Conflicting orders and panicked retreat marked the Egyptian cavalry at Konia

Evidence

When the Guardia Regiment started to engage with the enemy both our colonel and our lieutenant-colonel gave orders to assume the line formation. I did not hear the Brigadier give this order. Before we had assumed the new formation however both the brigadier and the colonel gave the orders to attack so we attacked but our left wing started to retreat and the whole brigade got muddled with itself (liva beraberine karişdi). The standard bearer was wounded and the officers were forcing the soldiers to return by forcing them around with their swords (zabitan kiliçlar ile askeri cevirdi). We then gathered our battalions, separated them from each other and put them in order … The trumpeters then gave the signal to deploy in column and we soon took that formation. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1104

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Firsthand evidence for the reader’s question about actual Egyptian army performance: order broke down and officers had to physically compel men back with swords.
• XREF: The scene of officers forcing frightened soldiers back with the flat of the sword resonates with accounts of drummed-in discipline in other conscript armies of the era. — connects to: A minor Ottoman counter-attack threw the entire Egyptian 1st Cavalry Brigade into confusion — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1103