In July of 1798, having landed in Egypt, Napoleon was marching from Alexandria toward Cairo having invaded and captured the former. He met two forces of the ruling Mamluks about nine miles from the Pyramids of Giza, and only four miles from Cairo. The Mamluk forces were commanded by Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey and had a powerful and highly developed cavalry.
Napoleon realized that the only Egyptian troops of any worth on the battlefield were the cavalry. He had little cavalry of his own and was outnumbered by a factor of two or three to one. He was therefore forced to go on the defensive, and organized his army into hollow "squares" with artillery, cavalry, and baggage at the center of each square, and so dispersed sustained charges of Mamluk cavalry with supporting artillery fire. He then stormed the Egyptian camp in the village of Embebeh, routing the disorganized Egyptian infantry and scattering their army.
The battle won Cairo and Lower Egypt for France. When news of the defeat of their legendary cavalry reached Cairo, the Mamluk army dispersed to Syria to reorganize there. The battle also signaled the final chapter of seven hundred years of Mamluk rule in Egypt. Despite this auspicious beginning, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's victory in the Battle of the Nile ten days later ended Bonaparte's hopes for a glorious conquest of the Middle East. Britain saw Egypt as vital to her own interests further east, and would not tolerate a French imperial presence there; that would damage English trade in the region and threaten their hold on India and safe passage to and from that colony.
Napoleon realized that the only Egyptian troops of any worth on the battlefield were the cavalry. He had little cavalry of his own and was outnumbered by a factor of two or three to one. He was therefore forced to go on the defensive, and organized his army into hollow "squares" with artillery, cavalry, and baggage at the center of each square, and so dispersed sustained charges of Mamluk cavalry with supporting artillery fire. He then stormed the Egyptian camp in the village of Embebeh, routing the disorganized Egyptian infantry and scattering their army.
The battle won Cairo and Lower Egypt for France. When news of the defeat of their legendary cavalry reached Cairo, the Mamluk army dispersed to Syria to reorganize there. The battle also signaled the final chapter of seven hundred years of Mamluk rule in Egypt. Despite this auspicious beginning, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's victory in the Battle of the Nile ten days later ended Bonaparte's hopes for a glorious conquest of the Middle East. Britain saw Egypt as vital to her own interests further east, and would not tolerate a French imperial presence there; that would damage English trade in the region and threaten their hold on India and safe passage to and from that colony.
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