Battles & Wars › Revolutions & Napoleon › French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Battle of the Nile
August 1–3, 1798· Battle· Middle East & Africa
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Nelson's British fleet destroyed the French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, Egypt, trapping Napoleon's army there.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Napoleon had landed an army in Egypt in July 1798. Admiral Brueys anchored his 13 ships of the line in a row in Aboukir Bay, near Alexandria, believing the shore side was safe. Nelson, with a similar force, attacked at dusk without waiting. Some British ships slipped between the French and the shore, catching them from both sides. Around 10 p.m. the French flagship L'Orient blew up. Eleven of the 13 French ships of the line were captured or destroyed.
Why it matters
It cut Napoleon's army off from France, gave Britain control of the Mediterranean, helped bring Austria, Russia and the Ottomans into a new coalition, and made Nelson a hero.
How we know
Ships' logs and officers' letters on both sides. Divers have studied L'Orient's wreck since the 1980s, and British sailors' graves found near Abu Qir were reburied in 2005.
Still debated
Casualty figures vary: Britain lost about 900 killed and wounded, while estimates of French dead, wounded and captured run to several thousand.
Connections (3)
▸Horatio Nelson destroyed the French fleet at Battle of the NileWell documented
The connection
Nelson spent weeks hunting the French fleet across the Mediterranean, missing it twice. Finding it anchored in Aboukir Bay late on August 1, he attacked at once rather than wait for morning, trusting his captains to act on his known plan. Some sailed inside the French line. By the next morning the French fleet was largely destroyed.
When and how
Aboukir Bay, near Alexandria, Egypt, August 1–3, 1798; Nelson in HMS Vanguard against Admiral Brueys, who was killed.
How we know
Nelson's dispatches, ships' logs and his captains' accounts; the battle and his command of it are fully documented.
Debates and open questions
Who first decided to sail inside the French line is debated: Captain Thomas Foley of Goliath often gets the credit rather than Nelson himself.
▸Battle of the Nile stranded in Egypt the army of Napoleon BonaparteWell documented
The connection
With its fleet destroyed, Napoleon's army of roughly 35,000 in Egypt could not be supplied or brought home by sea. He invaded Syria in 1799 and failed at Acre, then slipped away in August 1799 and, back in France, took power in a coup that November. The army he left behind surrendered to British and Ottoman forces in 1801.
When and how
Egypt and Syria, 1798–1801; after Napoleon left in August 1799, Generals Kléber and then Menou commanded until the surrender.
How we know
Napoleon's own letters and French army records; the British even published captured French letters from Egypt.
Debates and open questions
What Napoleon really meant to achieve in Egypt, a route to threaten British India or personal glory, is debated.
▸Battle of the Nile was Nelson's first great fleet victory before Battle of TrafalgarWell documented
The connection
The Nile, in 1798, was Nelson's first fleet victory as commander and showed his method: aggressive attack, captains trusted to use initiative, and close action. Trafalgar, seven years later, applied it on a larger scale. Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, who escaped the Nile with two ships, was the French admiral defeated at Trafalgar.
When and how
Aboukir Bay, Egypt, 1798, and Cape Trafalgar, Spain, 1805; Nelson commanded both, and Villeneuve was present at both.
How we know
Both battles are fully documented in logs and dispatches; the continuity of Nelson's methods is the standard view of naval historians.
Debates and open questions
How much of Nelson's success was his own innovation, rather than the Royal Navy's superior gunnery and seamanship, is debated.