The Battle of Heliopolis was an engagement that pitted the French Armée d'Orient under General Kléber against a British-supported Ottoman

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

at Heliopolis on 20 March 1800.

Background

Kléber engaged in negotiations with both the British and Ottomans, with the aim of honourably evacuating the remains of the French force from Egypt to take part in operations in Europe. An accord (the

Convention of El Arish The Convention of El Arish was signed on 24 January 1800 by representatives from French Consulate, France and the Ottoman Empire in the presence of a British representative. It was intended to bring to an end the French campaign in Egypt and Syr ...

) was concluded on 23 January 1800 allowing such a return to France, but it proved impossible to apply due to internal dissensions among the British and the dithering of the Sultan, and so the conflict in Egypt restarted. Kléber was betrayed by the British Admiral Keith, who did not respect the El Arich convention. He therefore restarted hostilities, for he refused to surrender. The British and the Ottomans believed the armée d'Orient was now too weak to resist them, and so Yussuf Pasha ordered Nassif Pasha to march on

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, where the local population obeyed his call to revolt against French rule.

Battle

The French advanced to

Mataria El Matareya (also spelled Matarieh or la Matarée) ( ar, المطرية ). Is a coastal town, is a region ('' markaz'') in Egypt. Located in the Dakahlia Governorate, it is located south of Port Said, nicknamed the fishing town. It lies ...

, where they arrived on the morning of March 20 at 3 p.m. The French organized themselves into four square formations. The corners of the squares had artillery and grenadiers. The left wing of the French was commanded by General

Jean Reynier Jean Louis Ebénézer Reynier (14 January 1771 – 27 February 1814) was a Swiss- French military officer who served in the French Army under the First Republic and the First Empire. He rose in rank to become a general during the French Revolu ...

, with his division including the

Joseph Lagrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaAntoine Joseph Robin brigades, and the right wing by General

Louis Friant Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, with his division made up by the

Augustin Daniel Belliard Augustin Daniel Belliard, comte Belliard et de l'Empire (25 May 1769 in Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée – 28 January 1832 in Brussels) was a French general. Biography Revolution Belliard became an officer between 1792 and 1793 under Dumouriez i ...

and

François-Xavier Donzelot Comte François-Xavier Donzelot (7 January 1764, in Mamirolle – 11 June 1843) was a French general and a Governor of the Ionian Islands and Martinique. He was the son of François Donzelot and Jeanne–Baptiste Maire and had a brother nam ...

brigades. Kleber called on Murad Bey to support his right wing with his Mamluk cavalry, as well. He mustered his Mamluks but deserted the French flank before the battle and did not participate in the fighting. Kléber commanded the center of the forces, in which Pierre Leclerc d'Ostein led the French light cavalry in the center of the forces. Reynier's left wing struck directly against Mataria's Janissaries as Friant cut off their retreat route. The French cavalry, in turn, clashed with the Ottoman cavalry. In addition to the Turks, the Ottoman side had Mamluk cavalry. The Janissaries were defeated relatively quickly and the French began to move towards the main Ottoman forces in the direction of Heliopolis. In Heliopolis, the Ottomans were led by Nassif Pasha. The Ottomans launched an attack on the French, which proved disorganized. The attack caught fire with the French cannon fire and turned into an uncontrollable retreat. Eventually, the French also reached the Ottoman camp. The Ottoman army fled to Syria.

Consequences

The losses of the French in the battle of Heliopolis remained very small. There were only about 600 French casualties. There were about 8,000 casualties on the Ottoman side. Kléber had managed to save the seemingly desperate situation, at least for the time being. He was also able to quell the uprising that erupted in Cairo. The position of the French was further strengthened with Kléber's recruitment of local auxiliaries and his alliance with his former enemy

Murad Bey Murad Bey Mohammed ( 1750 – 22 April 1801) was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain ( Bey), cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler, but an energetic courageous fighter ...

. However, Kléber was assassinated later that year and his successor,

Jacques-François Menou Jacques-François de Menou, Baron of Boussay, later Abdallah de Menou, (3 September 1750 – 13 August 1810) was a French statesman and general of Napoleon during the French Revolutionary Wars, most noted for his role in the French campaign in Eg ...

, was considered a much weaker leader.

Gallery

File:Kléber-Héliopolis-1800.jpg, ''Le général Kléber victorieux à Héliopolis, 20 mars 1800'', by Philippe Grass. Public sculpture at

Place Kléber The Place Kléber (''Kleberplatz'' in German) is the central square of Strasbourg, France. Place Kleber, the largest square at the center of the city of Strasbourg in the heart of the city's commercial area, was named after French revolutio ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

Notes

References

* Alexandre Tchoudinov, La bataille d’Héliopolis, ou la victoire oubliée in ''Napoleonica'', Fondation Napoléon, n 3, 2015, pp. 5–47. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heliopolis, Battle, 1800 1800 in Egypt Battles involving the Ottoman Empire Battles involving France Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Conflicts in 1800 French campaign in Egypt and Syria Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe