First and Second Battles of El Teb The First and Second Battles of El Teb ( February 4 , 1884 and February 29 , 1884 ) took place during the British Sudan Campaign where a force of Sudanese under Osman Digna won a victory over an 3500 strong Egyptian force under the command of General Valentine Baker which was marching to relieve Tokar on the 4th . A second British force under Sir Gerald Graham arrived on the 29th , engaging and defeating Osman Digna with few casualties . Background . Britain ' s involvement in the Sudan was a consequence of its support for the Khedive of Egypt following the repression of Urabi Pasha ' s revolt in 1882 . Despite Egypt still being nominally part of the Ottoman Empire , the Khedive ' s rule was dependent on direct British support , given to ensure the security of the Suez Canal and the elimination of the Sudanese slave trade . However , the British government under Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone sought to stay out of affairs in Egyptian - governed Sudan , that was threatened by an uprising led by the Mahdi , Muhammad Ahmad , who declared a " Jihad " , against the ‘ Turks ’ , represented by the Egyptian troops . The Mahdist forces enjoyed considerable success against Egyptian troops in 1882 and 1883 , and several towns garrisoned by Egyptian troops found themselves surrounded . In their haste to be rid of the Sudanese question , the British urged the Egyptians to evacuate their troops . Battle . February 4 , 1884 . The port of Suakin , on the Red Sea , could be supplied by ship and still held out . But further inland , the towns of Tokar and Sinkat were completely cut off . In February 1884 , a 3 , 000 strong force was dispatched from Suez to Suakin to relieve the beleaguered garrisons . The command of this force was entrusted to Baker Pasha accompanied by other European officers . From the start the expedition was beset with problems . The greater part of the infantry was formed from Egyptian Gendarmerie Battalions who had enrolled on the condition they would serve only for civil service in Egypt . On the news they were being sent to Sudan , many of them deserted , and the others grew dispirited and mutinous . On the 3 February , Baker moved his force by ship from Suakin to Trinkitat , on the coast near Tokar . He set up a camp on the beach , and set off the next day . The Egyptians , who were not used to marching in formation , advanced in a confused mass . At the halting place of El Teb , on the road to Tokar they were attacked by a Mahdist force 1 , 000 strong . Despite their superiority in numbers and weaponry , the troops became panic - stricken , and fled after firing a single volley . The Mahdists caught up with them and inflicted huge losses , killing all the European officers who tried to resist . Baker , unable to rally his men , retreated to the camp with the few survivors and managed to protect it from the Mahdists . Of a force of 3 , 500 , barely 700 returned . After returning to Suakin , Baker tried to organize the defense of the city , but the Egyptian troops had grown distrustful of the British officers , and refused to obey . This defeat sealed the fate of the garrisons : the Sinkat garrison sallied out to try to reach Suakin on foot ; they were massacred . The Tokar garrison surrendered without a fight . February 29 , 1884 . In England , Baker ' s defeat incensed the imperialist faction , represented by Lord Wolseley , who demanded the intervention of British troops . Reluctantly , the British government agreed and several units returning from India were diverted to Suakin . On the 21st , the force under the command of Sir Gerald Graham left for El Teb , via Trinkitat . It was composed of 4 , 500 men with 22 guns and 6 machine guns . On the 29th , they approached the main Mahdist position , on a hill near El Teb . This position consisted of various entrenchments and rifle pits . The Mahdists also had several artillery pieces including Krupp guns captured off the Tokar garrison , some of whom had changed sides , and were now fighting for the Mahdists . The British , forming into a square , circled the Mahdist entrenchments to outflank them , under a dense rifle and cannon fire . After a brief artillery duel , the Mahdist guns were silenced , and the British advanced . The Mahdists hid in trenches to avoid incoming British rifle and artillery , then rushed out in small groups of twenty to thirty warriors instead of the massive attack that was expected . Another tactic was to pretend to lie dead on the battlefield as British cavalry charged through , then , as the cavalry returned at a slower pace back through the ranks of the ' dead ' , the Mahdists would rise up and slit the hamstrings of the horses then proceed to kill the riders . At the top of the hill , a village had been fortified by the Mahdists , and here they resisted the most stubbornly . The British infantry had to clear the trenches with bayonets after which the fighting died down . During the battle , Captain Arthur Wilson of HMS Hecla joined the right half - battery , Naval Brigade , in place of a lieutenant who was mortally wounded . As the troops closed on the enemy battery , the Dervish charged out on the detachment which was dragging one of the guns , whereupon Captain Wilson sprang to the front and engaged in single combat with some of the enemy , and so protected the detachment until men of the 1st Battalion , York and Lancaster Regiment , came to his assistance . For this action captain Wilson was awarded the Victoria Cross . Graham ' s force then advanced to Tokar , encountering no further resistance . After the battle , most of the equipment lost by Baker ' s force was recovered . The British suffered only light casualties , the Mahdist fire being generally inaccurate . Baker Pasha , who accompanied the force , was wounded in the jaw . The Mahdists suffered heavily from British firepower , losing 2 , 000 killed . Aftermath . Upon Graham ' s return to England , he received the thanks of parliament and was made a Lieutenant General for distinguished service in the field . During the second battle itself , actions by Sir Arthur Wilson , then a Captain , were rewarded by a Victoria Cross . No officers were lost in the second battle but Captain Littledale had a narrow escape in a hand to hand conflict with an Arab . The Arab armed with a knife and Littledale with a pistol that had jammed . The fight went to ground but Littledale was rescued by Corporal Henry Baxter , who saw the struggle and was able to disarm the Arab , bayonet him and carry Littledale to safety and later rejoin the battle . Littledale survived even though he had been stabbed several times and was covered in serious bite marks . The lower ranks played an important part in this battle and the Distinguished Conduct Medal was dispatched to the following on 3 July by Queen Victoria herself at Windsor : Colour - Sergeant Charles Wake , Colour - Sergeant Hayward , Sergeant Frank Webb , Lance - Sergeant John Doyle , Lance - Sergeant Henry Haycock , Lance - Sergeant Henry James , Corporal Henry Baxter , Corporal David Dossett . The battle was part of the escalation of the conflict in the Sudan , a conflict which led to the reconquest of Sudan in 1898 , Herbert Kitchener , involving 25 , 800 men , 8 , 600 of whom were British , including Winston Churchill .