The Battle of Aboukir , also known as the Battle of the Nile was an important naval defeat of the French Revolutionary Wars, defeat suffered by France against Great Britain on August 1 and 2, 1798 at Aboukir.
The fleet commanded by François Paul de Brueys d'Aigalliers was almost completely destroyed and captured with 1,700 dead and 3,000 prisoners by that of Horatio Nelson which suffered only 218 killed.
This feat of arms was made famous by the poem "Casabianca" by Felicia D. Hemans, which evokes the death of the son of Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca, commander of the Orient.
Bonaparte wanted to threaten British control over India by conquering Egypt. Three weeks after her landing a British fleet of 14 ships searching for her counterpart found her anchored on shoals in Aboukir Bay.
De Brueys believed that the British fleet would not venture into these shallow and unreconnoitred waters at night. Moreover, having studied the British tactic which consisted in crossing the enemy line, he had arranged his fleet parallel to the shore, chaining his ships. He thus hoped to postpone the battle until the next day, and recover the many members of his crews who had gone ashore to resupply. But Nelson had noticed that the French line was too far from the shoals, so he divided his fleet into two divisions, one attacking the French from the seaward side, the other slipping between the shore and De Brueys' line, to catch it between two fires. During the maneuver, HMS Culloden ran aground but the others managed to pass.
The British ships dropped anchor around the French, crossing their fire several times, on each French vessel. HMS Zealous placed herself forward of the Warrior, while HMS Audacious came between her and the Conqueror as the Goliath engaged her shore-side. HMS Theseus and HMS Vanguard framed the Spartan, and HMS Orion and HMS Defense did the same on the Sovereign People. HMS Leander found a weakness in the French chain network and was able to place itself between the Sovereign People and the Franklin. Orient, engaged by HMS Bellerophon, caught fire around 9.30 p.m. and Admiral de Brueys was seriously injured. Around 10:00 p.m., the Orient exploded, leaving only about 100 survivors who had swum away.
The French rear guard, commanded by Pierre Villeneuve, without orders and facing the wind, could not help the rest of the squadron. The British ships are gradually descending the line, overwhelming the already partially armed ships in excess. Around midnight, the unequal fight ends. Villeneuve took advantage of the darkness to set sail with the two ships still intact, the Généreux and Guillaume Tell, and two remaining frigates, the Diane and Justice, he set sail for Malta. The following morning, the French ships remaining distraught, were captured without firing a shot by the Royal Navy. HMS Leander, detached by Nelson to warn the Admiralty, was subsequently captured by the Généreux, after a hard fight.
The balance sheet for the French is nevertheless very heavy. Apart from the Orient, the Timoléon and the frigate Artémise burned down, and the Sérieuse sank. The other vessels are captured, and some will have a rich career in the Royal Navy.
Nelson received no orders other than to destroy the French fleet, nor any troops to lead an expedition on land. Once his mission of destroying the French fleet was accomplished, he simply returned to Great Britain with his war prizes, without interfering with French operations.
The construction of a ship of the line requires thousands of trunks of centuries-old trees. The loss of these large, wooden ships is equivalent to thousands of hectares of forest that will take centuries to regrow.
Losing the flagship of its war fleet, France will not be able to replace it for several decades and leaves control of the sea to the "Home Fleet" for the entire 19th century.
The rest of the fleet, made up of less efficient ships, will be sunk in Trafalgar.
Order of battle
British
* 13 3rd rank ships with 74 guns:HMS Vanguard (flagship), HMS Zealous, HMS Audacious, HMS Orion, HMS Theseus, HMS Minotaur, HMS Goliath, HMS Defence, HMS Bellerophon, HMS Majestic, HMS Swifture, HMS Alexander and HMS Culloden.
* 1 4th Tier ship with 50 guns:HMS Leander
French
* 1 1st rank vessel with 120 guns:L'Orient
* 3 1st rank vessels with 80 guns of the Tonnant class:Tonnant, Guillaume Tell, Franklin.
* 9 2nd rank 74-gun vessels, including 3 of the Téméraire class:the Aquillon, the Spartan and the Généreux. the others are, the Mercury, the Sovereign People, the Warrior, the Happy, the Conqueror and the Timoleon.
* 4 frigates:Justice, Diana, Artemis and Serious
* 3 bombs:the Oranger, the Portuguese and the Hercule
* 2 brigs:the Salamis, and the Raileur with 18 guns each
French
Commanders
French
François Paul de Brueys d'Aigalliers
British
Horatio Nelson
Strengths present
French
13 ships of the line
4 frigates
British
14 ships of the line
Losses
English
1,700 dead
600 injured
3,000 prisoners
British
218 dead
677 injured