The assault was about to begin.
The Dervishes sprang from their hiding places, and lined the trenches behind the zareba.

The troops halted, and waited.

The Maxims moved in front of the British brigade, and then opened fire.

A bugle sounded, and the whole line, black and white, advanced like a wall.

When within three hundred yards, the men knelt down and opened fire, in volleys of sections.