Nearly 300 men fell out during the early part of the night, and
crawled and staggered back to Kosheh. Before the column reached Sadin Fanti
1,700 more sank exhausted to the ground. Out of one battalion 700 strong,
only sixty men marched in. Nine deaths and eighty serious cases of
prostration occurred, and the movement of the brigade from Kosheh to
Absarat was grimly called 'The Death March.'
The 'Death March' was the least of the misfortunes caused by the storms.
The violent rains produced floods such as had not been seen in the Soudan
for fifty years. The water, pouring down the broad valleys, formed furious
torrents in the narrower gorges. More than twelve miles of the railway was
washed away. The rails were twisted and bent; the formation entirely
destroyed. The telegraph wires were broken. The work of weeks was lost in
a few hours. The advance was stopped as soon as it had been begun.
At the moment when every military reason demanded speed and suddenness,
a hideous delay became inevitable.
In this time of crisis the success of the whole campaign hung
in the balance. Sir Herbert Kitchener did not then possess that measure of
the confidence and affection of his officers which his military successes
have since compelled. Public opinion was still undecided on the general
question of the war. The initial bad luck had frightened many. All the
croakers were ready. 'A Jingo Government' - 'An incapable general' -
'Another disaster in the Soudan' - such were the whispers. A check would be
the signal for an outcry. The accounts of 'The Death March' had not yet
reached England; but the correspondents, irritated at being 'chained to
headquarters,' were going to see about that. And, besides all this, there
were the army to feed and the Dervishes to fight. In this serious
emergency, which threatened to wreck his schemes, the Sirdar's organising
talents shone more brilliantly than at any other moment in this account.
Travelling swiftly to Moghrat, he possessed himself of the telephone,
which luckily still worked. He knew the exact position or every soldier,
coolie, camel, or donkey at his disposal. In a few hours, in spite of his
crippled transport, he concentrated 5,000 men on the damaged sections of
the line, and thereafter fed them until the work was finished. In seven
days traffic was resumed. The advance had been delayed, but it was
not prevented.
On the 5th of September the 1st (Lewis) and 2nd (MacDonald) Brigades
moved to Dulgo, and at the same time the remainder of the army began
to march across the loop from Kosheh by Sadin Fanti to Absarat.
Every available soldier had been collected for the final operation
of the campaign.
The Expeditionary Force was organised as follows:
Commander-in-Chief: The SIRDAR
The Infantry Division: COLONEL HUNTER Commanding
1st Brigade 2nd Brigade 3rd Brigade 4th Brigade
MAJOR LEWIS MAJOR MACDONALD MAJOR MAXWELL MAJOR DAVID
3rd Egyptians XIth Soudanese 2nd Egyptians 1st Egyptians
4th " XIIth " 7th " 5th "
IXth Soudanese XIIIth " 8th " 15th "
Xth "
Cavalry Brigade and Mounted Forces: MAJOR BURN-MURDOCH
Cavalry . . . . . 8 squadrons
Camel Corps . . . . 6 companies
Horse Artillery . . . 1 battery
Artillery: MAJOR PARSONS
Field Artillery . . . 2 batteries
Maxims . . . . 1 battery (British)
Divisional Troops: MAJOR CURRIE
North Staffordshire Regiment . . . . 1st Battalion
The Flotilla: COMMANDER COLVILLE
Gunboats . . . Zafir, Tamai, Abu Klea, Metemma, El Teb
Armed Steamers . . . Kaibar, Dal, Akasha
Total: 15,000 men, 8 war-vessels, and 36 guns
Thus thirteen of the sixteen battalions of the Egyptian Army were
employed at the front. Two others, the 6th and XIVth, were disposed along
the line of communication, holding the various fortified posts. The 16th
Battalion of reservists remained at Suakin. The whole native army was
engaged in the war, and the preservation of domestic order in the capital
and throughout the Khedive's dominions was left entirely to the police and
to the British Army of Occupation. By the 9th all four brigades had reached
the rendezvous at Dulgo; on the 10th the British regiment, which it was
determined to send up in the steamers, was moved to Kosheh by rail from
Sarras and Gemai. The Sirdar prepared to start with the flotilla
on the 12th.
But a culminating disappointment remained. By tremendous exertions
the Zafir had been finished in time to take part in the operations.
Throughout the army it was expected that the Zafir would be the feature
of the campaign. At length the work was finished, and the Zafir floated,
powerful and majestic, on the waters of the Nile. On the afternoon of
the 11th of September many officers and men came to witness her trial trip.
The bank was lined with spectators. Colville took command. The Sirdar and
his Staff embarked. Flags were hoisted and amid general cheering the
moorings were cast off. But the stern paddle had hardly revolved twice when
there was a loud report, like that of a heavy gun, clouds of steam rushed
up from the boilers, and the engines stopped. Sir H. Kitchener and
Commander Colville were on the upper deck. The latter rushed below to learn
what had happened, and found that she had burst her low-pressure cylinder,
a misfortune impossible to repair until a new one could be obtained from
Halfa and fitted.
In spite of this, however, the advance was not delayed. On the 13th
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Brigades occupied Kaderma. Here the flotilla
overtook them, and henceforward the boats on the river kept pace with
the army on the bank. Fareig was reached on the 14th, and as the numerous
palms by the water afforded a pleasant shade a halt of two days was
ordered. On the 16th the 4th Brigade arrived, and the concentration of
the force was then complete.
After the annihilation of his strong advanced post at Firket,
the Dervish Emir, Wad Bishara, concentrated his remaining forces
in Dongola.
