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92-809: Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, Comte de Brueys (12 February 1753 – 1 August 1798) was a French Navy officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars . He commanded the French fleet in the Mediterranean campaign of 1798 until his death at the Battle of the Nile . Brueys was born to an aristocratic family in Rue Boucairie, Uzès , southern France in

184-460: A flotilla and sailed up the Nile. On 31 August, Desaix arrived at Beni Suef where he began to encounter supply problems, then he went up the Nile to Behneseh and progressed towards Minya . The Mamluks did not fight, and the flotilla returned on September 12 at the entrance of Bahr Yussef . Desaix learned that the Mamluks were in the plain of Faiyum by 24 September. The first contact between

276-399: A staff car ; the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two. A vice-admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff , which is held by a full admiral or general . Appointments held by vice-admirals may include: Charles III holds the honorary rank of vice admiral in

368-505: A Canadian vice-admiral is as follows: Two rows of gold oak leaves are located on the black visor of the white service cap. From 1968 to June 2010, the navy blue service dress tunic featured only a wide gold braid around the cuff with three gold maple leaves, beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown located on cloth shoulder straps. Vice-admirals are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". Vice-admirals are normally entitled to

460-523: A NATO OF-8 rank. In the ancien régime Navy, between 1669 and 1791. The office of "Vice-Admiral of France" ( Vice-amiral de France ) was the highest rank, the supreme office of "Admiral of France" being purely ceremonial. Distinct offices were : In the Philippines , the rank vice admiral is the highest-ranking official of the Philippine Navy . He is recognized as the flag officer in-command of

552-566: A detour to get in via the Boulaq gate. The French army's situation was critical – the British were threatening French control of Egypt after their victory at the Battle of the Nile , Murad Bey and his army were still in the field in Upper Egypt, and the generals Menou and Dugua were only just able to maintain control of Lower Egypt. The Ottoman peasants had common cause with those rising against

644-448: A fate himself. He did not emigrate and even found himself promoted to capitaine de vaisseau on 1 January 1792, before being put in command of the ship-of-the-line Le Lys at Toulon (renamed le Tricolore on the fall of the monarchy). He fought in the campaigns undertaken by Admiral Truguet 's fleet - the bombardment of Oneglia , the Naples operation led by Latouche-Tréville , and finally

736-540: A few weeks, and Bonaparte received orders to travel to Toulon as soon as possible. It is claimed that, in a stormy meeting with the Directory, Bonaparte threatened to dissolve them and director Reubell gave him a pen saying "Sign there, general!" Bonaparte arrived at Toulon on 9 May, lodging with Benoît Georges de Najac , the officer in charge of preparing the fleet. The army embarked confident in their commander's talent and on 19 May, just as he embarked, Bonaparte addressed

828-823: A house which now bears a plaque with his name. Joining the navy at 13, he was a volunteer on the ship-of-the-line Protecteur in 1766, he served in several campaigns in the Levant . Becoming a Garde de la marine in 1768, he fought in the Tunis expedition on the frigate Atalante and the Saint Domingue campaign on the ship-of-the-line Actionnaire , though he was forced to leave the latter due to sickness and return to France, where he served at shore establishments, mostly on France's Mediterranean coast. He rose to enseigne de vaisseau in 1777 and lieutenant de vaisseau in April 1780, before serving on

920-493: A letter himself to the governor of Mecca. Even so, thanks to the taxes he imposed on them to support his army, the Egyptians remained unconvinced of the sincerity of all Bonaparte's attempts at conciliation and continued to attack him ceaselessly. Any means, even sudden attacks and assassination, were allowed to force the "infidels" out of Egypt. Military executions were unable to deter these attacks and they continued. 22 September

1012-627: A liberator of the people from Ottoman and Mamluk oppression, praising the precepts of Islam and claiming friendship between France and the Ottoman Empire despite French intervention in the breakaway state. This position as a liberator initially gained him solid support in Egypt and later led to admiration for Napoleon from the Albanian Muhammad Ali of Egypt , who succeeded where Bonaparte had not in reforming Egypt and declaring its independence from

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1104-492: A pavilion and from within it presided over a fête du Nil —it was he who gave the signal to throw into the floats the statue of the river's fiancée, his name and Mohammed's were mingled in the same acclamations, on his orders gifts were distributed to the people, and he gave kaftans to his main officers. In a largely unsuccessful effort to gain the support of the Egyptian population, Bonaparte issued proclamations that cast him as

