Monday, 4 February 1884 The port of
Suakin, on the
Red Sea, could be supplied by ship and still held out. But further inland, the towns of
Tokar and
Sinkat were completely cut off. In February 1884, a 3,000 strong force was dispatched from
Suez to
Suakin to relieve the beleaguered garrisons. The command of this force was entrusted to
Baker Pasha accompanied by other European officers. From the start the expedition was beset with problems. The greater part of the
infantry was formed from Egyptian
Gendarmerie Battalions who had enrolled on the condition they would serve only for civil service in Egypt. On the news they were being sent to Sudan, many of them deserted, and the others grew dispirited and
mutinous. On Sunday, 3 February, Baker moved his force by ship from Suakin to Trinkitat, on the coast near Tokar. He set up a camp on the beach, and set off the next day. The Egyptians, who were not used to marching in formation, advanced in a confused mass. At the halting place of
El Teb, on the road to Tokar they were attacked by a Mahdist force 1,000 strong. Despite their superiority in numbers and weaponry, the troops became panic-stricken, and fled after firing a single volley. The Mahdists caught up with them and inflicted huge losses, killing all the European officers who tried to resist. Baker, unable to rally his men, retreated to the camp with the few survivors and managed to protect it from the Mahdists. Of a force of 3,500, barely 700 returned. After returning to Suakin, Baker tried to organize the defence of the city, but the Egyptian troops had grown distrustful of the British officers, and refused to obey. This defeat sealed the fate of the garrisons: the Sinkat garrison sallied out to try to reach Suakin on foot; they were massacred. The Tokar garrison surrendered without a fight.
Friday, 29 February 1884 '' In Britain, Baker's defeat incensed the
imperialist faction, represented by
Lord Wolseley, who demanded the intervention of British troops. Reluctantly, the British government agreed and several units - Royal Irish Fusiliers on their way returning from
India, 3 battalions from the Army of Occupation in Egypt, York and Lancaster Regiment from Aden and a battalion of Marines - were sent to Suakin. On Thursday the 21st, the force under the command of Sir
Gerald Graham left for El Teb, via Trinkitat. It was composed of 4,500 men (British and Indian soldiers) instead of the massive attack that was expected. Another tactic was to pretend to lie dead on the battlefield as British
cavalry charged through, then, as the cavalry returned at a slower pace through the ranks of the 'dead', the Mahdists would rise up and slit the hamstrings of the horses then proceed to kill the riders. At the top of the hill, a village had been fortified by the Mahdists, and here they resisted. The British infantry had to clear the trenches with bayonets after which the fighting died down. During the battle, Captain
Arthur Wilson of joined the right half-battery, Naval Brigade, in place of a lieutenant who was mortally wounded. As the troops closed on the enemy battery, the Mahdists charged out on the detachment which was dragging one of the guns, whereupon Wilson sprang to the front and engaged in single combat with some of the enemy, and so protected the detachment until men of the 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, came to his assistance. For this action he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Graham's force then advanced to
Tokar, encountering no further resistance. After the battle, at a place called Dubba, most of the equipment lost by Baker's force was recovered (1,500 Remington rifles, 200 boxes of ammunition, one 7-pounder gun, and one Gatling gun), and 700 of the survivors from Tokar were escorted to Trinkitat. A party of the 42nd Regiment was sent out to bury the Europeans who fell in Baker's defeat. The British suffered only light casualties, the Mahdist fire being generally inaccurate. Baker Pasha, who accompanied the force, was wounded in the jaw. The Mahdists suffered heavily from British firepower, with estimated 2,000 of them killed (though only 825 bodies were actually counted on the field of battle). ) ==Aftermath==