Lord Cromer : a biography . rd from the last-named place to Akasheh, which they capturedwithout opposition, occupied, and proceeded atonce to fortify. Here it was necessary to make an enforcedhalt of two months duration until the rise of theNile permitted the land-advance to be assisted byriver operations. In the meantime the railwayfrom Wady Haifa was being pushed southwardwith all possible despatch. On the 6th ofJune the lorward march was resumed, and theexpeditionary force at last got to close quarterswith the enemy at Firkeh. The behaviour of theEgyptian soldiery—which had been the subject
Lord Cromer : a biography . rd from the last-named place to Akasheh, which they capturedwithout opposition, occupied, and proceeded atonce to fortify. Here it was necessary to make an enforcedhalt of two months duration until the rise of theNile permitted the land-advance to be assisted byriver operations. In the meantime the railwayfrom Wady Haifa was being pushed southwardwith all possible despatch. On the 6th ofJune the lorward march was resumed, and theexpeditionary force at last got to close quarterswith the enemy at Firkeh. The behaviour of theEgyptian soldiery—which had been the subjectof many misgivings—did the greatest credit totheir Enelish training. Even their Soudanesecomrades, whose pluck and staunchness had oftenalready been tried and tested, were not braver orsteadier in the field. The Dervishes occupied aformidable position, and defended it with theirusual desperate valour, but after hard fightingwere routed with great loss. It was a brilliantsuccess, and demonstrated once for all the ability. ^ to CO * z «< 5S § LL o oo THE ADVANCE TO DONGOLA 317 of the fellah, when properly drilled and led, tohold his own against the wild warriors of thedesert. Every detail of the engagement confirmsthis most gratifying conclusion. The Dervishesat one point of the position were repeatedly calledupon to surrender, but refused, and died sword inhand. Eighty of them were killed in one hut,and thirty of their Emirs, including Hammuda,their commander, were killed. This obstinacyof defence means equally hard fighting on theside of the attacking force, while its steadybehaviour when the positions were reversed issufficiently attested by the fact that a charge ofthe Dervish cavalry was repulsed at the point ofthe bayonet by the Egyptian line. The moraleffect of the victory was instantaneous andimmense; its military result followed promptlyin the evacuation of Suarda, which had longbeen the headquarters of the Dervishes, and theabandonment of a large quantity o
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