By the beginning of February Baker was ready to set out for Takar. Col. Iskander Bey was left in command of Suakin with 108 men of the Cairo battalion, 68 of the Alexandria battalion, 72 Massawa Sudanese, 639 of the 2nd battalion of bazinqirs, 320 old soldiers, 107 of the 1st battalion of bazinqirs, 35 of the Turkish battalion, 50 bandsmen, 186 gunners, 33 Turkish cavalry and 54 Arab cavalry (of which only 34 had horses). On 1 and 2 February the rest of the army left Suakin for Trinkitat, and on 3 February they camped at Fort Baker, some three miles inland from Trinkitat (see map 3). The entire force numbered some 1,300 Egyptian gendarmerie (divided about equally between the Cairo and Alexandria battalions), 900 Sudanese infantry (about 450 each from Massawa and Sannaheit), 500 bazinqir , 400 'Turkish' infantry (including some 200 untrained troops sent straight from Suez to Trinkitat), 300 Egyptian cavalry, 150 bashi-bazuk cavalry, about 40 European police under Italian officers, 4 Krupps, 2 gatling guns and 2 rocket tubes under Capt. Forrestier Walker. (3) The camp at Trinkitat was left with a guard of 200 Egyptians and 300 "Shageer' (Sha'iqiya?) Arabs sent straight from Egypt and armed with double-barrelled smoothbore muzzle-loading muskets. Two of the Krupps and part of the Massawa battalion were left at Fort Baker (Sartorius; 230-1). The force marched out on 4 February 1884 in three battalions in echelon, companies marching in columns. The artillery (including the gatlings) were escorted by two companies of the Alexandria battalion and 40 European police, while the camel train in the rear was escorted by 200 bazinqirs. The Egyptian cavalry were deployed to the front and the left, while the bashi-bazuks were in the front (Rayle: 108; Wingate: 95). (4) In case of attack the Cairo battalion was to form the front face of the square, the Alexandria battalion the right, the Sannaheit battalion the left, and the bazinqirs the rear. The Massawa battalion and the Turkish infantry were to form battalion squares of their own on the flanks of the main square (Sartorius: 2323). The march was partially obscured by occasional rain, and the column struggled across undulating ground with high misosa bushes further obscuring their vision. At about six miles out two flags were spatted an the top of the next rise. The Krupps fired three rounds in their direction and a force of Beia camel and horsemen were noticed trying to work around the right flank. Major Giles and the bashi-bazuks were sent out to intercept them, but the Beja led thee on across the front of the column and to the left until they found themselves among the main body of ansar, some 1,000-1,200 men under Abdallah ibn Hasid, hidden behind the rise. The bashi-bazuks became disordered and scattered and started riding back over the hill with the ansar cooing quickly behind thee. The Egyptian cavalry scouts opened fire, hitting a number of bashi-bazuks, before they, too, were attacked by the Beia. The Egyptian cavalry now turned and fled. Into Square The infantry were ordered into square. The Cairo battalion formed the front face, but two companies of the Alexandria battalion on the right refused to save. The Sannaheit battalion first tried to deploy to the front and then had to be wheeled back to sake the left face. The bazinqirs in the rear were too mixed up with the baggage animals to fore anything properly. Both the Turkish and Massawa battalions formed their individual squares quickly. Troops began firing before the square was fully formed, covering the formation in smoke. By the time the bashi-bazuks and the Egyptian cavalry began rushing into the square only the front, left and part of the rear faces were formed. The Cairo and Alexandria battalions began to dissolve as the cavalry rode through them. The left front and left faces of the square were the first to be hit by the ansar. The Cairo and Alexandria battalions broke and began to run only eight minutes after the rush began; they surged against the Sannaheit battalion and the bazinqirs, disorganized the Hassawa battalion square (which was so placed as to be unable to fire on the enemy). The Sannaheit battalion was forced back on the Turkish square, taking part of it with them, but the Turks reformed. The guns had no time to fire before the European police escort were attacked and died fighting, almost to a man. Sartorius and Col. Ahead Kamal Bey tried to rally the gendarmerie, but they were carried away for 200 yards by the flood of men. Baker sent Sartorius back to the fort to try to stop the men as they passed, and he shot down many as they ran by. The Sudanese and the Turks stood for a while but then began to retreat. Only the Sudanese infantry stopped occasionally to turn and fire during the flight. The army was pursued for five miles by the ansar. Those who survived the flight all embarked immediately on arriving at Trinkitat. Out of a force of some 3,715 men, about 2,373 were killed. Two Krupps, 2 gatlings, 3,000 Resingtons and about half a million cartridges were captured by the victorious Beja. The ansar lost some men, including Muhammad ibn Ali, brother of al-Khidr, commander of the forces besieging Tokar. The ansar were outnumbered by the Egyptians by about 3 to 1, and none of the ansar were then armed with rifles (Sartorius: 233-41; Haggard: 128-31; Royle: 108-117; Wingate; 95-6; Shaked: 137). Aftermath The remnants of Baker's army returned to Suakin on the night of the 5th. On the 6th Admiral Hewitt landed a force of sailors and marines with gatling guns and Nordenfeldts to help protect the city, which otherwise had less than 3,000 scared and demoralized soldiers to defend it. On the 9th Suakin was declared in a state of siege, Admiral Hewitt was given complete military and civil powers over the town, and Britain pledged herself to defending the town from attack. All of this made little difference in the interior. On 8 February the Sinkat garrison, having eaten all its animals, spiked its guns and tried to fight its way to Suakin, taking with it over 200 women and children. The force was attacked a mile out of town and annihilated, Tawfiq Bey being killed with them. On 23 February 1884 the Tokar garrison case to an understanding with al-Khidr ibn Ali and handed over the fort, Only Kassala continued to hold out. The first phase of the war in the Eastern Sudan had case to an end. Egypt was almost completely expelled from the coast. Britain could no longer avoid intervening. Wars in Eastern Sudan Part 2: Baker & El Teb Re-inforcements Second Battle of El Teb Troops and Tactics Uniforms Illustration: Egyptian Troops from Eastern Sudan (166K) Wargame Ideas Footnotes and Bibliography Back to Table of Contents -- Savage and Soldier Vol. XIX No. 2 Back to Savage and Soldier List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Milton Soong. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com