On 9th March a column, under Lukin, left Barrani to secure the plateau by way of the pass called the Nagb Medean. The troops were the whole South African Brigade, a squadron of the Dorset Yeomanry, the Hong-Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery, and a Camel Supply column and train, and it was arranged that they should be joined later by the Armoured Car Battery and a company of the Australian Camel Corps. Sollum lay 50 miles off along the coast, and to turn its encircling escarpment the plan was to march to Bagbag, and then strike south-west for Bir-el-Augerin, after which an attempt would be made to seize the passes which led from the south-east to the Sollum tableland, notably the Nagb Medean and the Erajib. These passes could not be used by the armoured cars, so it was arranged that they should go further south by a practicable route, and join the column when the Medean pass had been taken by the infantry. General Peyton had planned that the second column, consisting of mounted troops and camel transport, should leave Barrani two days later than Lukin, and reach Augerin after the Medean pass had been secured. This would have concentrated the whole force at Augerin, with its outposts on the south-eastern scarp of the Sollum plateau, ready to make its final attack on the enemy’s camp. [Sidenote: _Mar. 12._] The water difficulty became serious for Lukin as soon as he left Barrani. The first night a Roman cistern was found, which gave a fair supply. On the night of the 10th the column bivouacked on the seashore, where the Roman wells were found to be silted up with sand, and had to be opened up by the engineers. On the 11th Bagbag was reached, but the water proved scanty and infamous, much of it being too sulphurous to be drunk by men or beasts. The best that could be done was to dig new wells in the sand. On the morning of the 12th Lukin was at Augerin, and that afternoon the 1st and 4th South Africans made good the Medean pass without opposition, and were presently joined by the armoured cars.