Napoleon's Egypt: Invading The Middle East - Reenactor.ru

A SKY AFLAME37most elegantly explained by simple ignorance in the beginning, combined withappalling callousness even after the problem became apparent. Bonaparte, an islanderwhose major military successes to date had been in Italy, did not realizethe severe limitations lack of water imposed on desert warfare. In addition, hefelt himself in an almost hopeless race against time, given the proximity andfirepower of the British fleet.Having landed in the northeast corner of the African continent, the Frenchnow stood at a port city in the Nile Delta, a broad alluvial plain created over themillennia by the Nile, which overflowed its banks every year, as it emptied intothe Mediterranean. Most of Egypt’s population huddled along the Nile and itstributaries. Although at one time the Nile put many fingers into the sea, theDelta is now mainly traversed by the Rosetta branch in the west and the Damiettabranch in the east. The French would have to march to the western branchand make their way upriver toward the capital of Ottoman Egypt, Cairo, nicknamed“Misr” or “the fortified city,” where the branches diverged.On 5 July two columns prepared to set out, marching to the west along thepath of the dry canal that used to bring water to the port. The next day the thirdcolumn trekked east along the sea toward the wealthy port city of Rosetta andthence south, following that tributary of the Nile. Moiret was in the eastern division,commanded by Gen. Charles François Dugua, which, despite its travails,had the easier time of it. Two hours out of Alexandria they found themselves indesert sand and soon were beset by fatigue and a powerful thirst. They marchedfrom sun to sun without encountering any habitation or source of fresh water,“roasted by a sky aflame.”They tried digging beneath the sand near the ocean, but only found a bit ofdirty water that was wholly insufficient to their needs. Many soldiers died ofthirst or dehydration because they could not keep down the dirty groundwater.Diarrhea and dysentery, which had spread among the troops, dehydrated themfurther. They only began to find fresh water when they approached Abuqir,where they spent the night. The next day the march was easier, since it was interruptedby the wait to be ferried across a small strait of the sea that separatedAlexandria’s territory from that of the nearby city of Rosetta.The following morning, 8 July, they set out again at three. During that daythey experienced the most horrible thirst and fatigue. The sources differ aboutwhat happened when General Dugua and his troops approached Rosetta. Al-Jabarti wrote that many of the city’s inhabitants had fled before the advance ofthe foreign troops. A French source said the inhabitants opened the city gatesand sent out a deputation draped in tricolor sashes. News of the republican