Whilst the Mahdi himself was conducting his successful campaign against General Gordon at Khartoum, one of his Lieutenants, Osman Digna, a slave merchant of Suakin, was pursuing a no less successful career at Suakin, on the coast of the Red Sea. On two occasions Egyptian armies had been worsted by him, and in the month of December, 1883, a British officer, Colonel Valentine Baker, was routed by an inferior body of tribesmen in an endeavour to relieve the Egyptian fort at Tokar. Of his force of 3,700 men, no less than 2,375 were killed, including 11 British officers. In the spring of 1884 Major-General Sir Gerald Graham was despatched to Suakin to teach Osman Digna a much-needed lesson, and in the month of February Sir Gerald inflicted two severe defeats on the tribesmen at El-Teb and Tamai. A medal and clasp were granted for these services, but they have not been recorded on the list of battle honours of the army. When the withdrawal from the Nile was decided on, instructions were despatched to Sir Gerald Graham at Suakin to prepare for an advance on Berber from Suakin. His force was brought up to a strength of 13,000 men, including a contingent from New South Wales and a brigade from India. This force was distributed as under: Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Graham, V.C., K.C.B. Cavalry Brigade--Major-General Sir Henry Ewart, K.C.B.: The 5th Lancers, 20th Hussars, and 9th (Hodson's Horse). Brigade of Guards--Major-General Lyon Fremantle: A battalion of each of the three regiments--the Grenadiers, the Coldstream and the Scots Guards--and the Australian contingent. Second Brigade--Major-General Sir John MacNeill, V.C., K.C.B.: The 49th (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 53rd (Shropshire Light Infantry), and a battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry. Indian Brigade--Brigadier-General J. Hudson, C.B.: The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, 17th (Loyal Regiment), and the 128th Pioneers. To these must be added a battery of horse and two of field artillery, with a well-horsed, but only partially trained, battery of Australians. Sir Gerald's orders were to press on the construction of the railway to Berber, a feat which did not receive much encouragement on the spot, as it was felt that the nature of the country and the want of water on the route selected somewhat militated against success. The troops were much harassed by continuous night attacks, whilst the superior mobility of the enemy, who invariably shirked attack, prevented the General from inflicting any serious damage to the causes of the Mahdi. One action in this expedition has been rescued from oblivion, but it is open to question whether at the time it was considered a victory. TOFREK, MARCH 22, 1885. This battle honour records the services of the under-mentioned regiments in a sharp little fight outside the town of Suakin, on the Red Sea, in the campaign of the Eastern Soudan, in 1885. It is borne on the colours of the