1196-697: A vigorous attack led by Captain Jean Rapp managed to capture them. After several hours of fighting, the French went on the offensive and the Mamluks fled southwards. Napoleon faced a Bedouin insurgency that formed in Bedouin camps in the barren deserts near the Nile and later in Arabia . Bedouin tribes, traditionally nomadic inhabitants of the arid landscapes, successfully disrupted French logistics and conducting successful raids against French forces and nearby French garrisons. As

1288-821: Is "There is no other god but God, and Mahomet is his prophet". Do not contradict them; treat them as you treated the Jews , the Italians; respect their muftis and their imams , as you respected their rabbis and bishops . Have the same tolerance for the ceremonies prescribed by the Quran , for their mosques , as you had for the convents , for the synagogues , for the religion of Moses and that of Jesus Christ . The Roman legions used to protect all religions. You will here find different customs to those of Europe, you must get accustomed to them. The people among whom we are going treat women differently to us; but in every country whoever violates one

1380-466: Is a monster. Pillaging only enriches a small number of men; it dishonours us, it destroys our resources; it makes enemies of the people who it is in our interest to have as our friends. The first city we will encounter was built by Alexander [the Great] . We shall find at every step great remains worthy of exciting French emulation. On 1 July, Napoleon , aboard the ship L'Orient en route to Egypt, wrote

1472-819: The Arc de triomphe in Paris . Vice-Admiral In the Royal Australian Navy , the rank of vice admiral is held by the Chief of Navy and, when the positions are held by navy officers, by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force , the Chief of Joint Operations , and/or the Chief of Capability Development Group . Vice admiral is the equivalent of air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force and lieutenant general in

1564-650: The Australian Army . In the Royal Canadian Navy , the rank of vice-admiral (VAdm) ( vice-amiral or Vam in French ) is equivalent to lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force . A vice-admiral is a flag officer , the naval equivalent of a general officer . A vice-admiral is senior to a rear-admiral and major general , and junior to an admiral and general . The rank insignia of

1656-569: The French Revolutionary Wars . Two triumphal arches were built to commemorate the campaign: a wooden arc de triomphe in Azbakiyya Square, and a second arch which was inscribed with the words "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet" and decorated by the Genoese artist Michel Rigo with scenes from the Battle of the Pyramids . Here there was some awkwardness – the painting flattered

1748-562: The French army into Egypt, swiftly conquering Alexandria and Cairo . However, in October of that year, discontent against the French led to an uprising by the people of Cairo. While Bonaparte was in Old Cairo , the city's population began spreading weapons around to one another and fortifying strongpoints, especially at the Al-Azhar Mosque . A French commander, Dominique Dupuy , was killed by

1840-665: The Ionian Islands and supported Bonaparte's campaign in Italy by blockading the coasts but keeping supply lines open to Bonaparte 's troops. Bonaparte noted Brueys's conduct in Italy and made him commander-in-chief of the fleet that would transport his army for the Egyptian campaign , with the rank of vice-admiral and flying his flag on the Orient . The fleet set sail from Toulon on 19 May 1798. He succeeded in evading British attempts to prevent

1932-496: The fluyt Barbeau before taking one year's leave (1788–89). In 1790 he commanded the corvette Poulette . He sailed her from Toulon to Algiers with M. Vallière, France's consul general in Algeria . She also carried dispatches for the naval station and French consuls in the Levant . He saw aristocratic family and friends killed during the Reign of Terror but managed to avoid such

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2024-423: The logistical operations of the French forces but also created a need for local garrisons and convoys for French logistical lines which siphoned manpower . The Bedouin tribes, having far superior knowledge of the desert and hit-and-run tactics, capitalized on their familiarity with the terrain to evade the more conventionally organized French military. Utilizing their mobility and mastery of desert navigation,

2116-402: The Bedouin struck swiftly and retreated into the vast expanses, making it challenging for the French to pursue and engage them in a conventional battle. The insurgency reached its peak in 1799, during which Bedouin tribes formed loose alliances to coordinate attacks on French outposts, supply caravans, and vulnerable positions. These coordinated efforts were instrumental in sowing discord among

