The cavalry and the Camel Corps, instead of cutting at the flank, contented themselves with making a direct pursuit after the enemy had crossed their front, and in consequence several hundred Arabs made good their escape to the south.  Others swam the river and fled by the west bank.  The wicked Osman Azrak, his authority now no longer disputed, for his rival was a corpse, galloped from the field and reached Suarda.  The rest of the Dervish force held to the houses, and variously prepared to fight to the death or surrender to their conquerors.

The three brigades now closed upon the village and, clearing it step by step, advanced to the water’s edge.  MacDonald’s brigade did not indeed stop until they had crossed the swampy isthmus and occupied the island.  The Arabs, many of whom refused quarter, resisted desperately, though without much effect, and more than eighty corpses were afterwards found in one group of buildings.  By 7.20 o’clock all firing had ceased; the entire Dervish camp was in the hands of the Egyptian troops, and the engagement of Firket was over.

The Sirdar now busied himself with the pursuit, and proceeded with the mounted troops as far as Mograka, five miles south of Firket.  The whole cavalry force, with the Camel Corps and Horse Artillery, pressed the retreat vigorously to Suarda.  Osman Azrak, however, succeeded in transporting the women and children and some stores, with a sufficient escort, to the west bank before the arrival of the troops.  On the approach of the cavalry he retired along the east bank, with a small mounted force, without fighting.  The Emir in charge of the escort on the other side delayed, and was in consequence shelled at long range by the Horse battery.  The local inhabitants, tired of the ceaseless war which had desolated the frontier province for so long, welcomed their new masters with an appearance of enthusiasm.  The main pursuit stopped at Suarda, but a week later two squadrons and sixteen men of the Camel Corps, under Captain Mahon, were pushed out twenty miles further south, and an Arab store of grain was captured.

The Dervish loss in the action was severe.  More than 800 dead were left on the field, and there were besides 500 wounded and 600 prisoners.  The casualties in the Egyptian army were 1 British officer—­Captain Legge—­wounded, 20 native soldiers killed and 83 wounded.

Firket is officially classed as a general action:  special despatches were written, and a special clasp struck.  The reader will have formed his own estimate of the magnitude and severity of the fight.  The whole operation was well and carefully planned, and its success in execution was complete.  The long and difficult night march, the accurate arrival and combination of the two columns, the swift deployment, the enveloping movement, proved alike the discipline and training of the troops and the skill of their officers.  The only point on which criticism may be made is the failure of the Desert Column to intercept the flying Dervishes.  But it should be remembered they had marched far, and it was not at that time certain what the powers of the mounted troops were.  The brilliant aspect of the affair caused great satisfaction in England, and the further prosecution of the campaign was looked for with increasing interest.