The Centre And Main Force Of The Army Was
Composed Of The Regular Troops, Formed In Squares Under Osman Sheikh-Ed-Din
And Osman Azrak.
This great body comprised 12,000 black riflemen and about
13,000 black and Arab spearmen.
In their midst rose the large, dark green
flag which the Sheikh-ed-Din had adopted to annoy Ali-Wad-Helu, of whose
distinctive emblem he was inordinately jealous. The Khalifa with his own
bodyguard, about 2,000 strong, followed the centre. In rear of all marched
Yakub with the Black Flag and 13,000 men - nearly all swordsmen and
spearmen, who with those extended in front of the army constituted the
guard. The right wing was formed by the brigade of the Khalifa Sherif,
consisting of 2,000 Danagla tribesmen, whose principal ensign was a broad
red flag. Osman Digna, with about 1,700 Hadendoa, guarded the extreme right
and the flank nearest Omdurman, and his fame needed no flag. Such was the
great army which now moved swiftly towards the watching squadrons;
and these, pausing on the sandy ridge, pushed out a fringe of tentative
patrols, as if to assure themselves that what they saw was real.
The Egyptian cavalry had meanwhile a somewhat different view of
the spectacle. Working on the right of the 21st Lancers, and keeping
further from the river, the leading squadrons had reached the extreme
western end of the Kerreri ridge at about seven o'clock. From here the
Mahdi's Tomb was visible, and, since the rocks of Surgham did not obstruct
the view from this point, the British officers, looking through their
field-glasses, saw what appeared to be a long column of brown spots moving
south-westwards across the wide plain which stretches away to the west of
Omdurman. The telescope, an invaluable aid to reconnaissance, developed
the picture. The brown objects proved to be troops of horses grazing;
and beyond, to the southward, camels and white flapping tents could be
distinguished. There were no signs that a retreat was in progress;
but from such a distance - nearly four miles - no certain information
could be obtained, and Colonel Broadwood decided to advance closer.
He accordingly led his whole command south-westward towards a round-topped
hill which rose about four miles from the end of the Kerreri ridge and was
one of the more distant hill features bounding the plain on the western
side. The Egyptian cavalry moved slowly across the desert to this new
point of observation. On their way they traversed the end of the Khor
Shambat, a long depression which is the natural drainage channel of the
plains of Kerreri and Omdurman, and joins the Nile about four miles from
the city. The heavy rain of the previous night had made the low ground
swampy, and pools of water stood in the soft, wet sand. The passage,
however, presented no great difficulty, and at half-past eleven the
Egyptian squadrons began to climb the lower slopes of the round-topped
hill.
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