On 27th January, Colonel Holled-Smith, then in command of the troops at Souakim, advanced to Handoub with the Egyptian cavalry and the 11th and 12th Battalions of Soudanese Infantry, and, after a short engagement, captured and occupied the place. Over forty of the Dervishes fell in the fight, and the remainder dispersed and fled to the hills.
Handoub having fallen, the attack on Tokar was next taken in hand.
For this purpose, on the 8th February, an expeditionary force under Colonel Holled-Smith was formed. With the addition of some companies of the 1st Egyptian Battalion, which joined a few days later, it consisted of nearly 2,000 men, and was composed of 180 cavalry, two large Krupp guns, two mountain guns, and four battalions of infantry, viz., the 1st and 4th Egyptian and the 11th and 12th Soudanese. Following the course pursued in all the former campaigns, the force was sent by sea to Trinkitat, which was selected as the base of operations. At the same time a force of 500 friendly natives was raised and sent by land towards Temerin, to intercept the retreat of the Tokar garrison if opportunity offered.
By the 15th, the expeditionary troops had reached Trinkitat, and on the morning of the following day the advance, directed in the first instance towards the wells of El Teb, commenced. The line of march led over the site of General Baker's defeat exactly seven years before, and heaps of white bones still marked the spot. At 3 p.m., the column reached the wells without encountering any resistance. Here the troops bivouacked, every precaution being taken to guard against a surprise. On the 18th, a severe sand-storm prevented the march being resumed, and the troops remained in camp. In the interval news was received that Osman Digna was now at a place called Afafit, a village a mile and a half beyond the ruined town of Tokar, and had with him considerable reinforcements.
On the 19th, at daylight, the column, after leaving a small garrison at El Teb, advanced upon Tokar. The cavalry in advance first seized and occupied the ruined Mamourieh or Government buildings, and then at 10 a.m. the infantry were brought up to the north-eastern side of the village, which consisted merely of crumbling walls. Scarcely was the place reached when the enemy were seen advancing through the bush surrounding the "Mamourieh." There was no time to be lost, and the infantry moved up at the double and formed a semi-circular line of defence, the 4th Battalion lining the ruined buildings on the right, the 11th Battalion those on the left, whilst the 12th Battalion held those in the centre of the position. So rapidly was the attack developed that some Dervishes had actually taken possession of some of the ruins on the left flank of the Egyptian position before the 11th Battalion had taken up the defence assigned to them. The main body of the enemy, now only fifty yards from the front rank of the troops, proceeded to extend to the right and left to envelop the entire position. Firing began along the whole line as the enemy came on. The bulk of their force was directed against the 12th Battalion, their attack being pushed home with the usual dash and fearlessness. The troops, however, stood their ground, and did not yield an inch throughout the whole line. Their firing settled down to steady volleys, which quickly began to check the onward rush. As soon as this was perceived, the 11th Battalion, moving from the left, advanced into the bush and cleared it of the attacking force, taking, at the point of the bayonet, some ruins occupied in front. The 11th then halted at a commanding point to the south-east of the original position. The 4th Battalion remained in position on the right of the line, and, with the transport escort column, protected the rear, which at one time was seriously threatened by the enemy's horsemen.
The Dervishes, after the charge of the 11th Battalion, at once commenced to retreat, followed closely by the cavalry, which, advancing into the bush on the right, found some open ground, where they did great execution.
This completed the rout of the Dervish attacking column, which gradually disappeared to the south in the direction of Temerin.
The troops then formed up on the high ground occupied by the 11th Battalion and halted for a rest prior to advancing on the Dervish head-quarters at the village of Afafit. It was reported that Afafit was occupied in force, but as the troops advanced the enemy, who had occupied some intervening sand hills, hurriedly retreated, and at 4 p.m. the village was entered by the cavalry, the inhabitants coming out in numbers and welcoming the troops with many expressions of joy.
The strength of the Dervish force was estimated at 4,000, but this included 2,000 men whom Osman Digna kept in reserve, and who never came into the fight at all. The enemy's loss was put at as high a figure as 700 men, and it must have been considerable even allowing for bad shooting, no less than 60,000 cartridges having been fired away by the Egyptian force. This last lost Captain Barrow, of the South Lancashire Regiment, and nine men killed, besides forty-eight wounded.
On the morning of the following day it was ascertained by a cavalry reconnaissance that Osman Digna, deserted by all but 300 followers, had passed through Temerin, going off in the direction of Kassala.