The Dervish Infantry Made
Their Way Along The River To Abu Hamed, And Were Much Harassed By The
Gunboats Until They Reached The Fourth Cataract, When The Pursuit
Was Brought To An End.
The Egyptian losses in the capture of Dongola and in the subsequent pursuit
were:
The occupation of Dongola terminated the campaign of 1896.
About 900 prisoners, mostly the Black Jehadia, all the six brass cannon,
large stores of grain, and a great quantity of flags, spears, and swords
fell to the victors, and the whole of the province, said to be the most
fertile in the Soudan, was restored to the Egyptian authority.
The existence of a perpetual clear waterway from the head of the Third
Cataract to Merawi enabled the gunboats at once to steam up the river
for more than 200 miles, and in the course of the following month the
greater part of the army was established in Merawi below the Fourth
Cataract, at Debba, or at Korti, drawing supplies along the railway,
and from Railhead by a boat service on the long reach of open water.
The position of a strong force at Merawi - only 120 miles along the river
bank from Abu Hamed, the northern Dervish post - was, as will be seen,
convenient to the continuance of the campaign whenever the time should
arrive. But a long delay in the advance was now inevitable, and nearly
a year was destined to pass without any collision between the forces
of the Khedive and those of the Khalifa.
The success of the operations caused great public satisfaction in England.
The first step had been taken. The Soudan was re-entered. After ten years
of defensive war the Dervishes had been attacked, and it was clear that
when they were attacked with adequate forces they were not so very terrible
after all. The croakers were silent. A general desire was manifested in the
country that the operations should continue, and although the Government
did not yet abandon their tentative policy, or resolve utterly to destroy
the Khalifa's power, it was decided that, as the road had so far been safe
and pleasant, there was at present no need to stop or turn back.
A generous gazette of honours was published. With a single exception,
which it would be invidious to specify, all the officers of the Egyptian
army were mentioned in despatches. Sir H. Kitchener, Colonel Hunter,
and Colonel Rundle were promoted Major-Generals for distinguished service
in the field; a special medal - on whose ribbon the Blue Nile is shown
flowing through the yellow desert - was struck; and both the engagement at
Firket and the affair at Hafir were commemorated by clasps. The casualties
during the campaign, including the fighting round Suakin, were 43 killed
and 139 wounded; 130 officers and men died from cholera; and there were
126 deaths from other causes. A large number of British officers
were also invalided.
CHAPTER VIII:
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