In the meantime the Khalifa was not idle. He recalled Osman Digna from Suakin, and personally superintended the organization of his troops at Omdurman, opposite Khartoum. Kitchener's force was gradually strengthened. No less than thirteen gunboats had been brought up the Nile in sections, and, being of shallow draft, were able to co-operate with the troops on the banks. The time had now come for the final attempt to reconquer the Soudan. In January, 1898, Kitchener's force was further reinforced by a brigade of British troops under Major-General Gatacre, an officer who had shown himself possessed of the highest attributes of a soldier in our Indian frontier wars. The army that now faced the Khalifa on the Atbara River comprised Gatacre's brigade (the Warwicks, Lincolns, Seaforth, and Cameron Highlanders), three brigades of Egyptian troops, with a brigade of Egyptian cavalry and the camel corps. On April 5 the Sirdar made a careful reconnaissance of the Khalifa's position, and on the early morning of the 8th commenced a severe bombardment of the entrenchments behind which the Khalifa's forces lay. ATBARA, APRIL 8, 1898. This battle honour is borne by the Royal Warwicks. Lincolns. Seaforth Highlanders. Cameron Highlanders. It commemorates the action fought by the army under Sir Herbert Kitchener, prior to the capture of Khartoum and the overthrow of Mahdiism. In our earlier dealings with the forces of Mahdiism, even when they were opposed to British troops, we had always found the enemy ready to meet us. At El Teb and Abu Klea, at Tamai and Tofrek, they had never hesitated to charge our squares. Now a different system of tactics was inaugurated, showing that they had learnt a bitter lesson. The fact that the Mahdists awaited them behind entrenchments, instead of charging down sword or spear in hand, naturally infused courage into our own black troops, and when, after an hour's bombardment, Kitchener stormed the enemy's position, Egyptian fellaheen vied with kilted Highlander as to who should lead the way to the front. Our success was complete: over 3,000 of the enemy were killed, our losses totalling 88 killed and 472 wounded, in both British and Egyptian forces. +--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |_Officers._| _Men._ | | _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |1st Batt. 6th R. Warwicks | - | 1 | 2 | 11 | |1st Batt. 10th Lincolns | - | 3 | 1 | 13 | |72nd Seaforth Highlanders | 2 | 4 | 5 | 22 | |79th Cameron Highlanders | 3 | 1 | 13 | 44 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ KHARTOUM, 1898. This battle honour, which records the services of the army commanded by Sir Herbert Kitchener at the capture of the stronghold of Mahdiism, is borne by the