Battle of the Pyramids

Arc de Triomphe: LES PYRAMIDES


July 21, 1798

The Mameluke army under Murad Bey moved to intercept the French advance across Egypt under General Bonaparte. With the Pyramids in the distance, the French divisions formed square and held off repeated charges by the Mameluke cavalry, then took the offensive and crushed the disorganized cavalry. The battle demonstrated the superiority of French tactics against the wild ferocity of the individual Mameluke cavalrymen, and afterwards the French moved into Cairo.

Bibliography

• Chandler, David G. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979.
• Smith, Digby. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill Books: 1998.

External Links:

• Savary's Account of the Battle

Updated March 2017

© Nathan D. Jensen