Resting their base upon the river, where they were supported by five gun-boats, the British formed their camp within a few miles of Omdurman, the Sirdar taking the precaution to entrench in case of surprise. Early in the morning the Khalifa brought out his whole force, computed to be about fifty thousand men, making a dead {154} onset upon the British position. If overpowering numbers could have achieved victory he had it in his grasp. But British coolness and pluck won the day. The Dervish host on horseback swept the plain with a rush that no infantry could have withstood. 'They came very fast, and they came very straight; and then presently they came no further. With a crash the bullets leaped out of the British rifles,' Egyptians, Englishmen, and Highlanders pouring out death as fast as they could load and press trigger; while shrapnel whistled and Maxims growled savagely. [Sidenote: Battle of Omdurman] We need not describe the details of the fighting. The Khalifa's attack was speedily turned into a rout, though many a brave stand was made by the Dervish host. Attacked on two sides, the British force gradually spread itself out like an opening fan, under admirable handling by their generals. At a critical point in the engagement, when Generals Hunter and Macdonald in the front were being threatened by an outflanking movement of the enemy's cavalry, Hunter sent for Wauchope's 1st Brigade to fill the gap between Macdonald on the right and Lewis on the left. The request went to General Gatacre first instead of the Sirdar; but with the soldier's instinct he immediately set the Brigade in motion. Wauchope, cool as a statue, took in the situation at once, and moved his men forward as if on parade, while the Lincolns and the Warwicks under his command--said to be the best shooting regiments in the British army--did great execution, and effectually kept the enemy at bay. They saved the position, for, as one correspondent has said, 'It was the very crux and crisis of the fight. If Macdonald went, Lewis on his left, and Collinson and the supporting camel-corps and the newly returned cavalry, all on his right or {155} rear must all go too.' Exposed to a withering fire, the enemy were unable to withstand the steady discipline of our men. Defeated on all sides, the Khalifa turned and fled. Then was the time for our cavalry. With a dash the 21st Lancers made for the retreating foe, pursuing and slaughtering up to the walls of Omdurman. The bravery of the Dervishes was unquestionable. They literally threw themselves upon the British lines, only to be overwhelmed in a common ruin. Over 11,000 of the enemy were killed, 16,000 wounded, and 4000 were taken prisoners, and this by an army numbering not more than 22,000 men. On the Anglo-Egyptian side the losses were comparatively light, killed and wounded not amounting to above 500.