On the 8th, the advance was resumed, and it became known that the enemy, about 1000 strong, had advanced from the Shukook Pass, and taken position in some extremely strong ground at Kirbekan, in front of the Pass, about 14 miles from Earle’s Head Quarters. The 8th and 9th were employed in reconnoitring, and closing up the troops preparatory to the attack. On the 8th, Major Flood, with twenty of his men, exchanged volleys with the enemy, and drove in some of their advanced posts. On the 9th, the whole of the mounted troops felt the enemy again. That night the troops bivouacked in their allotted stations, the most advanced of the infantry being only a short mile from the enemy’s position.
On the morning of the 10th, General Earle, with 1196 men of all ranks, moved forward to the attack. The enemy occupied a position on a line of low rocky eminences at right angles to the river, and a detached steep ridge in echelon with the rocky eminences. It was determined to march right round the rear of their position by the desert side, closing their retreat, and attack them in flank and rear from the river side. Two companies of the Staffordshire regiment, with two guns were left in front of the position to occupy the enemy’s attention, and keep down their fire. The 19th Hussars led the way, and the force marched right round the enemy’s position till the river was again reached in the enemy’s right rear. As soon as they saw their retreat was cut off, a number of the enemy tried to escape by swimming the river, many of them being shot in the attempt. But a considerable number of them still held their ground. The Black Watch were accordingly ordered to assault the line of rocky eminences, while the Staffordshire regiment assaulted the ridge. As the Black Watch won their way along the lower eminences, a desperate rush was made by a body of the enemy, which was repulsed, and the eminences crowned by the Highlanders; the Arabs gallantly fighting to the last man. In the moment of victory, General Earle was killed by a shot from a hut which he had incautiously approached. The assault on the high steep ridge offered greater difficulties, but the position was gallantly carried by the Staffordshire men. Both regiments had their commanding officers killed.
In the meantime, Flood’s Hussars and the Egyptian Camel Corps had gained the entrance to the Shukook Pass, and captured one of the enemy’s camps, in which were a number of standards, camels and donkeys. The enemy opened fire from the surrounding hills without effect. The victory was purchased with the loss of three officers and nine men killed, four officers and forty-four men wounded. The enemy’s force was subsequently ascertained to have been from fifteen hundred to two thousand men, but of these only about six hundred fought well.
The advance of the column was continued, on the 12th, under Colonel H. Brackenbury, on whom the command had devolved by General Earle’s death. The enemy had disappeared, but progress was slow, through the continuous rapids. On the 20th, a suitable place was found for crossing the Nile. A scouting party of the 19th was first rowed across, and brushed away some of the enemy’s scouts. By the afternoon of the 21st, the whole force was transported to the right bank, at Hebbeh, the scene of Colonel Stewart’s murder in September. The murderers had fled, and beyond the destruction of their property no other punishment could be meted out to them. By the evening of the 23rd, the whole force was concentrated at Huella, 26 miles from Abu Hamed.
All was ready for the advance on Abu Hamed, where a strong force of the enemy was known to be posted. Hardly had the troops commenced their march, on the 24th, when orders were received from Korti directing their return to Merawi. Sir Redvers Buller’s withdrawal from Abu Klea rendered a farther advance on Berber out of the question, and the River Column had to return. While the main body commenced to descend the river, Major Flood’s squadron scouted another six miles towards Abu Hamed, without seeing an enemy. Descending by the right bank, Merawi was reached on the 5th March, and, on the 6th, after recrossing the river to Abu Dom, the River Column was broken up. One troop of the 19th was left at Abu Dom, while the remainder marched for Korti.
In spite of the extremely hard work, the health of the troops, as with the Desert Column, had been excellent. Not a single man of Major Flood’s party had been on the sick list, from the time of leaving Korti till the date of return. Of the horses, three had succumbed. The performance of the small Arab horses both with the River and Desert Columns, carrying a heavy weight, on scanty fare and less water, is a marvel of endurance.
The next few days were spent in arranging for the distribution of the troops into summer quarters, in anticipation of the advance on Khartoum in the autumn. The quarters selected for the 19th were Merawi, Abu Dom, Tani, Kurot, Abu Kussi, and Dongola. By the 1st April, they were all located in the assigned positions. Before leaving Korti, the regiment was inspected by Lord Wolseley, who addressed them in terms of commendation that will long be remembered in the regiment.
Operations near Suakin
While their comrades had thus been busy on the Nile, the remnant of the regiment left at Cairo had found work to do. The effect of the operations, near Suakin, in March 1884, had been quite temporary. Osman Digna had recovered his authority, and was again threatening the port. It was also considered that, by making a diversion at Suakin, the operations near Berber and the reopening of the Suakin-Berber road would be facilitated. It was determined, therefore, to send a sufficient force to crush Osman Digna, and to make a railway line to Berber. The capture of Berber, before the great heat of the summer set in, was then considered feasible.
Before the force, which was to be commanded by Lieut. General Sir Gerald Graham, could arrive, a weak squadron of the 19th Hussars, under Captain Apthorp, was dispatched from Cairo on the 24th January, together with two Horse Artillery guns, followed next day by a battalion of infantry. On landing at Suakin, reconnoissances were instituted to ascertain the strength and position of the enemy. On the 1st February, a small force of all arms reconnoitred, under Major General Fremantle, towards Hasheem, 8 miles west of Suakin. The Arabs were found in great numbers, in a position too strong to attack. The infantry were formed in square, while the cavalry and guns were sent forward to try and draw the enemy out of their position. But the memory of El-Teb and Tamai were too fresh in the Arab mind for them to be induced to attack the arrayed infantry. They refused to quit their position, and after a prolonged skirmish, General Fremantle’s force returned to camp. One Egyptian trooper was wounded, and the 19th Hussars lost a horse.