The Egyptian forces in the Sudan were insufficient to cope with the rebels, and the northern government was occupied in the suppression of the Urabi Revolt. By September 1882, the Egyptian position in the Sudan had grown perilous. In September 1883, an Egyptian Army force under Colonel William Hicks set out to destroy the Mahdi. The Egyptian soldiers were miserable "fallāḥīn" conscripts who had no interest in being in the Sudan, much less in fighting the Mahdi and morale was so poor that Hicks had to chain his men together to prevent them from deserting.