On the 7th August the Khedive issued a proclamation directed against Arabi Pasha and rebellion.
On the 10th August Sir John Adye, chief of staff, with the Duke of Connaught, arrived at Alexandria.
On the 12th August the Brigade of Guards, the Duke of Connaught at their head, marched through Alexandria to Ramleh, greatly impressing the populace.
On the 15th, General Commanding-in-Chief Sir Garnet Wolseley and Major-General Sir Evelyn Wood arrived at Alexandria.
On the 18th August the greater part of the troops embarked for Port Said, the transports being escorted by five ironclads.
On the night of the 19th-20th August the Navy took entire possession of the Suez Canal. The Monarch and Iris took Port Said. The Orion, Northumberland, Carysfort and Coquette took Ismailia. Admiral Hewett had already seized Suez.
On the 20th of August the troops and warships from Alexandria arrived at Port Said, together with Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour in the Helicon. M. Ferdinand de Lesseps had done his utmost to prevent the seizure of the Canal, which, he insisted, was neutral. It is said that when the troops began to disembark at Ismailia, M. de Lesseps, erect upon the landing-place, announced that "no one should land except over his dead body"; to which defiance a bluejacket, gently urging aside the heroic engineer, replied, "We don't want any dead bodies about here, sir; all you've got to do is to step back a bit" (Royle, Egyptian Campaigns).
On the 21st August Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Ismailia in the Salamis, and, by orders of the Khedive, issued a proclamation announcing that the sole object of Her Majesty's Government was "to re-establish the authority of the Khedive."
The advance into the Delta was begun.