Vernet03 ~ Bataille d' Aboukir, livree le 7 Thermidor an 7 (25 Juilliet 1799) ~ framed 20 x 24.5 inches ~
The Battle of Aboukir Bay. On June 15, 1799, Napoleon returned from Syria and his defeat of the Ottoman army at Mount Thabor. One month later, the Ottoman army that had successfully resisted the French siege at Acre was transported south toward Alexandria by a combined Anglo-Turkish fleet, landing at Aboukir Bay on July 14, 1799. The French garrison of 300 men in Aboukir fort was quickly surrounded, and the Ottoman commander decided to dig in rather than complete an advance towards Alexandria. Help from Napoleon was summoned by the commander of the fort and Napoleon responded with a new field army stripped forces from the French garrison in Cairo. With this new army, he marched to Alexandria, where he found the Ottoman army still camped at Aboukir Bay on July 25, 1799. Napoleon's army went on to the offensive with the infantry attacking the centre of the Ottoman defense while the French cavalry was sent against both the left and right flanks of the Ottoman line. The result was a crushing French victory as the Ottoman army was forced into the sea. Thousands of Ottoman soldiers drowned attempting to escape, while the British fleet commaned by Sir Sidney Smith attempted to rescue as many as possible. The battle of Aboukir was Napoleons last victory in Egypt and secured the French occupation, at least for the moment. News of trouble in the French Directory reached Napoleon via the British fleet, and he would depart Egypt only two weeks later.