Battle of Abukir (1799)
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| Battle of Abukir in 1799 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French Invasion of Egypt (1798) | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Napoleon Bonaparte | Mustafa Pasha | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 | 15,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 1,000 killed and wounded | 8,000 killed, wounded, drowned, and captured | ||||||
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Egypt-Syria Campaign, 1798–1801 |
|---|
| Shubra Khit – Pyramids – Nile – El Arish – Jaffa – Acre – Mount Tabor – 1st Aboukir – Heliopolis – 2nd Aboukir – Alexandria – Siege of Alexandria |
The Battle of Abukir was Napoleon Bonaparte's final victory in his Egyptian campaign. In this battle, Napoleon decisively defeated the Turkish army commanded by Seid Mustafa Pasha, which had disembarked in Egypt from the British fleet of Sidney Smith.
The battle occurred on July 25, 1799 and lasted for a very short time. The Turks had dug themselves in three lines of entrenchments, but French infantry brazenly fought their way through the defenses. The killing blow was delivered by Murat's cavalry; the Turkish army fled in panic. Many drowned 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.
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