In this series of articles, we will chronologically discover the epic of Napoleon in Egypt. In our first article, we followed the French from the moment they left their country throughout the Nile campaign, which allowed them to conquer an immense territory from Alexandria to Thebes via Cairo. The year now turns to 1799, and Bonaparte sets his sights to Syria (now Israel) to complete his conquest. This episode covers the second scenario of Napoleon in Egypt: The Syrian Anabasis.
Even if the regions bordering the Nile appear to be pacified by small garrisons controlling the main roads, the French have to face numerous skirmishes. For example, on March 3rd 1799, a flotilla sailing up the Nile toward Cairo with three hundred sick and wounded on board is attacked near Benout. Despite a heroic defense by the two hundred sailors, the French are massacred. Upon learning of his comrades’ fate, the vengeful General Belliard catches up with the three thousand Meccans and four hundred Mamluks responsible and crushes them in a three-day battle.
THE OTTOMAN REACTION
Learning from his spies that the Ottomans are organizing troops in response to the successive defeats of their Mamluk vassals, Napoleon realizes that he has to push his expedition eastward. He first travels to Suez with the Institute’s scientists to assess the feasibility of the canal, but also to repair the city’s fortifications and prevent the enemy from landing behind his lines. Meanwhile, the Ottomans in Constantinople learn of the French fleet destruction at Aboukir and are convinced that this means the end of Bonaparte and his expedition, trapped in Egypt. Sultan Selim III mobilizes two armies to counterattack. The first army, commanded by Jezzar Pasha and 30,000 soldiers, march towards the French. The second army, commanded by Mustafa Pasha and 8,000 soldiers, is eventually reinforced by 42,000 soldiers from Albania, Constantinople, Asia Minor and Greece. It eventually lands at Damietta. These two columns are to meet in Cairo to liberate the jewel of Egypt.
Bonaparte cannot afford to face two such powerful armies at once, so he decides that his best defense is to attack first in Syria, where a victory would give him more time to prepare for an Ottoman landing. He assembles an army of 13,000 soldiers, organized into divisions under the command of generals Reynier, Kléber, Bon, Lannes, Bessières, in addition to a cavalry division under Murat, sappers under Carafelli, 80 cannons and even a camel company! The vanguard quickly arrives in front of El-Arish and seize it after driving out the Ibrahim Bey’s Mamluks. The garrison of the fort surrenders and some of these soldiers even join the French army!
BATTLES IN SYRIA
After crossing 100 kilometers of desert, the French army enters Gaza, rests and moves on to Jaffa. This fortified city is defended by elite troops and 1,200 Ottoman artillerymen. The city is one of the access routes to Syria and its port can accommodate a large fleet. Bonaparte therefore has to take the city before moving on, as the success of the expedition depends on its fall. The siege lasts three days and is a French victory, albeit one marred by the execution of 4,000 Ottoman prisoners. Before leaving Jaffa, Bonaparte has to set up a hospital because many of his soldiers contracted the plague, weakening his already small army. After conquering Haifa, Nazareth and Tyre, the French besieges Acre on March 18th, 1799. The city is defended by excellent troops under the command of Jezzar Pasha, regularly reinforced and supplied by British and Ottoman fleets. After sixty days of repeated attacks, the city has yet to fall. Emboldened by the repeated failures of the French, Jezzar orders an attack on Bonaparte’s camp, supported by British naval bombardment. But once again, the Corsican general repulses the Ottoman columns, which find themselves trapped between their walls and the Jordan River. Thanks to the heroic defense of Kléber as well as the maneuvers of Generals Vial, Rampon and Murat, the enemy is routed, leaving their camels, tents, provisions and 5,000 dead on the battlefield. This will become known as the Battle of Mount Tabor
ACRE, END OF THE ROAD
Bonaparte resumes the siege of Acre. After two more attacks are repulsed, a large enemy fleet is sighted off the coast. The French know they have to take the city before that fleet can land its reinforcements. A desperate attack is thus launched, and the outer works are taken at last. The French flag is raised on the ramparts as the Ottomans are driven back into the city itself. As Acre is about to surrender, Phélippeaux, a French royalist fighting alongside the Ottomans (and Bonaparte’s former classmate at the Military Academy!), repositions the unguarded Ottoman artillery and fires at the French from behind. At the same time, the British fleet docks and lands its troops. The combination of these two events surprises the French, who have to retreat and lose the positions they had conquered. Bonaparte launches three more attacks, but resigns and is forced to lift the siege in May 1799. He returns to Egypt after a three-month lightning campaign at the head of a small army which captured forty cannons, fifty flags and more than 10,000 prisoners.
Without support from France and entrenched in Egypt, how long will Napoleon hold out against the Anglo-Ottomans? This is what we will see in our next article which follows the events of the third scenario: The Fall.
Previous Article: A Short Story of the French Campaign in Egypt, Part 1 – The Conquest)
Author: Pascal Toupy
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