2208-521: The British fleet under Nelson , the expedition's target was kept secret. It was known only to Bonaparte himself, his generals Berthier and Caffarelli , and the mathematician Gaspard Monge . Bonaparte was the commander, with subordinates including Thomas Alexandre Dumas , Kléber , Desaix , Berthier, Caffarelli, Lannes , Damas , Murat , Andréossy , Belliard , Menou , and Zajączek . His aides de camp included his brother Louis Bonaparte , Duroc , Eugène de Beauharnais , Thomas Prosper Jullien , and

2300-545: The Coast ", a now obsolete office dealing with naval administration in each of the maritime counties. While the rank of vice admiral is used in most of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country. French invasion of Egypt (1798) [REDACTED] Ottoman Empire [REDACTED]   Great Britain (1798–1800) [REDACTED]   United Kingdom (1801) [REDACTED]   French Republic The French invasion of Egypt and Syria

2392-409: The French army advanced through the Egyptian and Syrian territories, it encountered resistance from Bedouin tribes that sought to defend their local encampments and resist foreign occupation. The vast and harsh desert terrain provided the Bedouin with a natural advantage, allowing them to launch hit-and-run attacks on French supply lines and communication routes. These raids not only disrupted

2484-477: The French but aggrieved the defeated Egyptians they were trying to win over as allies. On the day of the festival, Bonaparte addressed his troops, enumerating their exploits since the 1793 siege of Toulon and telling them: >From the English, famous for arts and commerce, to the hideous and fierce Bedouin, you have caught the gaze of the world. Soldiers, your destiny is fair... This day, 40 million citizens celebrate

2576-476: The French fleet reaching Egypt, reaching Malta and then (on 1 July 1798) Alexandria without incident. As soon as the land troops were disembarked, he was reputedly ordered by Bonaparte either to anchor in the port of Alexandria or to return quickly to France, Malta or Corfu . Citing concern that the Alexandria harbour was too shallow and difficult to enter for his large warships, and unwilling to leave Egypt until

2668-516: The French in Cairo ;– the whole region was in revolt. The French responded by setting up cannons in the Citadel and firing them at areas containing rebel forces. During the night, French soldiers advanced around Cairo and destroyed any barricades and fortifications they came across. The rebels soon began to be pushed back by the strength of the French forces, gradually losing control of their areas of

2760-471: The French position in the Mediterranean Sea , and instead put it totally under British control. News of the naval defeat reached Bonaparte en route back to Cairo from defeating Ibrahim but, far from being worried, Mullié states: This disastrous event did not disconcert [Bonaparte] at all – ever impenetrable, he did not allow any emotion to appear that he had not tested in his mind. Having calmly read

2852-427: The French ranks and hindering their ability to consolidate control over the region. While the Bedouin insurgency was primarily characterized by hit-and-run tactics, there were instances where the tribes managed to score significant victories against the French. Successful ambushes and surprise attacks not only inflicted casualties on the occupiers but also undermined the morale of French forces along with undermining

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2944-577: The French to withdraw from Syria. Following his defeat in Syria, Napoleon repelled the Ottoman landing at Aboukir , but recognizing that the campaign was lost, and with the news of a Second Coalition reversing French conquests in Europe , Napoleon opportunistically abandoned his army , sailed to France, and overthrew the government . The French forces left in Egypt ultimately surrendered at Alexandria , concluding

3036-608: The French. Despite their cordial proclamations to the natives, with some French soldiers even converting to Islam , clerics like Abdullah al-Sharqawi condemned the French as: >materialist, libertine philosophers ... they deny the Resurrection, and the afterlife, and ... [the] prophets After the naval defeat at Aboukir, Bonaparte's campaign remained land-bound. His army still succeeded in consolidating power in Egypt, although it faced repeated nationalist uprisings, and Napoleon began to behave as absolute ruler of all Egypt. He set up

3128-580: The Great . He assured the Directory that "as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions." According to a 13 February report by Talleyrand , "Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send force from Suez to the Sultanate of Mysore , to join the forces of Tipu Sultan and drive away the English.The Directory agreed to

3220-604: The Knights' force in the west surrendered. Napoleon, during his stay in Malta, resided at Palazzo Parisio in Valletta. Napoleon then opened negotiations. Faced with vastly superior French forces and the loss of western Malta, Von Hompesch surrendered the main fortress of Valletta . Napoleon departed Malta for Egypt. After successfully eluding detection by the Royal Navy for thirteen days,

