Eleven years had elapsed since the engagements on the Nile and at Tofrek, and during those eleven years the process of reorganizing the Egyptian army had been ceaselessly carried on under the direction of the British officers lent to the Khedive. Sir Evelyn Wood had been succeeded by General Grenfell, and Grenfell by General Kitchener. Our Consul-General at Cairo occupied a unique position, for he was the virtual ruler of Egypt. A soldier by profession, and one of the earliest of the Staff College graduates, Sir Evelyn Baring had profited by his experience in many appointments, in all of which he had acquired ripe stores of priceless knowledge. Soldier, financier, diplomatist, he was _facile princeps_ in all; and though Sir Herbert Kitchener was the General who broke the back of Mahdiism, the brain which devised and the hand which guided the machinery were those of Sir Evelyn Baring. During those eleven years the Egyptian army had on more than one occasion been pitted against the Mahdi's troops. The men had learnt self-reliance, and possessed the most boundless faith in their British officers. Step by step the army was converted into a battle machine. The battalions of fellaheen were stiffened with battalions of blacks from the Soudan. No better fighting material exists in Africa. And as it improved in value, so were the necessary measures taken to break the power of the Mahdi. The railway was pushed farther south up the Nile, a strong brigade of native troops was despatched from India to Suakin, and the Egyptian army, stiffened with but one British regiment, taught that it was now able to face the Mahdi's men. At Firket, in May, 1896, the first of these combats took place, and in September, at Hafir, a decisive success was gained, which opened the road to Dongola. The 64th (North Staffordshire) Regiment--the only corps which bears the honour on its colours--was not actually engaged, and suffered no casualties at the hands of the enemy; but it lost heavily by disease in the operation leading up to the action, and so has been authorized to assume the battle honour.