238 



EGYPT. 



to surround the Egyptians, and were checked by 

 the Maxim. The sirdar now determined to attack 

 Mahmud's position, and on April 6 his army moved 

 forward to I'mbadia, and thence on the following 

 evening to Mutrus. After resting till after mid- 

 night, the troops marched through the desert, and 

 before daylight on April 8 formed in line of battle 

 in front of the dervish dem, or fort, consisting of a 

 large irregular inclosure, palisaded in parts with 

 innumerable cross trenches, casemates, and straw 

 huts, besides 10 palisaded gun emplacements, the 

 whole surrounded by a strong zariba, or fence of 

 camel thorn. The action began with a bombard- 

 ment from 12 guns, strongly posted on commanding 

 ground so as to deliver a cross fire into the enemy's 

 intrenchments. The dervish cavalry, as they came 

 out, were driven back by a heavy Maxim fire. 

 After shelling the camp for an hour and a half the 

 Kiryptiau line advanced, and while case shot and 



After the battle of the Atbara the Anglo-Egyp- 

 tian troops returned to their quarters on the Nile. 

 The railroad was now completed to Genenitti, south 

 of the fifth cataract, 113 miles from Abu Hamed 

 and 346 from Wady Haifa. Beyond Genenitti there 

 is open water to the mouth of the Atbara, where a 

 passage for steamers was scoured out by damming 

 one of the two channels. The purpose of Mahmud's 

 march to the Atbara was to turn the Egyptian 

 position in the fork of the two rivers in order to 

 attack Berber and cut the enemy's line of commu- 

 nication by destroying the railroad at Genenitti. 

 The caravan route from Suakin to Berber was de- 

 clared closed. Prom Suakin in the direction of 

 Kassala a railroad was built to Trinkitat. Tele- 

 graphs were built from Suakin to Berber and to 

 Kassala. No further advance of the Egyptian army 

 was contemplated until the Nile should rise in the 

 autumn and allow gunboats to proceed all the way 



THE NILE AT KHARTOUM. 



Maxim fire cleared the way and rockets set fire to 

 the thatched buildings, the infantry tore away the 

 zariba, rushed the first line of trenches and stock- 

 ades, and cleared successively the labyrinth of 

 trenches after each had been raked by the Maxims. 

 At t hi- end of an hour the troops had passed through 

 the camp, and formed in line at the river's edge, 

 whence they mowed down the fleeing dervishes 

 struggling through the shallows. Mahmud was 

 taken prisoner, and all but three of his important 

 emirs were killed, excepting Osman Digna, who 

 ran away with his horsemen before the battle was 

 half over. In the trenches were found men chained 

 together or tied to posts by the Baggaras to prevent 

 their escape and compel them to fight, and others 

 held by forked sticks fixed around their necks. 

 More than 3,000 dervishes were slain and 2,000 

 made prisoners, while the losses of the British 

 brigade were only 2 officers and 22 men killed and 

 10 officers and 82 men wounded, and among the 

 Egyptian troops, which bore the brunt of the fight- 

 ing, 57 killed and 5 British and 16 native officers 

 and 365 men wounded. 



The dervishes were in a half-starved condition. 

 and before and during the battle large numbers 

 went over to the enemy. The remnants of their 

 army dispersed toward Gedaref and Abu Delek. 



to Khartoum. An advanced post was established 

 at Shendy. Three large new gunboats were put 

 together on the upper Nile. Gen. Gatacre's brigade 

 of 3,000 men went into summer quarters at Dar- 

 nali, near Berber. The Egyptian forces, distributed 

 between the Atbara and Abu Hamed, consisted of 

 9,000 infantry, 4 batteries of artillery, and 900 cavalry 

 and camel corps. The dervishes retired from 

 Shabluka to El Boga, inland from the river. The 

 Khalifa extended his line of defense at Omdurman 

 10 miles northward to Kerreri, a defensible position 

 amid hills. 



For the attack on the Khalifa's stronghold 40- 

 pounders were added to the artillery equipment, 

 and new breach-loading howitzers hurling 50- 

 pound shells filled with high explosives, burst in i: 

 by percussion on striking the earth or crashing 

 through mud walls, and dealing death and destruc- 

 tion within a radius of 40 yards. 



The advance upon Khartoum took place after the 

 rains had swollen the Nile and subsided from the 

 ground, leaving it dry enough for marching. Every 

 movement was accomplished on the date scheduled 

 for it in advance by den. Kitehener. He concen- 

 trated his forces at Wady Hamed, at the foot of the 

 sixth cataract, about 60 miles north of Omdurman, 

 on Aug. 22. The army now consisted of 6 brigades, 



