August 1–2, 1798 · Aboukir Bay, Egypt Theater
August 1–2, 1798
Napoleon's Egyptian expedition — intended to threaten British India by controlling Egypt — arrived successfully and destroyed the Mamluk army at the Battle of the Pyramids. But Nelson had been hunting the French fleet for two months. At Aboukir Bay, he found it anchored in a defensive line, and executed an attack of devastating audacity: dividing his force to attack from both sides of the French line simultaneously, trapping French ships between two fires. The battle lasted through the night. French Admiral Brueys, mortally wounded, refused to leave his ship and was killed when it blew up — the explosion was heard forty miles away. Thirteen of seventeen French ships were captured or destroyed. Napoleon was stranded in Egypt.
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