French Egyptian expedition

Egyptian expedition, French (1798-1801). This was promoted by Napoleon, who was at a loose end during the peace that followed his first Italian campaign, but had concluded that an invasion of England was not feasible. The attractions of Egypt for France were many: to restore French trade and influence in the Levant; to undercut Britain's eastern trade round the Cape of Good Hope by opening the shorter Red Sea route; and to establish a base for a military attack on British India.

Bonaparte sailed in May 1798 with 40, 000 troops and a group of administrators and academics, escorted by Adm Brueys with the Toulon fleet. Seizing Malta en route, he landed in Aboukir Bay on 1 July and occupied Alexandria, then advanced up the Nile to defeat the Mamelukes in the battle of the Pyramids (21 July). But on 1 August Nelson, who had narrowly missed intercepting the expedition on its outward passage, destroyed Brueys' fleet at the battle of the Nile, and severed Bonaparte's supply line to France.

Bonaparte now determined to impose a French regime, and set his scholars to work on a monumental survey of the country. In September, the Turks, as nominal suzerains of Egypt, declared war on France, and to prevent them from using Syria as a base from which to attack him, Napoleon invaded Palestine in February 1799. At Acre his protracted siege was foiled by tenacious Turkish defenders with British naval support, and finally disease caused him to retreat to Egypt with heavy losses.

The Turks followed up with a landing in Aboukir Bay, which was repulsed. But in July, Bonaparte slipped away in a frigate to seize power in France, leaving Kléber in command. In January 1800 Kléber agreed the Convention of El Arish with R Adm Sir Sidney Smith for the repatriation of his army to France, but repudiated it after a series of misunderstandings. The assassination of Kléber in June 1800 left the command in the hands of the incompetent Menou, a convert to Islam with a passionate belief in France's colonial future in Egypt.

Although peace was imminent, Henry Dundas, the Secretary of State for War and Colonies, insisted that the French must not be left in possession of Egypt, and persuaded Pitt to send a military expedition to remove them. In March 1801, Sir Ralph Abercromby effected a brilliant assault landing in Aboukir Bay with 14, 000 men and defeated Menou's counterstroke in the battle for Alexandria (21 March) where he was mortally wounded. In conjunction with the Turks his successor Hely-Hutchinson obtained the capitulation of the demoralized Cairo garrison. He then laid siege to Menou in Alexandria. Menou capitulated in September, the news reaching London a day after peace preliminaries were signed.

Bibliography

• Chandler, David, The Campaigns of Napoleon (London, 1966).
• Mackesy, Piers, British Victory in Egypt, 1801: The End of Napoleon's Conquest (London, 1995)

— Piers G. Mackesy