Three days later, at 6 a.m. East Africa time on April 7th, the well-prepared British army commenced a full-scale attack under the morning light.
The British forces crossed the Tugela River simultaneously at five different points, creating significant gaps in the Ninth Brigade's defensive line.
This had already been anticipated by Alydot, as the Ninth Brigade was limited in manpower, making it impossible to effectively defend against the British forces leveraging the Tugela River.
The Tugela River defensive line in East Africa was like a "long snake formation," while the British multi-front assault was akin to "striking at the snake's vital spots," leaving the sparsely distributed units of the Ninth Brigade unable to effectively coordinate and support each other.
Moreover, the British found, to their surprise, that East African firepower seemed weaker than it had three days ago.
