First Battle of Aboukir (July 1799)
The Battle of Aboukir was Napoleon’s decisive victory over Seid Mustafa Pasha’s Ottoman army on 25 July 1799 during the French invasion of Egypt . The French forces had just returned from a campaign to Syria, and the Ottoman force had been transported to Egypt by Sidney Smith’s British fleet to liberate Egypt from French rule.
Napoleon’s last and most decisive victory in Egypt, the first battle of Aboukir saw the defeat of an Ottoman army sent to expel him from Egypt. The French expedition to Egypt had been planned with the hope of Ottoman neutrality. This hope had been reduced by the Battle of the Nile and the destruction of the French fleet. This defeat, combined with British diplomacy, and persuaded the Ottoman Empire to declare war on France on 9 September 1798.
Seid Mustafa Pasha was an experienced commander who had fought against the Russians. He knew of the futility of cavalry charges against the French squares and so sought to avoid that by fortifying his beach head with two defensive lines. From this beach head Mustafa could carry out the invasion of Egypt. Napoleon however immediately saw the flaw of such a tactic as it meant that the Turks had nowhere to run if routed.
The French attacked the Ottoman positions and quickly broke through the first defensive line which had not been fully completed. The second line however proved tougher to defeat and the French withdrew for a while. As was customary of the Ottoman army in their previous battles against the French, the Ottomans came out of their positions and began finishing off the wounded and mutilating the dead. At this point, cavalry general Murat saw the opportunity and attacked with his cavalry, quickly routing the exposed Turks.
Murat’s charge was so rapid he 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 had shot a pistol at Murat, hitting him in the jaw. Murat later mused that his lips were fortunately safe.
The Turkish army fled in panic. Many drowned futilely trying to swim to the British ships two miles out to sea while others fled to Abukir castle, which surrendered shortly thereafter. The Turks suffered about 8,000 casualties, while the French only 1,000. News of the victory reached France before Napoleon arrived in October and helped make him even more popular, an important asset considering the troubles brewing in the Directory. This battle temporarily secured Egypt for France.
