Emboldened by their victory at the Battle of Khartoum, the Mahdists resisted British efforts to force the Nile. This included, on 10 February 1885, the Mahdists defending a fortified site at Kirbekan they hoped would impede the main British column still ascending the river. These military operations were occurring some two weeks after the fall of Khartoum and Brigadier Wilson's earlier glimpse of the fallen city from his steamship. At Kirbekan, whilst the British successfully seized the position, the British commander General William Earle was killed near the end of the attack.