Battle of Abukir (1799)

The Battle of Abukir (also known as the Battle of Aboukir or Battle of Abu Qir) was fought on 25 July 1799 between the French Army of the Orient under Napoleon Bonaparte and an Ottoman army under Mustafa Pasha during the French invasion of Egypt and Syria. It is considered the first pitched battle with this name, as there already had been a naval battle on 1 August 1798, the Battle of the Nile. (A second pitched battle followed on 8 March 1801.)

No sooner had the French forces returned from a campaign to Syria, than the Ottoman forces were transported to Egypt by an Anglo-Ottoman fleet under Sidney Smith to put an end to French rule in Egypt. Mustafa Pasha was an experienced commander who had fought against the Russians. He knew that cavalry charges against the French squares were futile. So, he sought to avoid them by fortifying his beachhead with two defensive lines. From this beachhead the Pasha could carry out the invasion of Egypt. However, Napoleon immediately saw the flaw in the tactic as it meant that the Ottomans had nowhere to run if routed.

The French attacked the Ottoman positions and quickly broke through the first defensive line before it was fully completed. The second line, however, proved tougher to defeat and the French withdrew for a while. At this point, cavalry general Murat saw his opportunity and attacked with his cavalry, quickly routing the exposed Ottomans. Murat's charge was so rapid that he burst inside the Pasha's tent and captured him, severing two of his fingers with his sabre. In return, Mustafa Pasha shot Murat in the jaw. Immediately, Murat was operated on and resumed his duties the next day.

The Ottoman army fled in panic. Some Ottomans drowned trying to swim to the British ships 2 miles (3.2 km) away from shore, while others fled to Abukir castle, but they surrendered shortly thereafter. The Ottoman army was annihilated, while French losses were under 1,000. News of the victory reached France before Napoleon arrived in October and this made him even more popular, an important asset considering the troubles brewing in the French Directory. This battle temporarily secured France's control over Egypt.