wrote:And any info on what kind of ships were used? It wasnt as deep and wide you could let oceanliners pass into it? And how far up could you go, as long to the Nile Falls?

From: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Engr-c6-1.html

"Captain Nevins with his No. 3 Section was kept busy until December on a ‘recce’ for a line to close the Wadi Halfa-Shallal 190-mile gap between the Sudan and the Egyptian railway systems.20 They had also to locate a line from Wadi Halfa to Toshka, a river distance of about 63 miles, where a series of sandbanks made the river unreliable for three months each year. This was a No. 1 priority for an increasing amount of war material, including much of the troops' mail, was being sent to the Canal Zone via rail from Port Sudan to Atbara on the Khartoum-Wadi Halfa section of the Sudan railway system, thence by rail, river boat and road for a thousand miles to Alexandria.

The rail link between Wadi Halfa and Toshka would make the passage of warlike goods more secure—if we remained in Egypt."

I remember Wadi Halfa being the southern rail/river head for the logistical line running to Suez. South of that point were (IIRC) three waterfalls and the countryside was desert. As you can see, large ships couldn't sail up the Nile but just unloading some at Port Sudan and shifting their cargo by river & railroad would ease the strain on Egyptian port capacity and manpower.