They fired on an
average sixty rounds per man, and finally repulsed the attack.
The Dervishes were weak in cavalry, and had scarcely 2,000 horsemen on
the field. About 400 of these, mostly the personal retainers of the various
Emirs, were formed into an irregular regiment and attached to the flag of
Ali-Wad-Helu. Now when these horsemen perceived that there was no more hope
of victory, they arranged themselves in a solid mass and charged the left
of MacDonald's brigade. The distance was about 500 yards, and, wild as was
the firing of the Soudanese, it was evident that they could not possibly
succeed. Nevertheless, many carrying no weapon in their hands, and all
urging their horses to their utmost speed, they rode unflinchingly to
certain death. All were killed and fell as they entered the zone of fire--
three, twenty, fifty, two hundred, sixty, thirty, five and one out beyond
them all--a brown smear across the sandy plain. A few riderless horses
alone broke through the ranks of the infantry.
After the failure of the attack from Kerreri the whole Anglo-Egyptian
army advanced westward, in a line of bayonets and artillery nearly two
miles long, and drove the Dervishes before them into the desert, so that
they could by no means rally or reform. The Egyptian cavalry, who had
returned along the river, formed line on the right of the infantry in
readiness to pursue.
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