Napoleonic D-Day: The British in Egypt, 1801

The Napoleonic Quarterly

Is this the most significant opposed landing of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars? The assault on the beaches of Aboukir Bay by British forces under Abercromby [from around 13:00] was certainly a dramatic affair. So too was the Battle of Alexandria [from 23:15] which followed against the desperate remnants of the French expeditionary force abandoned by Napoleon Bonaparte less than a year and a half before. While this might not have been a strategically vital affair, it did provide the British with a bargaining chip ahead of the talks culminating in the Peace of Amiens. Phil Ball talks us through the Army-Navy bust-ups which preceded the landing, the fighting on the beaches and in front of Alexandria. Then from around [45:00] Phil offers some final thoughts in defence of amphibious operations like these.

Here's a link to the map mentioned in this episode:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faden_1801_alexandria_battle.jpg#/media/File:Faden_1801_alexandria_battle.jpg