2nd Division: Lieutenant-General Sir E. B. Hamley.
3rd Brigade: Major-General Sir Archibald Alison.
4th Brigade: Major-General Sir H. Evelyn Wood.
Garrison of Alexandria: Major-General G. B. Harman. Cavalry Division: Major-General Drury-Lowe.
Sir Garnet Wolseley lost but little time after landing. He made a hasty inspection of the position at Ramleh, and gave his orders.
On the 18th August the Guards Division, the Household Cavalry, the 60th Rifles, and the 46th Regiment marched in from Ramleh and commenced embarking, the troops of the Second Division taking their places at Ramleh. The Manchester Regiment landed and took over police duty in the town, relieving the Berkshire Regiment, which joined General Wood's Division at Ramleh.
At 11.15 a.m. the greater part of the British force was embarking. The troops selected were the First Division under General Willis. Several transports the same day steamed out of harbour and anchored off the Boghaz Pass. The following day, the 19th, the transports, escorted by the ironclads Alexandra, Inflexible, Minotaur, Superb, and Temeraire, steamed away in a stately procession to the eastward. Both Sir Garnet Wolseley and Admiral Seymour accompanied the force.
It was given out that Aboukir was to be the place of attack, and at 3.30 p.m., on arriving off the bay, the ships, with the exception of the Alexandra, Euphrates, Rhosina, and Nerissa, which pushed on to Port Saïd, anchored in regular lines according to a prearranged plan, the men-of-war being nearest the shore. The ironclads struck their topmasts, and made other preparations for an attack. Every facility had been given to newspaper correspondents to obtain such details as might prudently be made public without exciting too much suspicion of a ruse de guerre. It succeeded perfectly. Not only the Europeans, but the enemy, were completely deceived. The gunners in the forts at Aboukir stood to their guns, expecting every moment the fleet would open fire. After dark the troopships moved off to the east, followed later on by the men-of-war. When day broke the whole fleet had disappeared.
As rapidly as possible the fleet steamed for Port Saïd. The transports Rhosina and Nerissa had singularly bad luck, the last two breaking down en route. The delay was not serious, for their escort the Alexandra towed the Nerissa at the rate of twelve knots an hour, whilst the Euphrates helped the Rhosina.
The next morning the whole fleet arrived at Port Saïd, when they found the entire Maritime Canal in the hands of the British Navy.