3312-445: The Mamluks and who shall fight against us! There shall be no hope for them, they shall perish. Despite the idealistic promises proclaimed by Napoleon, Egyptian intellectuals like ' Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (1753–1825 C.E/ 1166–1240 A.H) were heavily critical of Napoleon's objectives. As a major chronicler of the French invasion, Jabarti decried the French invasion of Egypt as the start of:>"fierce fights and important incidents; of

3404-651: The Middle East, hoping to join forces with France's ally Tipu Sultan , ruler of Mysore in India and an opponent of British control in that country. As France was not ready for a head-on attack on Great Britain itself, the Directory decided to intervene indirectly and create a "double port" connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea , prefiguring the Suez Canal . At the time, Egypt had been an Ottoman province since 1517, but

3496-681: The Ottomans. In a letter to a sheikh in August, Napoleon wrote, "I hope... I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of the Quran which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness." Bonaparte's secretary Bourienne wrote that his employer had no serious interest in Islam or any other religion beyond their political value. Bonaparte's principle was... to look upon religions as

3588-460: The Polish nobleman Joseph Sulkowski . The fleet at Toulon was joined by squadrons from Genoa , Civitavecchia and Bastia and was put under the command of Admiral Brueys and Contre-amirals Villeneuve , Du Chayla , Decrès and Ganteaume . The fleet was about to set sail when a crisis developed with Austria, and the Directory recalled Bonaparte in case war broke out. The crisis was resolved in

3680-676: The Royal Canadian Navy. In France , vice-amiral is the most senior of the ranks in the French Navy ; higher ranks, vice-amiral d'escadre and amiral , are permanent functions, styles and positions (in French rangs et appellations ) given to a vice-amiral -ranking officer. The vice-amiral rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, but nowadays, it is more an OF-7 rank. The rank of vice-amiral d'escadre (literally, " squadron vice-admiral ", with more precision, "fleet vice-admiral") equals

3772-409: The army began to march again at night, followed by the fleet. The winds' violence suddenly forced the fleet to the army's left and straight into the enemy fleet, which was supported by musket fire from 4,000 Mamluks, reinforced by peasants and Arabs. The French fleet had numerical superiority but still lost its gunboats to the enemy. Attracted by the sound of gunfire, Bonaparte ordered his land force to

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3864-502: The army to maintain order in the face of the Jacobin and royalist threats, and count in particular on General Bonaparte , already a successful commander, having led the Italian campaign . The notion of annexing Egypt as a French colony had been under discussion since François Baron de Tott undertook a secret mission to the Levant in 1777 to determine its feasibility.. Baron de Tott's report

3956-424: The artillery or the cavalry to land, in which he marched on Alexandria at the head of 4,000 to 5,000 men. At 2 am, 2 July, he set off marching in three columns, on the left, Menou attacked the "triangular fort", where he received seven wounds, while Kléber was in the centre, in which he received a bullet in the forehead but was only wounded, and Louis André Bon on the right attacked the city gates. Alexandria

4048-665: The attack on Cagliari on Sardinia . In the Toulon affair the town authorities arrested him. A decree of the National Convention in September 1793 stripped him of his rank as a noble. Truguet's ministry in 1795 restored his rank and he received promotion to contre-amiral the following year. He commanded French naval forces in the Adriatic from 1796 to 1798, flying his flag in the ship-of-the-line Guillaume Tell . He transported troops to

4140-451: The battle-fleet in the old port of Alexandria if possible or taking it to Corfu . These precautions were made vital by the imminent arrival of the British fleet, which had already been seen near Alexandria 24 hours before the French fleet's arrival. It was wisest to avoid the risks of a naval battle – a defeat could have disastrous results and it was in the force's better interests to go by land, marching at top speed to Cairo to frighten

4232-406: The charge and attacked the village of Chebreiss , which was captured after two hours' fierce fighting. The enemy fled in disorder towards Cairo, leaving 600 dead on the battlefield. After a day's rest at Chebreiss, the French land force continued the pursuit. On 2 Thermidor (20 July), it arrived 800 metres ( 1 ⁄ 2  mi) from the village of Embabé . The heat was unbearable and the army

