Battle of Aboukir (naval)
Egyptian Campaign (French Revolutionary Wars) · Aboukir Bay, near Alexandria, Egypt
Summary
On 1–2 August 1798 in Aboukir Bay in Egypt, Admiral Nelson destroyed Admiral Brueys's French fleet anchored in line of battle. Thirteen of fifteen French ships were captured or destroyed; Brueys was killed on the Orient which exploded. British victory isolated Bonaparte's army in Egypt and ruined French strategy to threaten the route to India.
Historical context
Bonaparte had conquered Malta and landed in Egypt (July 1798) with a transport fleet protected by Brueys. Nelson, hunting the French fleet in the Mediterranean, spotted it anchored in Aboukir Bay, believing French protected by reefs. In fact a channel allowed doubling the French line's head.
Tactics
Nelson divided his fleet into two columns engaging French ships on both sides. French ships, anchored and unable to maneuver, were attacked sequentially. The Orient, 120-gun flagship, caught fire and exploded around 10 p.m.; the shock wave was felt kilometers away. Battle continued until the next morning.
Consequences
Bonaparte's Egyptian army was cut off from the homeland; the French Mediterranean fleet was destroyed. Nelson became British national hero; France could no longer challenge the Royal Navy on the high seas. Aboukir preceded Trafalgar in the series of revolutionary and imperial naval catastrophes.