The battle of Aboukir, was, perhaps, the only instance in the history of
war, in which a hostile army was utterly annihilated by an inferior
force. The victory, therefore, was one of the most splendid which
Bonaparte ever achieved. The Turkish army, conveyed by the squadron of
Sir Sidney Smith, anchored in Aboukir Bay on the 11th of July, 1799.
The place fixed upon by the English for their landing, was the peninsula
which defends this road, and which bears the same name. This narrow
peninsula runs out between the sea and Lake Madieh, and has a fort at
its extremity. Bonaparte had ordered Marmont, who commanded at
Alexandria, to improve the defences of the fort, and to destroy the
village of Aboukir, situated around it. But, instead of destroying the
village, he thought it better to keep the place in order to lodge the
soldiers there; and it had merely been surrounded by a redoubt to
protect it on the land side. But the redoubt not joining on both sides
the sea, did not present the appearance of a close work, and put the
fort on the same footing as a simple field-work. The Turks, in fact,
landed with great boldness, attacked the intrenchments sword in hand,
carried them, and made themselves masters of the village of Aboukir,
putting the garrison to the sword. The village being taken, the fort
could no longer hold out, and it was obliged to surrender. Marmont, who
commanded at Alexandria, had issued forth, at the head of twelve hundred
men, to hasten to the assistance of the troops at Aboukir. But learning
that the Turks had landed in considerable numbers, he durst not attempt
to drive them into the sea by a bold attack. He returned to Alexandria,
and left them to quietly take up their position on the peninsula of
Aboukir.
The Turks amounted to nearly eighteen thousand infantry. These were not
the miserable Fellahs who had composed the infantry of the Mamelukes;
but brave janizaries, carrying a musket without bayonet, slinging it at
their back after firing, and rushing pistol and sword in hand upon the
enemy. They had a numerous and well-served artillery, and were under the
direction of English officers. They had no cavalry, for they had not
brought more than three hundred horses; but they expected Murad Bey, who
was to leave Upper Egypt, proceed along the desert, cross the oasis, and
throw himself into Aboukir with two or three thousand Mamelukes.
When Bonaparte was informed of the particulars of the landing, he left
Cairo instantly, and made from that city to Alexandria one of those
extraordinary marches of which he had given so many instances in Italy.
He took with him the divisions of Lannes, Bon, and Murat. He had ordered
Desaix to evacuate Upper Egypt, and Kleber and Regnier, who were in the
Delta, to bring themselves nearer Aboukir. He had chosen the point of
Birket, midway between Alexandria and Aboukir, in order to concentrate
his forces thither, and to manœuvre according to circumstances. He
was very fearful lest an English army had landed with the Turks.
Murad Bey, according to the plan settled with Mustapha Pacha, had tried
a descent into Lower Egypt; but being met and beaten by Murat, he had
been obliged to regain the desert. There was now nothing left but the
Turkish army to fight, destitute as it was of cavalry, but yet encamped
behind intrenchments, and disposed to stand its ground there with its
usual pertinacity. Bonaparte, after inspecting Alexandria and the
admirable works executed by Colonel Cretin, and after reprimanding
Marmont, his lieutenant, who had not dared to attack the Turks at the
moment of landing, left Alexandria on the 6th Thermidor, (July 24th.)
Next day, the 7th, he was at the entrance of the peninsula. His plan was
to inclose the Turkish army by intrenchments, and to await the arrival
of all his divisions, for all he had with him were no more than the
divisions of Lannes, Bon, and Murat, about six thousand men. But on
observing the arrangements made by the Turks, he altered his intentions,
and resolved to attack them immediately, hoping to inclose them in the
village of Aboukir, and to overwhelm them with bombs and howitzers.
The Turks occupied the furthest end of the peninsula, which is very
narrow. They were covered by two lines of intrenchments. Half a league
in advance of the village of Aboukir, where their camp was, they had
occupied two round sand-hills, supported the one on the sea, the other
on Lake Madieh, and thus forming their right and left. In the centre of
these two hillocks was a village, which they had likewise kept. They had
one thousand men on the hillock to the right, two thousand on the
hillock to the left, and three or four thousand men in the village. Such
was their first line. The second was at the village of Aboukir itself.
It consisted of the redoubt constructed by the French, and was connected
with the sea by two trenches. It was there that they had stationed their
principal camp and the bulk of their forces.
Bonaparte made his arrangements with his usual promptitude and decision.