4324-619: The city. Bonaparte personally hunted down rebels from street to street and forced them to seek refuge in the Al-Azhar Mosque . Bonaparte said that "He [i.e God ] is too late – you've begun, now I will finish!". He then immediately ordered his cannon to open fire on the Mosque. The French broke down the gates and stormed into the building, massacring the inhabitants. At the end of the revolt 5,000 to 6,000 Cairenes were dead or wounded. With Egypt quiet again and under his control, Bonaparte used this time of rest to visit Suez and see with his own eyes

4416-465: The coast. The British fleet under the command of Horatio Nelson had been searching in vain for the French fleet for weeks. The British fleet had not found it in time to prevent the landings in Egypt, but on 1 August Nelson discovered the French warships anchored in a strong defensive position in the Bay of Abukir . The French believed that they were open to attack only on one side, the other side being protected by

4508-574: The defeat of Napoleon's expedition. These last French forces were repatriated , and the Treaty of Paris officially ended the hostilities between France and the Ottoman Empire . On the scientific front , the expedition was a success that led to the publication of the Description de l'Égypte , and the discovery of the Rosetta Stone , creating the field of Egyptology . On the social and technological front,

4600-422: The despatch which informed him that he and his army were now prisoners in Egypt, he said "We no longer have a navy. Well! We'll have to stay here, or leave as great men just as the ancients did". The army then showed itself happy at this short energetic response, but the native Egyptians considered the defeat at Aboukir as fortune turning in their favour and so from then on busied themselves to find means to throw off

4692-409: The enemy commanders and surprise them before they could put any defence measures in place. Louis Desaix marched across the desert with his division and two cannon, arriving at Demenhour , 24 kilometres (15 mi) from Alexandria, on 18 Messidor (6 July). Meanwhile, Bonaparte left Alexandria, leaving the city under Kléber's command. General Dugua marched on Rosetta , with orders to seize and hold

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4784-400: The entrance to the port housing the French fleet, which had to follow the route to Cairo down the river's left bank and rejoin the army at Rahmanié. On 20 Messidor (8 July), Bonaparte arrived at Demenhour, where he found the forces that had met up, and on 22 Messidor they marched to Rahmanié , where they then awaited the fleet with their provisions. The fleet arrived on 24 Messidor (12 July) and

4876-582: The era of representative government, 40 million citizens think of you. The speech was followed by cries of " Vive la République! " and a cannon volley. Later, Bonaparte held a feast for two hundred people in a garden in Cairo and sent soldiers to plant a French flag on the top of a pyramid. Napoleon's administration of Egypt is important in Coptic history. On 30 July 1798, just a few days after his arrival, he appointed Jirjis Al-Jawhary (brother of Ibrahim El-Gohary and

4968-615: The expedition's legacy includes the re-introduction of the printing press to Egypt, the founding of the Institut d'Égypte , the rise of nationalism and liberalism in the Middle East, the emergence of modern European imperialism , and the popularization of Orientalist narratives of the Muslim world . At the time of the invasion, the Directory had assumed executive power in France. It would resort to

5060-403: The first to set out for Egypt, and was the first Frenchman to land. Bonaparte and Kléber landed together and joined Menou at night at the cove of Marabout ( Citadel of Qaitbay ), on which the first French tricolour to be hoisted in Egypt was raised. On the night of the 1st of July, Bonaparte who was informed that Alexandria intended to resist him, rushed to get a force ashore without waiting for

5152-403: The fleet was in sight of Alexandria where it landed on 1 July, although Napoleon's plan had been to land elsewhere. On the day of the landing, Napoleon told his troops "I promise to each soldier who returns from this expedition, enough to purchase six arpents of land." (approximately 7.6 acres or 3.1 ha) and added: The peoples we will be living alongside are Muslims; their first article of faith

5244-588: The following proclamation to the Muslim inhabitants of Alexandria : For too long the beys who govern Egypt have insulted the French nation and covered their traders in slanders . The hour of their punishment has come. For too long this horde of slaves, bought in the Caucasus and Georgia , have tyrannised the most beautiful part of the world; but God, on whom all depends, has ordained that their empire shall end. People of Egypt, they have told you that I come to destroy your religion, but do not believe it; [tell them] in reply [that] I come to restore your rights, punish

