 They agreed that the tricolor would fly equally with the Union Jack and the Egyptian flag over the disputed fort at Fashoda.Kitchener was a Francophile who spoke fluent French, and despite his reputation for brusque rudeness was very diplomatic and tactful in his talks with Marchand; for example, congratulating him on his achievement in crossing the Sahara in an epic trek from Dakar to the Nile.In November 1898, the crisis ended when the French agreed to withdraw from the Sudan.