The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan is an 1899 book by Winston Churchill, concerning his experiences as a British Army officer, during the Mahdist War in Sudan. The book provides a history of the British involvement in the Sudan and the conflict between the British forces led by Lord Kitchener and Dervish forces led by Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, heir to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad who had embarked on a campaign to conquer Egypt, to drive out the non-Muslim infidels and make way for the second coming of Jesus.