| NAPOLEON LOST FLEET The battle of Aboukir
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| By Michèle Battesti August 1st 1999: the French fleet of Vice-Admiral Bruey, which anchors
in Aboukir Bay, is taken by surprise by the British fleet of Admiral Lord Nelson. A
horrific battle at a short distance takes place. Although the forces are balanced (14
vessels against 13) the battle becomes a disaster. The result is disastrous for the
French: eleven vessels, |
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| In comparison the English have only lost two vessels and 218
men, and 678 men are wounded. The immediate consequence for the French, who have lost
their fleet is, that their army of 30.000 men is now prisoner of the same Egypt, which
they recently conquered in the famous battle of the Pyramids (June, 21st 1798). They are
now completely dependent on the arrival of a support expedition which has to cross the
Mediterranean sea, which is under control of the British. |
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Neither the supporting expedition
sent out by the board of directors (1799) nor the one sent by the consulate (1800 –
1801) has allowed the French to get out of the tight spot. Bonaparte’s strategy to
conquer the Middle East has failed and Great Britain takes over the leadership of a
European coalition against France. The Battle of the Nile had a decisive effect on the way history developed because it forced Bonaparte to give up his plans to conquer the Middle East and to concentrate on the old Europe. But the most confusing aspect of this is that this battle was never supposed to take place at all. Following Bonaparte’s original plan, the French fleet would have been safe in the old port of Alexandria. This was even more necessary because Nelson was cruising the waters of Egypt and he could come across the French at any time. |
| But Bruey refused to
enter the harbour because the sail through was dangerous and he was afraid of finding
himself caught in a trap. Anchoring in Aboukir was a compromise. Bonaparte made a mistake
by being content with it, while Bruey did not feel authorised to leave the coast of Egypt
and he would have refused to leave the army without back up anyway. |
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| In case of an attack by the British
the French were well equipped: they had the best vessels, a powerful artillery and commandants which had fought in the battle of America (Bruey, Décrés, Blanquet and Chayla). But strangely enough, several faults and mistakes occurred which had disastrous consequences: a badly chosen place to anchor, an unfortunate positioning of the ships, a hesitating command (Villeneuve) and more courage – even a daredevil attitude - than efficiency.Under these conditions the survival of the fleet was dependent on the tactical fault of their opponent, something which was not to be expected from Nelson.
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| More informations on www.franckgoddio.org site | |
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