Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign

Napoleon's Egyptian campaign was the French invasion of Egypt under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. It began on July 1, 1798, with the landing on the coast of Alexandria, and it ended on September 2, 1801. Thus, the military occupation lasted more than three years, with military victories and setbacks. During this armed operation, the French forces also invaded Syria in March 1799. The reason for Napoleon to carry out the Egyptian campaign was to undermine and block Britain's trade route to India. It was also a scientific expedition to explore the archaeological sites and gain more knowledge about Ancient Egypt.

Napoleon's expeditionary force was composed of 45,000 men and 10,000 sailors, who embarked on 13 ships, 300 transports, and 14 frigates at the port of Toulon on the Mediterranean Sea. They set sail on May 19, 1798, heading in the direction of Egypt. On June 11, Napoleon landed on the Island of Malta, which was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller, to pick up supplies. On July 1, 1798, the French expeditionary force landed on the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. General Jean-Baptiste Kleber and Thomas Alexandre Dumas were second and third in command of the expedition respectively.

Napoleon's army marched inland in three columns. When he reached Embaba, present day Cairo, Murad Bey, the local ruler, decided to stop the invasion and engage the French forces. To confront the Mamluk army, which consisted of 27,000 soldiers, Napoleon deployed 24,000 men. On July 21, 1798, the French thoroughly defeated the Mamluk army, under Ibrahim Bey, Murad's brother, at the Battle of the Pyramids. This military event put an end to the Mameluk rule in the region.

Although Napoleon's Egyptian campaign began with a great victory of his ground forces, the commander of the British Fleet, Horation Nelson, discovered the presence of the French flotilla off the coast of Egypt, near the Nile delta. On August 3, 1798, the French Navy was defeated by the British at the Battle of the Nile. This military setback, left Napoleon expeditionary force stranded in Egypt, not being able to return to France. Meanwhile, on October 22, Napoleon successfully put down a Mameluk revolt in Cairo, in which the remainder of the Mamluk forces and local peasants had raised up against the French.

In early 1799, Napoleon would invade Syria, which was part of the Ottoman Empire. On March 3, 1799, the French Army besieged Jaffa. After a four-day military engagement against the Turkish forces, under Ahmed al-Jazzar, the French were able to take Jaffa, on March 7. Continuing his military campaign, Napoleon laid siege to Acre on March 20. This time, however, the French could not capture the city and they were forced to lift the siege on May 21, 1799, because the Turkish had been reinforced by British troops. During the Siege of Jaffa, many French soldiers and officers were infected with the plague. Napoleon would set up a large hospital on the site of the Carmelite Monastery at Mount Carmel and kept on with the military operations.

In March 1801, the French fleet would suffer another defeat in the hands of the British Navy. Being unable to receive reinforcement from Europe, Napoleon decided to return to France. He left Egypt on September 2, 1801, after the French transport ships were able to evade the British Navy.

Below, a painting by Louis-François Baron Lejeune depicts the Battle of the Pyramids during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign.