Battle of the Pyramids
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What was the Battle of the Pyramids?
The Battle of the Pyramids occurred on July 21, 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte and his French troops captured Cairo. Bonaparte's victory is attributed to his tactical innovation, the massive divisional square.
Bonaparte invaded Egypt to provide France with a new source of income and block England's access to India via the Red Sea. He set sail for Egypt on May 19, 1798, with approximately 400 ships and 30,000 men, landing near Alexandria on July 1. On July 21, the French army faced the Mamluk cavalry. Napoleon formed his forces into five squares that repulsed the Mamluk horsemen, and the French stormed the Egyptian camp, dispersing their army. Up to 6,000 Egyptians perished in the conflict, while French casualties were limited to several hundred.
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Who fought in the Battle of the Pyramids?
The Battle of the Pyramids on July 21, 1798, saw Napoleon Bonaparte and his French troops capture Cairo. The French, numbering around 25,000, faced an Egyptian force of approximately 20,000â40,000 led by Murad Bey, with Ibrahim Bey's troops watching from the Nile's east bank.
Napoleon's tactical innovation of massive divisional squares helped the French defeat the Mamluk cavalry. French casualties numbered several hundred, while the Egyptians suffered up to 6,000 deaths.
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When and where did the battle take place?
The Battle of the Pyramids took place on July 21, 1798, near the village of Embabeh, approximately 6 miles (10 km) from Cairo and 15 miles (25 km) from the pyramids of Giza. Napoleon Bonaparte and his French troops captured Cairo from the Mamluks in this military engagement. Napoleon's victory has been attributed to his implementation of the massive divisional square tactical innovation.
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Why did the Battle of the Pyramids happen?
The Battle of the Pyramids occurred because Napoleon Bonaparte, a general in the French Revolutionary government, wanted to invade Egypt. France believed that controlling Egypt would furnish them with a new income source and simultaneously obstruct the Red Sea, which was a significant route for English access to India, disrupting revenue for Franceâs primary European opponent.
On July 21, 1798, Napoleon and his French troops captured Cairo due to his implementation of the massive divisional square tactical innovation. The French army, numbering around 25,000, faced off against the 6,000-man Mamluk cavalry. Napoleon's forces formed five squares that effectively repulsed the massed charges of the Mamluk horsemen, leading to a decisive French victory.
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What tactics did Napoleon use during the battle?
During the Battle of the Pyramids on July 21, 1798, Napoleon employed a significant tactical innovation: the massive divisional square. He arranged his 25,000-man army into five squares, which were actually rectangles. Each side of the square was six ranks of infantry deep, protecting the cavalry and transport in the center. These squares could move and fight in any direction, effectively repulsing the charges of the Mamluk horsemen by shooting them as they approached and using bayonets against any who breached the formation. As the center held, the flanks moved forward, forming a crescent shape to surround the remaining Egyptian forces.
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How did the Battle of the Pyramids affect Egyptian and world history?
The Battle of the Pyramids on July 21, 1798, resulted in Napoleon Bonaparte's French troops capturing Cairo. Napoleon's purpose in occupying Egypt was to disrupt British trade, threaten India, and gain assets for bargaining in future peace settlements.
The French occupation of Egypt significantly impacted internal politics by fatally weakening the Mamluk ascendancy. Egypt was exposed to European influence and became part of the Eastern Question, ending its insulation under the Mamluk and Ottoman sultanates. The French scholars' reports and monographs in the Description de lâĂgypte unveiled Egypt to Europe and laid the foundation for modern Egyptology with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.
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Battle of the Pyramids, (July 21, 1798), military engagement in which Napoleon Bonaparte and his French troops captured Cairo. His victory was attributed to the implementation of his one significant tactical innovation, the massive divisional square.
(See âNapoleonâs Major Battlesâ Interactive Map)
Bonaparte, then a general and key military adviser for the French Revolutionary government (Directory), had proposed the invasion of Egypt in early 1798. Control of Egypt would provide France with a new source of income while simultaneously blocking the Red Sea, a major route of English access to India, thus disrupting a significant source of revenue for Franceâs main European opponent. The plan was quickly approved. Napoleon set sail for Egypt on May 19, 1798, with approximately 400 ships and 30,000 men. The invaders landed near Alexandria, on July 1, only narrowly missing British Adm. Horatio Nelson, who had been searching the area for them just days earlier. The French easily took possession of the weakly defended city the next day. Ostensibly an Ottoman territory, Egypt was then ruled by the MamlĆ«ks, descendants of Muslim slave soldiers, who had infiltrated the Ottoman ranks through military advancement. They had left Alexandria, at that point sparsely populated, with only a paltry garrison, leaving the citizens to defend themselves.
On July 7 Napoleon headed south for Cairo, having installed a provisional government in Alexandria and instituted a propaganda program assuring Egyptians that his invasion would result in the eviction of the MamlĆ«ks, whose oppressive rule they had endured for centuries. The column that he followed had been deployed four days earlier on the most direct route, through the desert. Another column, laden with the armyâs baggage, was dispatched under Gen. Charles Dugua via a longer but less arduous path. The latter column was to rendezvous with a portion of the fleet on the Nile at Rosetta and from there proceed to Ramanieh, where they would rejoin Napoleon. While that column proceeded without issue, Bonaparteâs column was harassed by Bedouins and endured starvation; the men subsisted largely on grain cakes and watermelon. The conditions prompted a number of soldiers to commit suicide, and many succumbed to dehydration. Those who survived arrived at Ramanieh on July 10; the column under Dugua joined them a day later. On July 12 the reunited force began moving south along the west bank of the Nile in order to position themselves for an approaching attack by MamlĆ«k forces, which had been spotted by scouts. The next day the French troops encountered an army of roughly 15,000â18,000 (several thousand of whom were mounted) at the small town of ShubrÄ KhÄ«t. Arrayed in five squaresâone for each divisionâover 2 miles (3 km), the French defeated the disorganized opponent; some observers speculated that Bonaparte prolonged the battle to get a sense of what awaited him and his men at Cairo.
By July 20 the French forces had advanced to Umm DÄ«nÄr, 18 miles (29 km) north of Cairo. Scouts reported that an Egyptian force led by MurÄd Bey was massed on the west bank of the Nile at Embabeh, 6 miles (10 km) from Cairo and 15 miles (25 km) from the pyramids of Giza. (Though historical accounts place the size of the Egyptian force at close to 40,000 and Bonaparte himself reported an even larger opponent, modern analysis suggests that there were probably half that many or fewer. The perceived total was likely skewed by the presence of noncombatant attendants and servants.) Another Egyptian force, under MurÄdâs coruler, IbrÄhÄ«m Bey, was camped on the east bank of the Nile and remained spectators to the battle. (IbrÄhÄ«m blamed MurÄd for the invasion, the latter having mistreated European traders in the past.) At 2 am on July 21, the French began the 12-hour march to meet their foe, entrenched in front of Embabeh. Bonaparteâs claim that he rallied his forces with the exclamation âSoldiers! From atop these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon youâ is likely apocryphal; the pyramids to which he referred probably would not have been visible given the distance and the dust kicked up by the soldiers.
At approximately 3:30 pm the 6,000-man MamlĆ«k cavalry charged the 25,000-man French army. Napoleon had formed his forces into five squares as he had at ShubrÄ Khit. These âsquaresââactually rectangles with a full brigade forming the front and back lines and half a brigade forming each sideâcould move or fight in any direction. Each was six ranks of infantry deep on all sides and protected cavalry and transport in their centres. The squares effectively repulsed the massed charges of the MamlĆ«k horsemen, shooting them as they approached and bayoneting any that breached the squares. As the centre held against the charge, the right and left flanks continued forward, forming a crescent shape and nearly surrounding the remaining Egyptian forces, a motley array of mercenaries and peasants. The French then stormed the Egyptian camp and dispersed their army, driving many into the Nile to drown. After the battle, additional large numbers of disorganized Egyptian infantry were killed, captured, or dispersed. Up to 6,000 Egyptians are thought to have perished in the conflict, which was over in a span of several hours. French casualties were limited to several hundred injured or dead.
The French troops proceeded to strip the corpses of the MamlĆ«k casualties of valuables, many of which were sewn into their clothing. MurÄd burned his fleet before fleeing to Upper Egypt with his remaining troops. The smoke from the ships threw Cairo into a panic, and many citizens were slaughtered and robbed by Bedouin mercenariesâostensibly hired by the MamlĆ«ks to protect themâas they fled the city with their belongings. IbrÄhÄ«m escaped eastward along with the Turkish pasha who was the nominal leader of Egypt. By July 27 Napoleon had treated with the remaining Egyptian leaders and moved into Cairo. Less than a week later, however, his fleet would be decimated by Nelson in the Battle of the Nile.
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