5336-442: The frigate Vestale , by chance he was not present at the battle of Les Saintes . He was made a chevalier de Saint-Louis at the end of the war. On the peace he was put in command of the aviso Chien de Chasse , with which he spent four years in the Antilles and off the American coast. In 1787 he moved to command another aviso, the Coureur , which cruised along the coasts of Latin America . He then returned to France to command

5428-428: The greatest concern of the Republic is for you... The genius of liberty, which made you, at her birth, the arbiter of Europe, wants to be genius of the seas and the furthest nations. When Napoleon's fleet arrived off Malta, Napoleon demanded that the Knights of Malta allow his fleet to enter the port and take on water and supplies. Grand Master von Hompesch replied that only two foreign ships would be allowed to enter

5520-417: The gunpowder stores. The resulting blast was seen from miles away and may have killed as many as 800 of the ship's crew. Brueys was criticised in France for remaining at anchor right up until the moment of the attack, but Bonaparte replied to such criticism by saying " If, in this disastrous event, he made mistakes, he expiated them by his glorious end ". His name appears on the southern pillar (23rd column) of

5612-425: The hateful yoke the foreigners were trying to impose on them by force and to hunt them from their country. This project was soon put into execution. After the Battle of Pyramids , Napoleon instituted a French administration in Cairo and suppressed the subsequent rebellions violently. Although Napoleon tried to co-opt local Egyptian ulema , scholars like Al-Jabarti poured scorn on the ideas and cultural ways of

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5704-450: The inside. In all 300 French and approximately 6,000 Mamluks were killed. The battle gave rise to dozens of stories and drawings. Dupuy 's brigade pursued the routed enemy and at night entered Cairo, which had been abandoned by the beys Mourad and Ibrahim . On 4 Thermidor (22 July), the notables of Cairo came to Giza to meet Bonaparte and offered to hand over the city to him. Three days later, he moved his main headquarters there. Desaix

5796-432: The momentous mishaps and appalling afflictions, of the multiplication of malice and the acceleration of affairs; of successive sufferings and turning times; of the inversion of the innate and the elimination of the established; of horrors upon horrors and contradicting conditions; of the perversion of all precepts and the onset of annihilation; of the dominance of destruction and the occurrence of occasions" Menou had been

5888-443: The morning of 11 June. General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers landed soldiers and cannon in the western part of the main island of Malta, under artillery fire from Maltese fortifications. The French troops met some initial resistance but pressed forward. The Knights' ill-prepared force in that region, numbering only about 2,000, regrouped. The French pressed on with their attack. After a fierce gun battle lasting twenty-four hours, most of

5980-425: The most prominent Coptic layperson) as General Steward of Egypt. In his Declaration to the Coptic Nation, Napoleon elevated them from dhimmi to equal citizens, permitting them to “carry weapons, mount mules or horses, wear turbans and dress in whatever way they like”. He also punished those who had killed Copts in the chaos following the French arrival. In return, he demanded that the Copts show “zeal and fidelity in

6072-605: The nation [I ask you to] tell the people that we are true friends of Muslims. Wasn't it us who destroyed the Knights of Malta ? Wasn't it us who destroyed the Pope who used to say that he had a duty to make war on Muslims? Wasn't it us who have at all times been friends to the Great Lord and enemies to his enemies? ... Thrice happy are those who will be with us! They shall prosper in their fortune and in their rank. Happy are those who will be neutral! They will get to know us over time, and join their ranks with ours. But unhappy, thrice unhappy, are those who shall arm themselves [to fight] for

6164-401: The navy, an equivalent post to the Chief of Naval Operations in the U.S. Navy. Before World War II, the vice admiral was the highest rank in the Polish Navy. Józef Unrug was one of the only two officers to achieve the rank. The other was Jerzy Świrski . Poland had only one sovereign sea port, Port of Gdynia , and was slowly building a small modern navy that was to be ready by 1950. The navy

6256-420: The plan in March, though troubled by its scope and cost. They saw that it would remove the popular and over-ambitious Napoleon from the centre of power, though this motive long remained secret. Rumours became rife as 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors were gathered in French Mediterranean ports. A large fleet was assembled at Toulon : 13 ships of the line, 14 frigates, and 400 transports. To avoid interception by

6348-462: The port at a time. Under that restriction, re-victualling the French fleet would take weeks, and it would be vulnerable to the British fleet of Admiral Nelson. Napoleon therefore ordered the invasion of Malta. The French Revolution had significantly reduced the Knights' income and their ability to put up serious resistance. Half of the Knights were French, and most of these knights refused to fight. French troops disembarked in Malta at seven points on

