Battle of the Pyramids

Battle of the Pyramids
Part of the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria during the War of the Second Coalition

The Battle of the Pyramids
by Louis-François Lejeune
Date21 July 1798
Location
Embabeh, Egypt
Ottoman Empire
30°5′N 31°12′E / 30.083°N 31.200°E / 30.083; 31.200
Result French victory
Belligerents
French Republic
Commanders and leaders
Strength

25,000[a]

  • 3,000 cavalry
  • 17,000 infantry

21,000–35,000[a]

  • 6,000+ cavalry
  • 15,000–54,000 infantry[a]
Casualties and losses
289 killed or wounded[5] 10,000 killed or wounded[6][3]
Battle of the Pyramids is located in Mediterranean
Battle of the Pyramids
class=notpageimage|
Location within Mediterranean
Battle of the Pyramids is located in Earth
Battle of the Pyramids
Battle of the Pyramids (Earth)
War of the Second Coalition:
Egypt and Syria
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
800km
500miles
6
Battle of Mount Tabor (1799) on 16 April 1799
5
Siege of Acre (1799) from 20 March to 21 May 1799
Jaffa
4
Siege of Jaffa from 3 to 7 March 1799
Cairo
3
Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July 1798 Revolt of Cairo from 21 to 22 October 1798 Napoleon's return to France Siege of Cairo from May to June 1801
Alexandria
2
Battle of the Nile from 1 to 3 August 1798 Napoleon's return to France from 23 August to 9 October 1799 Siege of Alexandria (1801) from 17 August to 2 September 1801
Malta
1
French invasion of Malta from 10 to 12 June 1798
  current battle
  Napoleon in command till 23 August 1799

The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, was a major engagement fought on 21 July 1798, during the French Invasion of Egypt. The battle took place near the village of Embabeh, across the Nile River from Cairo, but was named by Napoleon after the Great Pyramid of Giza visible nearly nine miles away.

After capturing Alexandria and crossing the desert, the French army, led by General Napoleon Bonaparte, scored a decisive victory against the main army of the local Mamluk rulers, wiping out almost the entire Ottoman army located in Egypt. It was the first battle where Bonaparte personally devised and employed the divisional square tactic to great effect. The deployment of the French brigades into these massive rectangular formations repeatedly threw back multiple cavalry charges of the Mamluks.

The victory effectively sealed the French conquest of Egypt as Murad Bey salvaged the remnants of his army, chaotically fleeing to Upper Egypt. French casualties amounted to roughly 300, but Ottoman and Mamluk casualties soared to approximately 10,000. Napoleon entered Cairo after the battle and created a new local administration under his supervision. The campaign formed part of a great global rivalry between France and Britain; the French objective was to establish a base from which to continue its campaign against British India. After the French fleet was destroyed by Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile, Bonaparte marched through the Levant until his advance was stalled by Anglo-Turkish forces at Acre.[7]

  1. ^ a b c Roberts 2015, p. 132.
  2. ^ a b c Chandler 2009, p. 224.
  3. ^ a b c d Niox 1887, p. 110.
  4. ^ Strathern 2008, p. 119.
  5. ^ Chandler 2009, p. 226.
  6. ^ Strathern 2008, p. 128.
  7. ^ Addington, Larry (1994). The patterns of war since the 18th century. Indiana University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0253301321.


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