THE BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS
______In 1798 the French revolutionary government's greatest enemy was England. In the struggle for survival which pitted Republican France against all her monarchist neighbors, England was the engine that kept the fledgling country in a constant state of war. In order to strike at English overseas interests, it was decided to invade Egypt.
______The commander chosen for this expedition was none other than an extremely successful general who had led France's Army of Italy to victory over Piedmont and the Austrians against overwhelming odds: Napoleon Bonaparte. The French government also saw the Egyptian venture as a way of getting rid of a very successful and ambitious internal threat. Napoleon's seaborne force took Malta on June 10, 1798 and landed in Alexandria on July 1st, successfully dodging the Royal Navy (for now).
______Officially part of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt was in fact ruled by independent Mameluke warriors. The feudal nature of the Egyptian's Army proved to be no match against Napoleon's battle-hardened revolutionary forces as the French moved south to take Cairo.
______On July 21st the French were poised to take Cairo and the Mamelukes gave Napoleon the decisive battle he was seeking. prior to the first assault by the enemy Napoleon pointed to the nearby pyramids and told his troops "Forward! Remember that from those monuments yonder forty centuries look down upon you!" The French won a hard-fought battle, forming up divisional squares which broke every Mameluke assault mounted against them. Napoleon would remained in Egypt for over a year, but returned to France in order to take the first steps to becoming Emperor of France. His Egyptian outpost did not last long after his departure, a forgotten Napoleonic adventure.
WHAT WAS THE LAST SHIP TORPEDOED IN COMBAT?
