The Egyptians had sought help from the British, who sent out General Gordon to impose peace on the Mahdi. But the savage Dervishes speared Gordon to death on the steps of the palace in Khartoum, a murder which was not avenged until the decisive battle of Omdurman years later.

In 1884 Macdonald joined Lord Wolseley force to relieve General Gordon in Khartoum in the Sudan. Macdonald was appointed adjutant at the fort of Assiout, the town from which the boats carrying the river column set out up the river Nile towards Khartoum. Wolseley’s army arrived too late and General Gordon and his small force were slaughtered in Khartoum on 26th January 1885.