han twelve miles
of the railway was washed away. The rails were twisted and bent; the
formation entirely destroyed. The telegraph wires were broken. The work
of weeks was lost in a few hours. The advance was stopped as soon as it
had been begun. At the moment when every military reason demanded speed
and suddenness, a hideous delay became inevitable.

In this time of crisis the success of the whole campaign hung in the
balance. Sir Herbert Kitchener did not then possess that measure of the
confidence and affection of his officers which his military successes
have since compelled. Public opinion was still undecided on the general
question of the war. The initial bad luck had frightened many. All
the croakers were ready. 'A Jingo Government'--'An incapable
general'--'Another disaster in the Soudan'--such were the whispers.
A check would be the signal for an outcry. The accounts of 'The Death
March' had not yet reached England; but the correspondents, irritated
at being 'chained to headquarters,' were going to see about that. And,
besides all this, there were the army to feed and the Dervishes to
fight. In this serious emergency, which threatened to wreck his schemes,
the Sirdar's organising talents shone more brilliantly than at any other
moment in this account. Travelling swiftly to Moghrat, he possessed
himself of the telephone, which luckily still worked. He knew the exact
position or every soldier, coolie, camel, or donkey at his disposal. In
a few hours, in spite of his crippled transport, he concentrated 5,000
men on the damaged sections of the line, and thereafter fed them until
the work was finished. In seven days traffic was resumed. The advance
had been delayed, but it was not prevented.

On the 5th of September the 1st (Lewis) and 2nd (MacDonald) Brigades
moved to Dulgo, and at the same time the remainder of the army began
to march across the loop from Kosheh by Sadin Fanti to Absarat. Every
available soldier had been collected for the final operation of the
campaign.

The Expeditionary Force was organised as follows:

Commander-in-Chief: The SIRDAR

The Infantry Division: COLONEL HUNTER Commanding

1st Brigade 2nd Brigade 3rd Brigade 4th Brigade
MAJOR LEWIS MAJOR MACDONALD MAJOR MAXWELL MAJOR DAVID
3rd Egyptians XIth Soudanese 2nd Egyptians 1st Egyptians
4th " XIIth " 7th " 5th "
IXth Soudanese XIIIth " 8th