The Victory Had Been Won, The Enemy Were Routed, And The Town Was Taken:
It Had Now To Be Defended.
Colonel Parsons took possession of the principal
buildings, and began immediately to put them in a state of defence.
This was fortunately an easy matter.
The position was good and adaptable.
It consisted of three large enclosures, capable of holding the entire force,
situated in echelon, so as to protect each other by their fire, and with
strong brick walls six feet high. All were at once set to work to clear the
approaches, to level the mud houses without, and to build ramparts or
banquettes within the walls. The three enclosures thus became three forts,
and in the principal work the two captured brass guns were mounted,
in small bastions thrown out from the north and west corners. While the
infantry were thus engaged, Ruthven and his camel-men made daily
reconnaissances of the surrounding country, and eagerly looked for
the first appearance of Ahmed Fedil.
By great good fortune a convoy of ammunition from Mugatta reached Gedaref
on the afternoon of the 27th. At dawn the next day Ruthven reported that
the advance guard of Ahmed Fedil was approaching the town. The attack began
at half-past eight. The Dervishes, who fought with their customary
gallantry, simultaneously assaulted the north, south, and west faces of the
defences. Creeping forward through the high doura, they were able to get
within 300 yards of the enclosures. But the intervening space had been
carefully cleared of cover, and was swept by the musketry of the defenders.
All attempts to cross this ground - even the most determined rushes -
proved vain. While some made hopeless charges towards the walls, others
crowded into a few straw shelters and mud huts which the troops had not
found opportunity to remove, and thence maintained a ragged fire.
After an hour's heavy fusillade the attack weakened, and presently ceased
altogether. At ten o'clock, however, strong reinforcements having come up,
the Dervishes made a second attempt. They were again repulsed, and at a
quarter to eleven, after losing more than 500 men in killed and wounded,
Ahmed Fedil admitted his defeat and retired to a clump of palm-trees two
miles to the west of the town. The casualties among the defenders were five
men killed, one British officer (Captain Dwyer) and thirteen men wounded.
The Dervishes remained for two days in the palm grove, and their leader
repeatedly endeavoured to induce them to renew the attack. But although
they closely surrounded the enclosures, and maintained a dropping fire,
they refused to knock their heads against brick walls a third time;
and on the 1st of October Ahmed Fedil was forced to retire to a more
convenient camp eight miles to the southward. Here for the next three weeks
he remained, savage and sulky; and the Kassala column were content to keep
to their defences. A few convoys from Mugatta made their way into the forts
under the cover of darkness, but for all practical purposes the blockade of
the garrison was complete.
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