where the massively outnumbered Belgian officers were detained by their men and killed. Dhanis himself escaped the massacre by hiding in the forest, although his brother was among those killed. The now-disbanded army went on to rampage throughout the immediate area, terrorizing the northern Congo and causing great consternation among the Belgian officials whose jobs it was to keep the peace. This left Chaltin's expedition as the spearhead for Leopold's northern campaign, and the commandant continued his mission despite the grave loss of Dhanis' forces. Chaltin had in his column eight companies, each containing one hundred Congolese soldiers led by a Belgian lieutenant. He was accompanied by a contingent of five hundred Azande under chiefs Renzi and Bafuka. The expedition reached the Nile on 14 February 1897, where a small party of Mahdists from Rejaf exchanged fire with Chaltin's scouts. After two days of waiting for the supply train and rear guard to arrive, a Mahdist force approached the Belgian camp in the evening of 16 February, and prepared to attack. Chaltin ordered his artillery to fire at the Mahdists, causing the assembled rebels to flee under the barrage. The next day, at six o'clock in the morning, Chaltin took to the offensive and began to advance on Rejaf. Battle Chaltin's column advanced north with the Nile river protecting his right flank and the Azande cavalry contingent on his left. At seven o'clock, Belgian scouts sighted the two-thousand-strong Mahdist force assembled along a two-mile line that spanned a range of hills between the Nile and a parallel river. There was one clear path through the hills, which was especially well defended. Commandant Chaltin brought forward five companies for the attack, leaving his remaining three in reserve. The Mahdists immediately opened fire upon the Free State force, who remained in cover behind a rocky outcropping some ways from the Mahdist line. For half an hour the Mahdists continued to fire at Chaltin's companies to little effect, their shots passing harmlessly above the rocks. Meanwhile, Free State soldiers moved a Krupp gun into position which, under Sergeant Cajot, fired several shells into the Mahdists' ranks. After wasting their ammunition in this preliminary action, the Mahdist force began a flanking maneuver against the Belgians. The Mahdists' right flank, situated along the river parallel to the Nile, advanced rapidly trying to pin Chaltin with his back to the river. Chaltin, who by this time