Brief History An imaginative strategic plan of Revolutionary France to cut Britain's lifeline to India by seizing Egypt and the Levant was an epic adventure, set amongst some of the most ancient places of history, then almost unknown to Europeans. It occurred at a critical period both for France and in the fortunes of Napoleon Bonaparte. It failed; yet Bonaparte emerged from it as the chief power in France and in position to conclude the Revolutionary Wars to his advantage. Nevertheless, it proved once again thesupremacy of the British fleet and further more that a reformed British Army was a force to be reckoned with in the future. The French Army which sailed for Egypt in 1798 was primarily drawn from Bonaparte's old Army of Italy. It included some 400, overloaded troop transports, 15 ships of the line; 15 frigates; 7 corvettes and 30 other sundry smaller, lightly armed vessels. The army, led by Bonaparte was approximately 36,000 strong, but had only 1,230 horses, 700 of which were for general cavalry use, the remainder being reserved for the generals and their staffs. Among its senior generals were Berthier, Vaubois, Desaix, Kleber, Menou, Reynier, and Dugua. Brigade commanders included Lannes, Davout and Murat. Besides the military personnel the expedition included administrative and scientific experts and archaeologists to deal with new problems of health, food, governmental organisation and language difficulties. Also to examine the treasures of the Pharaohs and to survey Egypt in all its aspects to determine its potential as a French colony. There appears to have been a genuine element of scholarship involved, Bonaparte being much interested in history and antiquity. The expedition departed from France on 19th May 1798 and set sail for Malta, which was seized and garrisoned by a mixed force of the army and sailors, etc., under the command of Vaubois. It included the 7eme Legere, the 19eme Ligne, 5 companies of artillery and some sick and wounded chasseurs. The pick of the Maltese troops were taken up by the French and formed the cadre of the Maltese Legion. The fleet sailed on eastwards to Alexandria where it anchored on 30th June. Troops were disembarked on 2nd July with only nominal casualties. This was the start of the Egyptian summer and the French Army found itself totally unprepared for the severe alteration in climatic conditions which it experienced during the first few months of the campaign. The troops laboured over burning rocks and sand towards Cairo and the combination of heat, thirst and incessant attacks from swarms of voracious flies and mosquitoes proved too much. Thick coats, tight stocks, bearskin caps, cocked hats, waistcoats and the thick close gaiters were either stowed in the knapsacks or, in many cases, simply thrown away. As desert veterans will realise, the result was that the troops froze after sundown. Water containers, either native gourds or bottles covered in wicker work cradles were purchased from travelling merchants or beggars. Colonel Elting points out that even in the late 18th century there could hardly have been a sufficient number of beggars in Northern Egypt to be a very reliable source of supply for any army of this size. Although disregarding the now, to say the least, negligent dress of their men, senior officers and staff allowed themselves no such laxity and retained their normal full dress with the heavily embroidered coats and elaborately feathered cocked hats. By the 10th July 1798 the Army had reached the banks of the Nile and on 13th. were engaged by an army under the command of Murad Bey at Shebekhet. After some skirmishing and desultory attacks Murad retired and re-deployed his forces before Cairo. On the 21st. July, the Battle of the Pyramids was fought. Murad Bey had approximately 40,000 men - 6,000 Mamelukes each with a couple of mounted retainers, and some 20,000 raggle-taggle infantry, most of whom were Egyptians. The Mamelukes were driven into the Nile and Napoleon marched his army in triumph into Cairo and forthwith proceeded to introduce a degree of self-government into Egypt with a new and fairer method of taxation. The Egyptians were not interested, however, and after the Cairo revolt strict order was imposed throughout the country. Further resistance was treated with swift retribution and heads began to fall. To the Egyptians Bonaparte became-The Conqueror- 'El Kebir'. The second phase of the campaign now opened. While Desaix pursued the largest body of fugitive Mamelukes up the Nile, Bonaparte struck at the Mameluke-Turkish forces forming in Syria. Three days later the garrison at El Arish surrendered, Gaza fell soon after and Jaffa was reached by the 4th. March. The walls were bombarded and after