On the 7th August the Khedive issued a proclamation directed against Arabi Pasha and rebellion. {182} On the 10th August Sir John Adye, chief of staff, with the Duke of Connaught, arrived at Alexandria. On the 12th August the Brigade of Guards, the Duke of Connaught at their head, marched through Alexandria to Ramleh, greatly impressing the populace. On the 15th, General Commanding-in-Chief Sir Garnet Wolseley and Major-General Sir Evelyn Wood arrived at Alexandria. On the 18th August the greater part of the troops embarked for Port Said, the transports being escorted by five ironclads. On the night of the 19th-20th August the Navy took entire possession of the Suez Canal. The _Monarch_ and _Iris_ took Port Said. The _Orion_, _Northumberland_, _Carysfort_ and _Coquette_ took Ismailia. Admiral Hewett had already seized Suez. On the 20th of August the troops and warships from Alexandria arrived at Port Said, together with Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour in the _Helicon_. M. Ferdinand de Lesseps had done his utmost to prevent the seizure of the Canal, which, he insisted, was neutral. It is said that when the troops began to disembark at Ismailia, M. de Lesseps, erect upon the landing-place, announced that "no one should land except over his dead body"; to which defiance a bluejacket, gently urging aside the heroic engineer, replied, "We don't want any dead bodies about here, sir; all you've got to do is to step back a bit" (Royle, _Egyptian Campaigns_). On the 21st August Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Ismailia in the _Salamis_, and, by orders of the Khedive, issued a proclamation announcing that the sole object of Her Majesty's Government was "to re-establish the authority of the Khedive." The advance into the Delta was begun. On the 24th August Wolseley captured the dam on the Fresh Water Canal. On the 25th August the enemy were driven back upon {183} Tel-el-Kebir. Mahmoud Fehmi Pasha, one of the original "Three Colonels," now Arabi's chief of staff, was captured at Mahsameh railway station. On the 28th August occurred the action at Kassassin, in which the Egyptians were defeated. Kassassin was occupied. During the next few days men and stores were assembled there. On the 9th September Arabi attacked Kassassin in force and was driven back to Tel-el-Kebir. Sir Garnet Wolseley made Kassassin his headquarters. On the 12th September the army was concentrated at Kassassin. On that night the troops advanced towards Tel-el-Kebir. On the 13th September an attack at dawn was made in three places upon the Egyptian entrenchments. The British carried them under a heavy fire at the point of the bayonet. The action was decisive. Arabi's power was broken. Arabi fled to Cairo. The 6th Bengal Cavalry captured Zag-a-Zig the same evening; and the Cavalry division occupied Belbeis.