In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Darfur, which means "land of the Fur",[1] was an independent country, located to the west of Sudan and east of what was then French Equatorial Africa.

In 1874, it was invaded by its Islamic neighbours from the south, which resulted in the country being annexed by Egypt and joined with Turco-Egyptian Sudan (by this point under Ango-Egyptian control).

In 1899, Ali Dinar became the sultan of Darfur with the approval of the then Sirdar Lord Kitchener, on the condition that he paid an annual tribute to the British.

Relations between Dinar and the Anglo-Egyptians were assisted by the Inspector-General Rudolf Carl von Slatin who had knowledge of the Darfur region and its people.

[5] Dinar's domestic policies caused internal unrest among the Arab portion of the population who were generally against him, or in the case of the Rizeigat tribe from the south-west Darfur, "openly hostile".

[5] On hearing the news of war between the British Empire and Turkey, Dinar became more defiant and in April 1915 renounced his allegiance to the government of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, declaring himself pro-Turkish and making contact with them via the Senussi.

[nb 2] By December, affairs had deteriorated to such an extent that a small unit from the Egyptian Camel Corps was dispatched to protect trade at Nahud, and at the same time act as a warning against Dinar's proposed offensive against the Rizeigat tribe.

Dinar instead countered the deployment of the Camel Corps detachment by moving his own troops—forty cavalry and ninety infantry—to reinforce Jebel el Hella.

The commander was British Lieutenant Colonel Philip James Vandeleur Kelly, of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars, on secondment to the Egyptian Army.

Intelligence gathered supported the theory that Dinar was going to invade Sudan, so in March 1916, Wingate ordered Kelly to cross the border and occupy Jebel el Hella and Um Shanga.

With the main body of his force expected to arrive that evening, having only two days' supply of water with them, Kelly considered withdrawing back to Sudan.

Instead, he divided his force, forming a fast-moving column, consisting of thirty mounted infantry scouts, 240 men from the Camel Corps, two artillery pieces, and eight Maxims, which left for Jebel el Hella at dawn on 22 March.

[4][5] Kelly's flying column faced only slight opposition from Fur scouts until they reached a position 4 miles (6.4 km) from Jebel el Hella.

Advancing a further 2 miles (3.2 km) the flying column located a large concentration of Fur troops in a wooded valley, where they engaged with artillery and machine guns.

[4][9] Wingate believed that Dinar would avoid a large battle in the provinces, but would instead gather his troops at al-Fashir, until the rainy period started, which would benefit their style of guerrilla fighting and raids on the Anglo-Egyptian column and their lines of communication.

To overcome some of their supply problems Wingate started construction of a road suitable for trucks, which he had obtained to supplement his camel transport.

General Sir Archibald Murray, the commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force fighting in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, arranged for the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to send a flight of four aeroplanes, 15-pounder guns and ammunition, wireless communication sets and light transport vehicles, to assist the expedition.

At the same time a system of observation posts was established along the frontier from Gabr el Dar to Shebb manned by 260 friendly natives, who were issued with Remington rifles.

Another 200 men belonging to the Kababish tribe occupied Jebel Meidob, observing the road from Darfur to the Senussi lands in the north.

[4][10] The leaflets denounced Dinar and promised that once he was removed there would be religious freedom and justice for all, and that the tribal leaders would remain in position if they submitted, and there would be an end to repression.

[4][10] At 05:30 am on 22 May, the Anglo-Egyptian advance continued, but the nature of the country, which consisted mainly of rolling low level sand-hills, with plenty of concealed ground and scattered bushes, reduced visibility down to just a few hundred yards.

[4][10] The Fur Army commander, Ramadan Ali, had established a 2,000-yard (1,800 m) crescent shaped trench, mostly concealed from the advancing Anglo-Egyptians by a wadi.

Ali's plan was for them advance close enough for him to ambush them with his trench system, believing that his larger force would overrun their artillery and machine guns before they could cause any serious damage to his troops.

To counter a threat from Fur cavalry from his left, Kelly sent a Camel Corps company and a Maxim machine gun section to secure the higher ground there.

While he was organising the assault, Huddleston commanding the Camel Corps company escorting the artillery and machine guns on the right of the square, exceeded his orders and entered the village.

[4][8] Sultan Ali Dinar, fled to the Jebel Marra mountains 50 miles (80 km) to the south-west of al-Fashir, with around 2,000 men,[nb 5] Kelly's troops were unable to immediately pursue him, due to a lack of supplies and exhaustion.

Two days later, on 5 November, Huddleston with 150 men, an artillery piece and four Maxim machine guns, mounted on captured horses, set off in pursuit.

[16] The commander of the Anglo-Egyptian expedition, Kelly, became the first Governor of the Darfur province with his office located in the Sultan's palace throne room until May 1917.