some three days, breaches were made. Large forces of the enemy were killed during the bombardment and during the storming. The garrison of approximately 2,000 were captured and of these a high proportion proved to be men previously captured at El Arish and subsequently released on parole. The French had no facilities to feed them nor could they be trusted and they were put to the sword. Sloane's biography of Napoleon mentions an official return to the Directory of 1,200 Turks killed in this way. Bonaparte now moved on to St. Jean d'Acre and put it to siege. The French siege train, which had been sent by ship, had been captured by the British Naval Squadron commanded by Sir Sydney Smith who had added the cannon to the defences of the city. The siege lasted some 62 days and 'included 40 assaults and 26 sallies but by the 14th. May the siege had been called off. Lannes and Bon were wounded and Bon died of wounds but Bonaparte's major reason for lifting the siege appears to have been that there was fresh intelligence that the Turks were forming an army at Rhodes. Marmont, who had been left in command at Alexandria, had been keeping Bonaparte informed of their progress. On their return to Upper Egypt the French found that a battle fleet of British, Russian and Turkish warships were landing a Turkish Army of approximately 18,000 men under Mustapha Pasha at Aboukir and that the existing defences were being strengthened with double lines of fortifications. On the 25th. July 1799 the Battle of Aboukir was joined by between 7,700 French and 18,000 Turks. The result was total victory for Bonaparte, the Turks were swept back into the sea losing 16,000 men. Dispatches were received from France which convinced Napoleon that it was in the interest of the nation (and no doubt his own) to return to Europe and on the 22nd August 1799 he departed from Aboukir taking Murat, Lannes, Marmont, Berthier and Bessieres with him. Junat and Desaix remained but were to follow later. Kleber was left in command with orders to hold out, if he could, until a general peace was signed. Early in 1800, Kleber, recognising the desperate and isolated nature of his command, endeavoured to conclude a treaty of honourable withdrawal with Sir Sydney at El Arish, but because of some administrative delays in London no preparations were made to fulfil its terms and, meantime, Kleber found himself further engaged with a fresh Turkish Army of 70,000 cavalry and foot. Bonaparte was now First Consul of France, and was shipping supplies and reinforcements into the country. On the 7th March 1880 a French Army of 12,000 defeated the Turks at Hellopolis and shortly after, Kleber was assassinated by a Muslim fanatic and was succeeded by Menou. Menou proved to be a good administrator, taking good care of the arms, pay, clothing and food, but was an incompetent field commander, and his treatment of his subordinates soon had them on the verge of mutiny. In 1801 a British force landed at Aboukir and on 21st. March engaged Menou in the Battle of Alexandria, during which the British commanding general, Abercrombie, was fatally wounded. A swift campaign followed during which the British forces were reinforced by another large Turkish Army out of Syria and a further combined British and East India Company force of sepoys from India via the Red Sea, which proved so successful from the British point of view that by September the same year, Menou decided he had no alternative but to surrender albeit on terms much as Kleber had sought. The French 'capitulated' piecemeal, all Menou controlled was Alexandria and the surrender was on very attractive terms to homesick Frenchmen. In September 1801 at an impressive parade, an elite detachment of British grenadiers from each of the line regiments took formal possession of the French positions. A week later the majority of the British force had re-embarked leaving some regiments in garrisons. Terms of capitulation were that the French with arms and artillery were to be taken to France by British ships - free to serve again. British officers' contemporary accounts of the conditions of the French Army before capitulation state that discipline, by British standards, had been to a great extent abandoned with officers selling arms and equipment. After fighting the Mamelukes and Turks the French had acquired many trophies including several extra swords, some being of very fancy design. Discipline may have been very relaxed but never the less the army as a whole got itself (and Kleber's bones) back home in a reasonable condition. Desvemois, a French hussar officer, states that although they retained their equipment they turned over their horses which were taken as remounts by the British Light Dragoons.