Bonaparte commenced his march very early in February at the head of Kléber’s, Régnier’s, Lannes’s, Bon’s, and Murat’s divisions, about thirteen thousand strong. He arrived before the fort El Arish on February 15th, and, after a slight resistance, the garrison surrendered themselves prisoners, to the number of thirteen hundred men. Ibrahim Bey, having attempted to relieve it, was put to flight, and, after a severe march across the desert, they reached Gaza. They took that place in the sight of Djezzar Pasha, and found there, as in the fort of El Arish, a great quantity of ammunition and provisions. From Gaza the army proceeded to Jaffa (the ancient Joppa), where it arrived on March 3rd. This place was surrounded by a massive wall, flanked by towers, and it contained a garrison of four thousand men. Bonaparte caused a breach to be battered in the wall, and then summoned the commandant, who only answered by cutting off the head of the messenger. The assault was made, and the place stormed with extraordinary intrepidity, and given up for thirty hours to pillage and massacre. Here, too, was found a considerable quantity of artillery and supplies of all kinds. There were some thousands of prisoners, whom the general could not despatch to Egypt, because he had not the ordinary means for escorting them, and he would not send them back to the enemy to swell their ranks. Bonaparte decided on a terrible measure, the most cruel act of his life. Transported into a barbarous country, he had adopted its manners, and he ordered all the prisoners to be put to death. The army consummated with obedience, but with a sort of horror, the execution that was commanded.
Bonaparte then advanced upon St. Jean d’Acre, the ancient Ptolemais, situated at the foot of Mount Carmel. It was the only place that could now stop him. If he could make himself master of this fortress, Syria would be his. But the ferocious Djezzar had shut himself up there, with all his wealth and a strong garrison, and he also reckoned upon support from Sir Sidney Smith, then cruising off that coast, who supplied him with engineers, artillerymen, and ammunition. It was probable, moreover, that he would be soon relieved by the Turkish army collected in Syria, which was advancing from Damascus to cross the Jordan. Bonaparte hastened to attack the place, in hopes of taking it, as he had done Jaffa, before it was reinforced with fresh troops, and before the English had time to improve its defences. The trenches were immediately opened. The siege artillery sent by sea from Alexandria had been intercepted by Sir Sidney Smith, who captured seven vessels out of the nine. A breach was effected, and dispositions were made for the assault, but the men were stopped by a counterscarp and a ditch. They immediately set about mining. The operation was carried on under the fire of all the ramparts, and of the fine artillery which Sir Sidney Smith had taken from the French. The mine was exploded on April 17th, and blew up only a portion of the counterscarp. Unluckily for the French, the place had received a reinforcement of several thousand men, a great number of gunners trained after the European fashion, and immense supplies. It was a siege on a large scale to be carried on with thirteen thousand men, almost entirely destitute of artillery. It was necessary to open a new mine to blow up the entire counterscarp, and to commence another covered way.
Bonaparte now ordered Kléber’s division to oppose the passage of the Jordan by the army coming from Damascus. The enemy was commanded by Abd Allah Pasha of Damascus, and numbered about twenty-five thousand men and twelve thousand horse. A desperate battle was fought in the plain of Fouli, and for six hours Kléber, with scarcely three thousand infantry in square, resisted the utmost fury of the Turkish cavalry. Bonaparte, who had been making a rapid march to join Kléber, suddenly made his appearance on the field of battle. A tremendous fire, discharged instantaneously from the three points of this triangle, assailed the Mamluks who were in the midst, drove them in confusion upon one another, and made them flee in disorder in all directions. Kléber’s division, fired with fresh ardour at this sight, rushed upon the village of Eouli, stormed it at the point of the bayonet, and made a great carnage among the enemy. In a moment the whole multitude was gone, and the plain was left covered with dead. During this interval the besiegers had never ceased mining and countermining about the walls of St. Jean d’Acre. The siege of Acre lasted for sixty-five days. Bonaparte made eight desperate but ineffectual assaults upon the city, which were repulsed by eleven furious sallies on the part of the besieged garrison. It was absolutely necessary to relinquish the enterprise. The strategic point in the East was lost.
For two months the army had been before Acre; it had sustained considerable losses, and it would have been imprudent to expose it to more. The plague was in Acre, and the army had caught the contagion at Jaffa. The season for landing troops approached, and the arrival of a Turkish army near the mouths of the Nile was expected. By persisting longer, Bonaparte was liable to weaken himself to such a degree as not to be able to repulse new enemies. The main point of his plan was effected, since he had rendered the enemy in that quarter incapable of acting. He now commenced his march to recross the desert.
Bonaparte at length reached Egypt after an expedition of nearly three months. It was high time for him to return; for the spirit of insurrection had spread throughout the whole Delta. His presence produced everywhere submission and tranquillity. He gave orders for magnificent festivities at Cairo to celebrate his triumphs in Syria. He had to curb not only the inhabitants, but his own generals and the army itself. A deep discontent pervaded it. They had been for a whole year in Egypt. It was now the month of June, and they were still ignorant of what was passing in Europe, and of the disasters of France. They merely knew that the Continent was in confusion, and that a new war was inevitable. Bonaparte impatiently waited for further particulars, that he might decide what course to pursue, and return, in case of need, to the first theatre of his exploits. But he hoped first to destroy the second Turkish army assembled at Rhodes, the very speedy landing of which was announced.
This army, put on board numerous transports and escorted by Sir Sidney Smith’s squadron, appeared on July 11th in sight of Alexandria, and came to anchor in the road of Abukir, where the French squadron had been destroyed. The point chosen by the English for landing was the peninsula which commands the entrance to the road, and bears the same name. The Turks landed with great boldness, attacked the intrenchments sword in hand, carried them, and made themselves masters of the village of Abukir, putting to death the garrison. The village being taken, it was impossible for the fort to hold out, and it was obliged to surrender. Marmont, who commanded at Alexandria, left the city at the head of twelve hundred men to hasten to the assistance of the troops at Abukir. But, learning that the Turks had landed in considerable numbers, he did not dare to attempt to throw them into the sea by a bold attack, and returned to Alexandria, leaving them to establish themselves quietly in the peninsula of Abukir.