THE WAR IN SOUDAN. THE LATE BATTLE. BRITISH SQUARES BROKEN. Guns Captured. SEVERE FIGHTING. Four Thousand Rebels Killed.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1825, 18 March 1884, Page 3

THE WAR IN SOUDAN. THE LATE BATTLE. BRITISH SQUARES BROKEN. Guns Captured. SEVERE FIGHTING. Four Thousand Rebels Killed.

[in ThLEGKAPH.— COPYIU6H V.— KEUTEU.] London", Match 14. Full particulars are now to hand from •SnaUim regarding the defeat of the rebels near Tamaneb. The British troopa advanced from Zareba in two squares, and shortly came up with the enemy, who at once opened fire. 'Lhcy attacked the Biitish columns most fiercely, and repeatedly bioke the leading square, and after desperate fighting captured some of our guns and drove back the Ist battalion of the York and .Lancaster Regiment (65 Foot) The marines and troops, however, speedily rallied. Further heavy fighting took place, and the rebels were finally diiven back completely defeated, and the gnus lost in theeailv part of the battle were captured. The fighting lasted fully two liouis and a half, during which time the whole of botli forces were ac tively engaged. The icbels, it, is said, have lost 3000 killed and 4000 wounded The previous telegrams setting forth the BiitUh loss at 70 killed and 100 wounded arc confiimed. The first Battalion Royal Highlanders (42 Foot) uere the heaviest su ffei ers.

Cuko. Match 14. The latest telegrams, ftom iSuakim report that Osman Digna, with the remnant of his follow cis, has retreated to the lulls near Tamaneb. It lias been definitely pioved that in the recent battle the icbels suffeied more heavily than was at fiiht supposed. Theii loss m killed alone is now set down at fnll> 4300, and the wounded exceed that number. The whole of the British tioops u»g.\ged in the battle neai Tamaneb are now retaining to Suakim. Majoi General (riaham telegraphs f join Suakim that Slieikh Mahomed, a piomincut Arab chief of the Eastern Soudan, has expressed his belief that the recent victory of the Butish will have the effect of pacifying the natnes of that district, and that the road to Berber will now be opened. A special despatch to the Press Association is as lollows :— London, March 14: Further details of the engagement state that the Aiabs, by an impetuous charge, broke the square commanded by Colonel fta\is, and, creating a panic succeeded in making a temporary capture of the guns. The cavaliy, ho\ve\ er, came to the lescue, and checked the enemy, and thus allot ded time for the bngade to be refoitncd, and it then iecaptuied the gun-. Colonel Bullei'b toice pioceeded without check, and captured and buint the enemy'h camp. The Arabs have now fled to the mountains. Then loss in killed is estimated at three thousand Major General Oiaham's foicc has returned to Suakim, after burning four •villages and exploding vast stoics of captured ammunition. The bodies of fifteen hundied Arabs were found at the spot where the squares un ler < olonel Davis was broker.. The tot.il Biitish loss pioves to be one hundied and twenty, of which number the 65th Regiment lost thirty, and the Black watch sixty-five, iv eluding ten sergeants.