6440-415: The rearguard under Denis Decrès and Villeneuve . Already wounded twice during the day, and almost cut in half by a cannon shot, Brueys died at his command post around 9 PM. According to a British account, after a round shot had taken off both his legs, he had himself strapped to an armchair on deck so that he could continue to direct the fight. His ship exploded one hour later after a fire on board reached

6532-400: The revolting Cairenes, as well as Bonaparte's Aide-de-camp , Joseph Sulkowski . Excited by the sheikhs and imams, the local citizens swore by the Prophet to exterminate all and any Frenchman they met, and all Frenchmen they encountered – at home or in the streets – were mercilessly slaughtered. Crowds rallied at the city gates to keep out Bonaparte, who was repulsed and forced to take

6624-516: The ruler of French-allied Mysore who was at war with Britain , to attack British possessions in India . Despite early victories in Egypt and an initially successful expedition into Syria , the destruction of a French Navy fleet by the British navy at the Battle of the Nile stranded French troops in Egypt, and the defeat of Napoleon and his Army of the Orient by Anglo-Ottoman forces at Acre forced

6716-457: The security of French lines, contributing to the overall difficulty of maintaining control over the deserts. Despite the constant attacks by Bedouin tribes, the French ultimately maintained control in urban centers. However, the constant pressure from the Bedouin and the logistical strain caused by their raids contributed to the overall difficulties faced by the French Army . In 1798, Napoleon led

6808-476: The service of the (French) Republic”. On 21 December 1798, he appointed four Coptic members to his new consultative assembly that replaced the first assemblies, and which did not include Copts, and which he had to abolish soon after the First Cairo Revolution. After his defeat at the Pyramids, Mourad Bey retreated to Upper Egypt . On 25 August 1798, General Desaix embarked at the head of his division on

6900-596: The ship-of-the-line Terrible then the Zélé in Guichen 's squadron. He fought in three battles against Admiral Rodney in April and May 1780, then in the battle against Hood's fleet before Fort-de-France in April 1781. He was present at all the battles involving Grasse's squadron, including the Chesapeake (September 1781) and the capture of Saint Kitts in February 1782. He then moved to

6992-402: The shore. During the Battle of the Nile the arriving British fleet under Horatio Nelson managed to slip half of their ships in between the land and the French line, thus attacking from both sides. In a few hours 11 out of the 13 French ships of the line and 2 out of the 4 French frigates were captured or destroyed; the four remaining ships fled. This frustrated Bonaparte's goal of strengthening

7084-589: The situation of the French army was secured, he instead opted to anchor in Aboukir Bay to await the British. Knowing the poor quality of his ships and crews, he preferred to guard a defensive position than take the offensive and he refused to weigh anchor when Horatio Nelson attacked his fleet on the evening of 1 August 1798. In the ensuing Battle of the Nile , the Orient fought HMS  Bellerophon , causing her major damage but receiving little support, especially from

7176-499: The troops, especially those who had served under him in the Armée d'Italie : Soldiers! You are one of the wings of the French army. You have made war on the mountains, on the plains, and in cities; it remains for you to fight on the seas. The Roman legions, that you sometimes imitated but no longer equalled, fought Carthage now on this same sea and now on the plains of Zama ... Soldiers, sailors, you have been neglected until this day; today,

7268-446: The two sides occurred on 3 October and a second minor fight took place, which began to deplete food and ammunition of the French forces. On 7 October, Mourad Bey's troops came out of Sédiman 's entrenchments and attacked the French, who formed themselves into three squares, one large and two small at its angles. The Mamluks as previous encounters attacked furiously but were repulsed. The Mamluks attempted to use their four cannons, but

7360-412: The usurpers and that I respect God, his prophet and the Quran more than the Mamluks. Tell them that all men are equal before God; wisdom, talents, virtues are the only things to make one man different from another... Is there a more beautiful land? It belongs to the Mamluks. If Egypt is their farm, then they should show the lease that God gave them for it... Cadis, cheiks, imans, tchorbadjis, and notables of

