ABC Wednesday N is for Nelson, Napoleon and the Battle of the Nile

Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1800

National Maritime Museum

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay and in French as the Bataille d'Aboukir) took place on August 1^st – 3^rd, 1798, east of Alexandria off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean. The French Fleet of 17 carried 1,196 guns. The British Fleet of 14 had 1,012 guns.

Battle of the Nile, August 1st, 1798 byThomas Whitcombe (1816) 

National Maritime Museum

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

It was a major naval battle fought between the British and French fleets and proved to be a resounding success for Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s intention was to invade Egypt in a bid to force Britain out of the French Revolutionary Wars, support Tipu Sultan of Mysore in his fight with the British in India and re-establish French influence in India. Naturally, the British government and the East India Company were greatly alarmed at this prospect. The French fleet was pursued by the British across the Mediterranean for more than two months but Napoleon was able to capture Malta and then land his army in Egypt.

The French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, its commander believing it to be in a strong defensive position. Nelson’s fleet arrived on August 1^st and he ordered an immediate assault. As his ships drew near the French line they divided into separate forces. One division sailed between the French ships and the Egyptian shore and the other took on the seaward side. The French commander, Admiral Brueys d’Aigalliers, had mistakenly believed that the British would not attack, it being then near sunset and late in the day to engage in battle. Trapped in crossfire, the French suffered a fearsome few hours of fighting.

They had taken advantage of being at anchor to conduct refits and took a long time to bring the batteries on land into action, set about as they were with stores and equipment from the ships. The French flagship, the Orient, had been in the process of repainting and highly flammable paint and turpentine were stored on deck. During the fighting these caught fire and the ship exploded at 10:00 pm watched by Nelson on his flagship Vanguard. 

Admiral Brueys died of his wounds before the explosion and the captain, Commodore Casabianca, was blown up with his ten-year-old son. Desperate efforts were made by both French and English ships to pick up survivors, but only 70 crew were saved. The great quantity of valuables looted from Malta by Napoleon was lost. The French ships to the rear of the line tried to sail out of the bay but of the seventeen ships engaged, only four managed to break free. Of the rest, four were destroyed and nine captured, two of which fought on the British side at Trafalgar.

Following the defeat at Aboukir Bay, Napoleon left his army to fend for itself and returned to France. Any risk to Britain’s claim to India was averted and other European countries were encouraged to resist France. Nelson was hailed as a hero throughout Europe (though not in France!) and was created Baron Nelson.

During the battle Nelson ordered British colours to be flown from Vanguard’s rigging in six different positions so that at no time would there be an absence of colours, regardless of how much rigging was destroyed. Afterwards he ordered all his ships to conduct thanksgiving services. The captured atheist French revolutionary officers were impressed by the piety and discipline of the British crews.

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