-commissioned officers. Four of the fellahin battalions
were officered by Orientals; in the other five, British officers
commanded. Seven officers were employed with the artillery, six with
the camel corps. Each of the Sudanese battalions had four British
officers, and each squadron of cavalry one. Twelve medical and two
veterinary officers are also employed departmentally, as well as
officers acting as directors of supply, &c. Since the assumption of
command by the third sirdar, Colonel (afterwards Lord) Kitchener, the
ordnance, supply and engineer services have been separately
administered, and a financial secretary is charged with the duty of
preparing the budget, making contracts, &c. The total annual
expenditure is L500,000.

The reorganized military school system under British control, for
supplying officers, dates from 1887. The course lasts for about two
years, and two hundred students can be accommodated. After the
reconquest of the Sudan one-fourth of the cadets in the military
school of Cairo were Sudanese. Later, however, the Sudanese cadets
were transferred to a branch school at Khartum.

The army raised by the first sirdar in January 1883 was highly
commended for its work on the line of communication in 1884-1885, and
its artillery and camelry distinguished themselves in the action at
Kirbekan in February 1885. Colonel Sir Francis Grenfell succeeded
General Sir Evelyn Wood in March 1885, and while under his command the
army continued to improve, and fought successful actions at Gemaiza,
Argin, Toski and Tokar. At Toski the Dervish force was nearly
annihilated. In March 1892 Colonel Kitchener succeeded General Sir
Francis Grenfell, and four years later began his successful reconquest
of the Sudan. In June 1896, owing to the indefatigable exertions of
Major Wingate, a perfected system of secret intelligence enabled the
sirdar to bring an overwhelming force of 6 to 1 against the Dervish
outpost at Firket and destroy it. In September 1896 a skirmish at
Hafir, with similarly successful tactics, gave the British commander
the possession of Dongola. On the 7th of August 1897 Colonel Hunter
surprised and annihilated a weak Dervish garrison at Abu Hamed, to
which place, by the 31st of October 1897, a railway had been laid
across the Nubian desert from Wadi Halfa, a distance of 230 m., the
"record" construction of 5300 yds surveyed, embanked an