In Excellent Order The Three Soudanese
Battalions, With General Hunter, Lieut.-Colonel MacDonald, And The Other
British Officers On Horseback In Front Of Their Line, Advanced Slowly
Down The Hill, Opening A Destructive Fire On The Entrenchment.
The distance
was scarcely three hundred yards; but the crescent formation of the attack
made the lines of advance converge, and before half the distance was
covered the Xth were compelled to halt, lest the XIth Soudanese on the
right flank should fire into them.
The Dervishes remained silent until the
troops were within a hundred yards, when they discharged two tremendous
volleys, which were chiefly effective upon the halted battalion. Major
Sidney, Lieutenant Fitzclarence, and a dozen men were shot dead. More than
fifty men were wounded. All the Soudanese thereupon with a loud shout
rushed upon the entrenchment, stormed it, and hunted the Dervishes into the
houses. In the street-fighting which followed, the numbers of the troops
prevailed. The advance scarcely paused until the river bank was reached,
and by 7.30 Abu Hamed was in the possession of the Egyptian forces.
The Dervish horsemen, who had remained spectators near the southern crag
during the attack, fled towards Berber as soon as they saw the attack
successful. Scarcely any of the infantry escaped.
In this action, besides the two British officers, Major H. M. Sidney
and Lieutenant E. Fitzclarence, 21 native soldiers were killed; 61 native
soldiers were wounded.
The news of the capture of Abu Hamed was carried swiftly by camel
and wire to all whom it might concern.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 256 of 476
Words from 68143 to 68402
of 127807
