Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign: Toulon to Rosetta

On 19 May 1798 Napoleon gave the order, aboard the flagship L'Orient, to set sail from Toulon with his invasion fleet. Preparations had been spread over several ports, and around 300 ships were requisitioned for the transport. By 11 May the army had grown to 30,800 infantrymen, with cavalry, artillerymen and siege guns. The expedition that followed would reach Malta and then Egypt.

Location precision: The sources name Toulon, not a quay; the pin marks the port.

The fleet appeared off Gozo on 6 June. Hompesch would let only a few ships into harbour at a time, which would have kept the fleet waiting for weeks, so Napoleon ordered an invasion. On 12 June a convention was signed in which the Order capitulated Valletta and ceded sovereignty of the islands. Malta fell without much resistance.

Location precision: The pin marks the Grand Harbour area, not a single fort or the signing spot.

After eluding the Royal Navy for thirteen days, the fleet came in sight of Alexandria. At the landing Napoleon promised each soldier enough money to buy six arpents of land and told his men to respect local customs and religion. The troops then stormed Alexandria and took the city, after which Bonaparte led the main force of his army inland.

Location precision: Sources give the city and the landing, not the beach; the pin marks central Alexandria.

On 21 July, after marching all night, the French reached the village of Embabeh and formed five divisions into hollow squares. Napoleon told them: "From the top of those pyramids, forty centuries are contemplating you." Mamluk cavalry charged the squares again and again without breaking them. The battle cost the French barely a hundred dead and wounded, the Mamluks around 1,500.

Location precision: The fighting was around Embabeh on the Nile, several kilometres from the Giza pyramids the pin marks.

Admiral Brueys anchored the French fleet in Aboukir Bay, 20 miles northeast of Alexandria. The British fleet arrived on 1 August and Nelson ordered an immediate attack, which came as a surprise. During the night the flagship L'Orient caught fire and was destroyed. The defeat left Napoleon's army trapped in Egypt, with no fleet to bring supplies or reinforcements.

Location precision: The battle was fought across the bay; the pin marks the bay, not a single ship's position.

The fort was built around 1470 by the Mamluk Sultan Qait Bey. The French took it on 19 July 1799, rebuilt it and renamed it Fort Julien. While repairing its defences, Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard uncovered the Rosetta Stone, a slab with inscriptions. After the French defeat it passed to the British. The fort was restored by Egypt in the 1980s and is now open to the public; you can reach it by taxi from Rashid.

Visitor guidance: Open to the public near Rashid (Rosetta); reachable by taxi from the town.