The Only Point Left To His Discretion Was The
Position To Be Occupied By The Horse Battery.
He was especially warned
not to come under the fire of the main infantry force.
As soon as the
enemy should be routed, the XIIth Soudanese were to return to the Sirdar.
The cavalry, camelry, and Horse Artillery were to pursue - the objective
being, firstly, Koyeka, and, secondly, Suarda.
The infantry column began to march out of Akasha at 3.30 in the afternoon
of the 6th, and trailed southwards along the track by the river in the
following order: Lewis's brigade, with the Xth Soudanese leading;
two Maxim guns and the artillery; MacDonald's brigade; Maxwell's brigade;
and, lastly, the field hospitals and a half-battalion forming rearguard.
The Sirdar marched behind the artillery. The rear of the long column was
clear of the camp by 4.30, and about two hours later the mounted force
started by the desert road. The River Column made good progress till dark,
but thereafter the advance was slow and tedious. The track led through
broken rocky ground, and was so narrow that it nowhere allowed a larger
front to be formed than of four men abreast. In some places the sharp rocks
and crumbling heaps of stone almost stopped the gun-mules altogether,
while the infantry tripped and stumbled painfully. The moon had not risen,
and the darkness was intense. Still the long procession of men, winding
like a whiplash between the jagged hills, toiled onward through the night,
with no sound except the tramping of feet and the rattle of accoutrements.
At half-past ten the head of Lewis's brigade debouched into a smooth sandy
plain about a mile to the north of Sarkamatto village.
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