The contingent arrived in Suakin on 29 March and were attached to a brigade that consisted of Scots , Grenadier and Coldstream Guards . They subsequently marched for Tamai in a large " square " formation made up of 10 @,@ 000 men . Reaching the village , they burned huts and returned to Suakin : three Australians were wounded in minor fighting . Most of the contingent was then sent to work on a railway line that was being laid across the desert towards Berber , on the Nile . The Australians were then assigned to guard duties , but soon a camel corps was raised and 50 men volunteered . They rode on a reconnaissance to Takdul on 6 May and were heavily involved in a skirmish during which more than 100 Arabs were killed or captured . On 15 May , they made one last sortie to bury the dead from the fighting of the previous March . Meanwhile , the artillery were posted at Handoub and drilled for a month , but they soon rejoined the camp at Suakin .