He ordered General Destaing, with some battalions, to march to the hill
on the left, where one thousand Turks were posted; Lannes to march to
that on the right, where the two thousand others were; and Murat, who
was at the centre, to make the cavalry file on the rear of the two
hillocks. These arrangements were executed with great precision.
Destaing marched to the hillock on the left, and boldly climbed it;
Murat contrived to get at its rear with a troop of cavalry. The Turks,
when they saw this, abandoned their post, fell in with the cavalry,
which cut them in pieces, and drove them into the sea, into which they
chose rather to throw themselves than to surrender. The same operation
was executed on the right. Lannes attacked the two thousand Mamelukes,
Murat got at their rear; and they were in like manner cut to pieces and
driven into the sea. Destaing and Lannes then moved towards the centre,
formed by a village, and attacked it in front. The Turks there defended
themselves bravely, relying upon assistance from the second line. A
column in fact was detached from the camp of Aboukir; but Murat, who had
already filed upon the rear of the village, cut this column in pieces,
and drove it back into Aboukir. Destaing’s infantry and that of Lannes
entered the village at the charge step, driving the Turks out of it, who
were dispersed in all directions, and who obstinately refusing to
surrender, had no other retreat than the sea, wherein they were drowned.
Already four or five thousand had perished in this manner. The first
line was carried; Bonaparte’s object was accomplished, and now,
inclosing the Turks in Aboukir, he could bombard them while waiting for
the arrival of Kleber and Regnier. But he desired to make the most of
his success, and to complete his victory that very moment. After giving
his troops a little breathing time, he marched upon the second line. The
division under Lanusse, which had been left as a reserve, supported
Lannes and Destaing. The redoubt which covered Aboukir was difficult to
carry; it had within it nine or ten thousand Turks. On the right, a
trench joined it to the sea; on the left, another trench brought it
further out; but was not continued quite to Lake Madieh. The open space
was occupied by the enemy, and swept by the fire of numerous gun-boats.
Bonaparte, having accustomed his soldiers to defy the most formidable
obstacles, sent them upon the enemy’s position. His divisions of
infantry marched upon the front and the right of the redoubt. The
cavalry, concealed in a wood of palm-trees, had to make the attack on
the left, and then to cross, under the fire of the gun-boats, the open
space between the redoubt and Lake Madieh. The charge was made; Lannes
and Destaing urged forward their brave infantry. The 32d marched with
their pieces on their arms towards the intrenchments, and the 18th got
at the rear of the intrenchments on the extreme right. The enemy,
without waiting for them, advanced to meet them. They fought hand to
hand. The Turkish soldiers, having fired their pieces and their two
pistols, drew their flashing sabres. They endeavored to grasp the
bayonets, but received them in their flanks before they could lay hold
of them. Thus a great slaughter took place in the intrenchments. The
18th was on the point of getting into the redoubt, when a tremendous
fire of artillery repulsed it, and sent it back to the foot of the
works. The gallant Leturcq fell gloriously, by desiring to be the last
to retire; Fugieres lost an arm. Murat on his part had advanced with his
cavalry, with a view to clear the space between the fire of the redoubt
and Lake Madieh. Several times he had dashed forward, and had turned
back the enemy; but taken between the two fires of the redoubt, and that
of the gun-boats, he had been obliged to fall back on the rear. Some of
his horse-soldiers had advanced to the ditches of the redoubt. The
efforts of so many brave fellows appeared likely to be entirely
unavailable. Bonaparte looked coolly on this carnage, waiting for a
favorable moment to return to the charge. Fortunately the Turks, as they
usually did, quitted the intrenchments for the purpose of cutting off
the heads of the slain. Bonaparte seized this opportunity, launched
forth two battalions, one of the 22d, the other of the 69th, which
marched upon the intrenchments and carried them. On the right, the 18th
also took advantage of this opportunity, and entered the redoubt. Murat,
on his side, ordered a fresh charge. One of his divisions of cavalry
traversed that most exposed space between the intrenchments and the
lake, and made his way into the village of Aboukir. The Turks,
affrighted, fled on all sides, and a horrible slaughter of them ensued.
They were pressed by the point of the bayonet and driven into the sea.
Murat, at the head of his heroes, penetrated into the camp of Mustapha
Pacha. The latter, in a fit of despair, snatched up a pistol and fired
it at Murat, whom he wounded slightly. Murat struck off two of his
fingers and sent him prisoner to Bonaparte. Such of the Turks as were
not killed or drowned retired into the fort of Aboukir.[A]
-----
Footnote A:
Thiers.
