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

3THE FERMENT OF THE MINDThe French at Rahmaniya launched an immediate saber charge, but thespeed of their enemy’s Arabian steeds allowed them easily to caracoleout of sword range. The dragoons, undaunted, charged again andagain, but they found it difficult to achieve the kind of direct engagement thatwould allow them to devastate their nimble foe. The French suffered a few casualtiesin the ensuing skirmish, the Ottoman Egyptians about forty dead.In the meantime, a convoy of Egyptian ships appeared from the north bearingprovisions for Cairo, but the artillery of the French flotilla sent them scattering.While retreating, the Ottoman Egyptians ran into another French navalforce coming from Alexandria, which attempted but failed to force them to surrendertheir provisions; they slipped away on the Nile. Bonaparte wrote to “CitizenGeneral Dugua” that he had heard that General Desaix had had a briefencounter with a thousand Ottoman-Egyptian cavalrymen outside Rahmaniya,but that the latter had not acquitted themselves with much honor. He added, “Iam only waiting for your arrival and that of launches with cannon to begin mygrand march on Cairo.” 1 It seems likely from Moiret’s account that the initialencounter with the emirs at Rahmaniya was much smaller and more desultorythan Bonaparte was led to believe.As they approached Rahmaniya, the troops finally neared the sweet water ofthe Nile, though for strangers in unfamiliar territory its charms were attendedwith danger. The grenadier François Vigo-Roussillon recalled, “The entirearmy—men, horses and donkeys—threw themselves into that sought-after river.How delicious these healthful waters seemed to us! Nevertheless, many menwere mutilated or carried away by crocodiles.” He said that his unit proceededup the left bank for about a league, then bivouacked in squares (no doubt keepingas much an eye out for the crocs as for enemy soldiers). 2