...at Tamanieh, or Tamai, near Suwakin. As…

...at Tamanieh, or Tamai, near Suwakin.

As the Mahdi's ablest general, Osman Digna is largely responsible for the fate of Gordon and the loss of the Sudan to Egypt and the only foreign commander to break the British infantry square in the Battle of Tamai, yet he loses the battle, during which the British suffer more losses than in any other battle of the Mahdist war, 2two hundred and fourteen soldiers being wounded or killed, ten of which are officers.

The Mahdists also suffer heavily, losing four thousand men.

The British hope that this defeat will deal a great blow to Osman Digna's prestige as well as weakening his forces, and that he will lose his hold over the Hadendoa.

However this is not the case, and when, later this year, Graham's force is withdrawn from the Sudan, he will gradually recovers his influence.

Therefore, Graham’s campaign will come to be seen purely as a punitive exercise against the Sudanese to restore British military pride.

The objective of British operations in this sector may have been to avert a possible peril to navigation in the Red Sea: if the Mahdists had taken control of the whole of the Sudanese coast, they might have threatened ships traveling to India, thus endangering the British Empire.