The Egyptian campaigns, 1882 to 1885

by Charles Royle

It then became evident that Wad-en-Nejumi did not mean fighting, and that his object was simply to get away, and continue his advance northward. To prevent this, which would have frustrated the whole object of the reconnaissance, Grenfell immediately sent off for the 2nd Brigade, and whilst the two guns continued their fire Colonel Kitchener, with the mounted troops, made a detour to the north and checked Nejumi's further advance. Finding that his march was opposed, the Emir determined to accept battle, and placed his followers upon some semi-detached hills to the west of the ground occupied by the mounted troops.

The tops of these hills were by this time planted with standards and lined with riflemen, the spearmen being kept out of sight. The camp-followers and transport animals were placed in a temporary camp behind the hills in front.

In the meantime, the 1st Brigade, under Major Hunter, together with the artillery, had come up unseen under the cover of some rising ground, and stationed themselves on an eminence 800 yards distant from and exactly opposite to the enemy's position. The 2nd Brigade, arriving shortly after, was kept as a support on the left rear of the 1st.

The 1st Brigade then opened fire all along its front. This was kept up and replied to for half an hour. Colonel Wodehouse, who was in command of the infantry division, then proceeded to extend his line by moving the 9th Soudanese to the right with a view to enfilading the enemy's left flank. After the battalion had moved only 500 yards it was halted on a number of men on the first hill being observed preparing to charge. At this moment, emerging from their cover, on they came with wild cries, and charged down towards the battalion. The Egyptians never wavered, and maintaining their formation, by a steady fire drove the enemy back with a loss of some 150 of their men. The battalion, supported by a company of the 2nd Egyptian Regiment, then advanced and took possession of the hill, in spite of frequent isolated charges made by its defenders.

Under cover of a heavy cannonade kept up by the artillery, the whole line of troops then advanced towards the various points held by the enemy. On arriving in front of Wad-en-Nejumi's central position, another attempt was made to charge. It was directed this time against the 10th Soudanese, which, in combination with the 9th, had seized a ridge connecting two of the hills. The charge, however, collapsed under the well-directed volleys of the 10th.

During this period the 13th Battalion, supported by the 1st Egyptian, had been operating on a detached hill to the left and suffering from an enfilading fire from some concealed riflemen. The battalion had already lost seventy of its men, when General Grenfell ordered the hill to be stormed. The two battalions together then advanced, and, after a severe hand-to-hand fight with the Dervish spearmen, swarmed up the hill and captured the position.

Repeated attempts were made to retake the lost ground, and even after the Egyptian troops had gained the summit of the hill, small bodies of the enemy collected on the off side and charged upwards with the greatest determination. These attempts only ended when the last of the brave assailants was shot dead only a few paces in front of the Egyptian line.

Only one hill out of those chosen by Nejumi for his position was now held by the enemy, and this was soon stormed and carried at the point of the bayonet by the united 9th, 10th, and 13th Soudanese Battalions. By this operation, which was achieved at 11.30 a.m., the whole of the enemy's position was taken, and the two guns of the Horse Battery were occupied in shelling a defeated foe, in full retreat.

At this period, Wad-en-Nejumi personally made an heroic effort to rally his dispersed followers, and the cavalry, which, during the fight, had been stationed in the rear of the infantry, had to be sent to stop the movement. The Egyptian squadrons led the charge, followed by the British Hussars, and, dashing into the midst of such of the enemy as were collected, completed the rout. The Camel Corps assisted in the final fight by a carefully directed fire on the enemy's flank, and in a few minutes not an Arab was to be seen on the plain.

There was, however, reason to believe that Nejumi, so far from fleeing, had, with his defeated band, taken up a new position in the temporary camp formed for his camp-followers and baggage behind the hills. Therefore Grenfell, desirous of following up at once the advantage gained, at noon directed a general advance in that direction. The troops moved forward with the 11th Soudanese and 1st and 2nd Egyptian Battalions in front, and the 2nd Brigade in support. The artillery shelled the enemy's position as the troops advanced. The resistance encountered was but trifling, the foe, by this time, being in full retreat, leaving his camp, with a large collection of arms and military accoutrements, to fall into the hands of the victors. The cavalry then pursued the defeated Dervishes for over two miles, and captured a great number of prisoners, and amongst them several women and children.