The Italians were opposed by a British contingent of about 4,000 soldiers consisting of the "Somaliland Camel Corps" (commanded by Colonel Arthur Reginald Chater), elements of the 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalion "King's African Rifles" (KAR) and the 1st Battalion Northern Rhodesian Regiment, the 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment, and the "2nd Battalion, Black Watch".