7452-599: The work of men, but to respect them everywhere as a powerful engine of government... If Bonaparte spoke as a Mussulman ( Muslim ), it was merely in his character of a military and political chief in a Mussulman country. To do so was essential to his success, to the safety of his army, and... to his glory... In India he would have been for Ali , at Thibet for the Dalai-lama , and in China for Confucius ." Shortly after Bonaparte's return from facing Ibrahim came Mohammed's birthday, which

7544-555: Was a military campaign in and occupation of Ottoman territories in Egypt and Syria by French forces under the command of Napoleon took place during the French Revolutionary Wars . It was the primary purpose of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798 , in which the French captured Malta while being followed by the British Royal Navy , whose pursuit was hampered by a lack of scouting frigates and reliable information. The expedition

7636-460: Was altered into "Soldiers, remember that from the top of these pyramids, 40 centuries of history contemplate you." This was the start of the so-called Battle of the Pyramids , a French victory over an enemy force of about 21,000 Mamluks . (Around 40,000 Mamluk soldiers stayed away from the battle.) The French defeated the Mamluk cavalry with a giant infantry square , with cannons and supplies safely on

7728-505: Was celebrated with great pomp. Bonaparte himself directed the military parades for the occasion, preparing for this festival in the sheik's house wearing oriental dress and a turban. It was on this occasion that the divan granted him the title Ali-Bonaparte after Bonaparte proclaimed himself "a worthy son of the Prophet" and "favourite of Allah". Around the same time he took severe measures to protect pilgrim caravans from Egypt to Mecca , writing

7820-426: Was defended by Koraim Pasha and 500 men. However, after a rather lively shooting in the city, the defenders gave up and fled. The city had not had time to surrender and put itself at the French's discretion but, despite Bonaparte's orders, the French soldiers broke into the city. When the whole expeditionary force had been disembarked, Admiral Brueys received orders to take the fleet to Aboukir Bay before anchoring

7912-450: Was exhausted and needed a rest, but there was not enough time and so Bonaparte drew up his 25,000 troops for battle approximately 15 km (9 mi) from the Pyramids of Giza . He is said to have shown his army the pyramids behind the enemy's left flank and at the moment of ordering the attack shouted "Soldiers, see the tops of the Pyramids" – in accounts written long afterwards, this phrase

8004-493: Was favourable, but no immediate action was taken. Nevertheless, Egypt became a topic of debate between Talleyrand and Napoleon, which continued in their correspondence during Napoleon's Italian campaign . In early 1798, Bonaparte proposed an expedition to Egypt and convinced the Directory to establish the Commission des Sciences et des Arts . He further wished to strengthen French trade interests over those of Great Britain in

8096-499: Was not a priority for obvious reasons. At present, it is a "two-star" rank. The stars are not used; however, the stars were used in between 1952 and 1956 and are still used in the vice admiral's pennant. In the Royal Navy the rank of vice-admiral should be distinguished from the office of " Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom ", which is an Admiralty position usually held by a retired "full" admiral , and that of " Vice-Admiral of

8188-411: Was now out of direct Ottoman control, and was in disorder, with dissension among the ruling Mamluk elite. In France, "Egyptian" fashion was in full swing – intellectuals believed that Egypt was the cradle of Western civilization and wished to conquer it. French traders already based on the Nile were complaining of harassment by the Mamluks, and Napoleon wished to walk in the footsteps of Alexander

8280-402: Was ordered to follow Mourad, who had set off for Upper Egypt . An observation corps was put in place at Elkanka to keep an eye on the movements of Ibrahim, who was heading towards Syria. Bonaparte personally led the pursuit of Ibrahim, beat him at Salahie and pushed him completely out of Egypt. The transports had sailed back to France, but the battle fleet stayed and supported the army along

8372-475: Was the anniversary of the founding of the First French Republic and Bonaparte organised the most magnificent celebration possible. On his orders, an immense circus was built in the largest square in Cairo, with 105 columns (each with a flag bearing the name of a département) round the edge and a colossal inscribed obelisk at the centre. On seven classical altars were inscribed the names of heroes killed in

8464-458: Was the result of a confluence of interests. The French Directory hoped to disrupt the trade routes of Great Britain and create a "double port" connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea . Napoleon proclaimed the invasion as being intended to "defend French trade interests" and to establish "scientific enterprise" in the region, and envisioned the campaign as the first step of a march to India , where he would join forces with Tipu Sultan ,

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