-----
The proud army of the Turks was thus completely overwhelmed, as if it
had been entirely buried by an avalanche. No wonder that the
enthusiastic Kleber, after witnessing the manœuvres that gained this
splendid victory, clasped Bonaparte in his arms, and exclaimed,
“General, you are as great as the world itself.”
It was the second night after the battle. The army was encamped upon the
field. Bonaparte was alone in his tent. That day he had contrived to
obtain from Sir Sidney Smith a file of papers from Europe, from which he
eagerly sought information as to the condition and prospects of France.
He had dismissed all his officers, and now, as they were either
carousing in their tents, or wandering among the camp-fires of the
troops, he sat in his tent to obtain that information which was destined
to lead to such great and decisive plans. See him, as he sits there,
with his eyes keenly fixed upon the papers, and an occasional smile
lighting up his features of bronze! He learns the calamities which have
visited the armies of France, and then the smile is turned to a terrible
frown, and he exclaims, passionately,
“The imbeciles! the imbeciles! Why was I not there?”
He perused the accounts of the overthrow of the French armies in Italy
and Germany; he saw that all that he had gained for France, had been
lost; he knew that these disasters would not have occurred if he had
retained a European command; and he felt more strongly than ever that he
was destined to retrieve the condition of affairs, to bind victory once
more to the tri-color standard. Perhaps, also, his mind perceived the
opportunity for gratifying the aspirations of a selfish ambition, and
that this perception caused the frown to melt once more into a smile—a
smile of triumph. He saw that the disasters attending the French arms
had rendered the Directory unpopular, and that power was within the
reach of any bold, decisive man, who would dare to attempt the overthrow
of that government; and he had faith enough in himself to decide that he
was the very man for the crisis. Long he read, and long he pondered.
Cæsar deliberated upon the banks of the Rubicon. At length he started
up. The die was cast. He would return to France and strike for the
supreme authority. Having once decided upon his movements, no man could
have taken his measures with more promptitude. He resolved to sail
secretly for Europe. He wrote a dispatch to Admiral Gantheaume,
directing him to get the Muiron and Carrere frigates ready for sea. He
determined that as Kleber was very popular with the army, that general
should be left in command. There could be no doubt of Klebers vigor,
activity and skill. Bonaparte then sat down, and, with astonishing
rapidity and precision, drew up a long list of instructions for the new
commander-in-chief. He then sent word to Berthier, Lannes, Murat,
Andreossy, Marmont, Berthollet, and Monge, that he wished to see them in
his tent. It was late. But they came, without exception, at his summons.
Kleber and Menou were then at Cairo, or they, also, would have been
invited to this important conference. In a few words, Bonaparte
communicated his sudden resolution to those officers he had assembled
around him. They were surprised, but when he told them that he wished
them to go with him, they were glad; for in spite of the glory achieved
in Egypt, they were anxious to return to France. Berthier had been
suffering for some time from depression of spirits, owing to a long
standing matrimonial engagement; and he fairly leaped from his seat when
he heard of the intention of the general-in-chief. Monge, that
circumspect votary of science, hinted that there was the greatest danger
of the whole party being captured by the English cruisers, which were
exceedingly vigilant in the Mediterranean. The only reply was the brief
and emphatic “I must incur the risk.” The officers cast significant
glances at each other, but it was extremely doubtful if they fathomed
his designs.
“I have received ill news from Europe, my friends,” said Bonaparte,
toning over his papers, and seemingly attending to several matters at
once. “The Austrians and Muscovites have gained the superiority. That
which we won with so much toil has been lost, and France is threatened
with the invasion of her territory. We are wanted in Europe, and in
spite of winds, waves, and English cruisers, we must go thither.”
Soon afterwards the conference was broken up, and the general-in-chief
was again alone in his tent—nay, not alone, for the images of ambition
were fast crowding around him, and they were companions whom he valued
more than the ordinary human realities of the camp. And there this
all-daring, all-achieving soldier sat till the peep of day, perfecting
his plans, the ultimate reach of which was a throne above thrones; for
it was his habit of mind never to form a design which did not extend to
the farthest point. In war, it was the conquest of a world at which he
aimed; in politics, consul nor king could satisfy the cravings of his
soul—he would be an emperor. Doubtless, his Rubicon was at Aboukir, and
there the die was cast which determined him to be master of France.
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