Kitchener's expedition embarked in March 1896, leaving Egypt behind and entering Mahdist Sudan later that month.[14] His column advanced along the Nile, using the river for resupply and communication, while laying track around the unnavigable sections.[15] However, the expedition could not proceed in this fashion all the way to Omdurman. The river travels far south to Ed Debba before bending steeply to the north-east up to Abu Hamed, where it pivots once more to the south and winds on past Khartoum.