 Seeking to ascertain the strength of the Egyptian's Kafr El Dawwar position, and to test local rumours that the Egyptians were retreating, Alison ordered a probing attack on the evening of the 5th.This action was reported by Orabi as a battle, and Cairo was full of the news that the advancing British had been repulsed; however most historians describe the action merely as a reconnaissance in force which was never intended as a serious assault on the Egyptian lines.Regardless, the end result was that the British abandoned any hope they may have had of reaching Cairo from the north, and shifted their base of operations to Ismailia instead.