Battle of Abukir (1799)

For other battles with similar names, see Battle of Abukir (disambiguation).
Battle of Abukir
Part of the French invasion of Egypt and Syria

The Battle of Abukir, by Antoine-Jean Gros
Date25 July 1799
Location
Abu Qir, Egypt
31°19′N 30°04′E / 31.317°N 30.067°E / 31.317; 30.067
Result French victory
Belligerents
 France  Ottoman Empire
 Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte
Joachim Murat (WIA)
Géraud Duroc (WIA)
Jean Lannes (WIA)
François Lanusse
Jacques-François Menou		 Mustafa Pasha (POW)
Sir William Sidney Smith
Patrona Bey
Hassan Bey
Strength
9,000 infantry[1]
1,000 Cavalry [1]
17 guns[2]

5,000 under Mustapha Pasha, 2,000 under Hassan Bey[3]
7,000 in a state fit to fight according to the Pasha[4]

18,000[5] or 20,000 men[2]
30 guns[2]
Casualties and losses
220 killed in action
600 wounded[5]		 2,000 killed in action
11,000 drowned
5,000 captured
2,000 missing and unaccounted for[2]
Battle of Abukir (1799) is located in Mediterranean
Battle of Abukir (1799)
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Location within Mediterranean
Battle of Abukir (1799) is located in Earth
Battle of Abukir (1799)
Battle of Abukir (1799) (Earth)

In the Battle of Abukir (or Aboukir or Abu Qir)[2] Napoleon Bonaparte defeated Seid Mustafa Pasha's Ottoman army on 25 July 1799, during the French campaign in Egypt.[6] It is considered the first pitched battle with this name, as there already had been a naval battle on 1 August 1798, the Battle of the Nile. (A second pitched battle followed on 8 March 1801.) No sooner had the French forces returned from a campaign to Syria, than the Ottoman forces were transported to Egypt by Sidney Smith's British fleet to put an end to French rule in Egypt.[6][7]

Seid Mustafa Pasha was an experienced commander who had fought against the Russians. He knew that cavalry charges against the French squares were futile. So, he sought to avoid them by fortifying his beachhead with two defensive lines. From this beachhead Mustafa could carry out the invasion of Egypt. However, Napoleon immediately saw the flaw in the tactic as it meant that the Turks had nowhere to run if routed.[8]

The French attacked the Ottoman positions and quickly broke through the first defensive line before it was fully completed. The second line, however, proved tougher to defeat and the French withdrew for a while. At this point, cavalry general Murat saw his opportunity and attacked with his cavalry, quickly routing the exposed Turks.[8]

Murat's charge was so rapid that he burst inside Mustafa's tent and captured the Turkish commander, severing two of the Turk's fingers with his sabre. In return, Mustafa shot Murat in the jaw. Immediately, Murat was operated on and resumed his duties the next day.

The Ottoman army fled in panic. Some Ottomans drowned trying to swim to the British ships two miles away from shore, while others fled to Abukir castle, but they surrendered shortly thereafter. The Turkish army was annihilated, French losses were under 1,000.[9] News of the victory reached France before Napoleon arrived in October and this made him even more popular, an important asset considering the troubles brewing in the French Directory. This battle temporarily secured France's control over Egypt.[10]

  1. ^ a b Isenberg 2002, p. 4
  2. ^ a b c d e Connelly 2006, pp. 55–56
  3. ^ "The life and correspondence of Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, G.C.B. p. 364"
  4. ^ Paul Strathern, Napoleon in Egypt p. 396
  5. ^ a b Pawly 2012, p. 7
  6. ^ a b Durant & Durant 1975, p. 113
  7. ^ McLynn 2002, p. 195
  8. ^ a b McLynn 2002, p. 196
  9. ^ McLynn 2002, pp. 196–197
  10. ^ McLynn 2002, p. 202