Order of battle at the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile, Thomas Luny, 1834

The Battle of the Nile was a significant naval action fought during 1–3 August 1798. The battle took place in Aboukir Bay, near the mouth of the River Nile on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt and pitted a British fleet of the Royal Navy against a fleet of the French Navy. The battle was the climax of a three-month campaign in the Mediterranean during which a huge French convoy under General Napoleon Bonaparte had sailed from Toulon to Alexandria via Malta.^[1] Despite close pursuit by a British fleet of thirteen ships of the line, one fourth rate and a sloop under Sir Horatio Nelson, the French were able to reach Alexandria unscathed and successfully land an army, which Bonaparte led inland.^[2] The fleet that had escorted the convoy, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, four frigates and a number of smaller vessels under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers, anchored in Aboukir Bay as Alexandria harbour was too narrow, forming a line of battle that was protected by shoals to the north and west.^[3]

Nelson reached the Egyptian coast on 1 August and discovered the French fleet at 14:00. Advancing during the afternoon, his ships entered the bay at 18:20 and attacked the French directly, despite the rapid approach of nightfall.^[4] Taking advantage of a large gap between the lead French ship Guerrier and the northern shoal, HMS Goliath rounded the French line at 18:40 and opened fire from the unprepared port side, followed by five more British ships.^[5] The rest of the British line attacked the starboard side of the French van, catching the ships in a fierce crossfire.^[6] For three hours the battle continued as the British overwhelmed the first five French ships but were driven away from the heavily defended centre.^[7] The arrival of reinforcements allowed a second assault on the centre at 21:00 and at 22:00 the French flagship Orient exploded.^[8] Despite the death of the Admiral Brueys, the French centre continued to fight until 03:00, when the badly damaged Tonnant managed to join the thus far unengaged French rear division.^[9] At 06:00 firing began again as the less damaged ships of the British fleet attacked the French rear, forcing Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve to pull away for the mouth of the bay.^[10] Four French ships were too badly damaged to join him and were beached by their crews, Villeneuve eventually escaped to open water with just two ships of the line and two frigates.^[11] On 3 August the last two remaining French ships stranded in the bay were defeated, one surrendering and the other deliberately set on fire by its crew.^[12]

The almost total destruction of the French fleet reversed the strategic situation in the Mediterranean, giving the Royal Navy control of the sea which it retained until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.^[13] Nelson and his captains were highly praised and generously rewarded, although Nelson privately complained that his peerage was not senior enough.^[14] Bonaparte's army was trapped in the Middle East and Royal Navy dominance played a significant part in its subsequent defeat at the Siege of Acre,^[15] Bonaparte himself abandoned the army late in 1799 to return to France and deal with the outbreak of the War of the Second Coalition.^[16] Of the captured ships, three were no longer serviceable and were burnt in the bay, and three others were judged fit only for harbour duties owing to the damage they had received in the battle.^[17] The remainder enjoyed long and successful service careers in the Royal Navy; two subsequently served at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.^[18]

Orders of battle

The ships in the orders of battle below are listed in the order in which they appeared in the respective battle lines. Listed in the casualties section are the totals of killed and wounded as best as can be established: due to the nature of the battle, French losses were hard to calculate precisely. Officers killed in action are marked with a † symbol. Note that as carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate,^[19] these ships may have been carrying more guns than indicated below.

•       Ships in this colour were captured during the battle
•       Ships in this colour were destroyed during the battle

British fleet

Rear-Admiral Nelson's fleet
Ship	Rate	Guns	Commander	Casualties			Notes
				Killed	Wounded	Total
HMS Goliath	Third rate	74	Captain Thomas Foley	21	41	62	Masts and hull severely damaged
HMS Zealous	Third rate	74	Captain Samuel Hood	1	7	8	Lightly damaged
HMS Orion	Third rate	74	Captain Sir James Saumarez	13	29	42	Lightly damaged
HMS Audacious	Third rate	74	Captain Davidge Gould	1	35	36	Lightly damaged
HMS Theseus	Third rate	74	Captain Ralph Willett Miller	5	30	35	Hull severely damaged
HMS Vanguard	Third rate	74	Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson Captain Edward Berry	30	76	106	Masts and hull severely damaged
HMS Minotaur	Third rate	74	Captain Thomas Louis	23	64	87	Lightly damaged
HMS Defence	Third rate	74	Captain John Peyton	4	11	15	Masts lightly damaged
HMS Bellerophon	Third rate	74	Captain Henry Darby	49	148	197	Dismasted and severely damaged
HMS Majestic	Third rate	74	Captain George Blagden Westcott  †	50	143	193	Lost main and mizen masts, hull severely damaged
HMS Leander	Fourth rate	50	Captain Thomas Thompson	0	14	14	Lightly damaged
HMS Alexander	Third rate	74	Captain Alexander Ball	14	58	72	Masts severely damaged
HMS Swiftsure	Third rate	74	Captain Benjamin Hallowell	7	22	29	Severely damaged
HMS Culloden	Third rate	74	Captain Thomas Troubridge	0	0	0	Grounded on the Aboukir shoal during the attack and took no part in the action. Hull severely damaged.
HMS Mutine	Sloop	16	Lieutenant Thomas Hardy	0	0	0	Assisted Culloden during the battle and took no part in the fighting
Total casualties: 218 killed, 678 wounded, 896 total[Note A]
Source: James, pp. 152–175, Clowes, p. 357

French fleet

Vice-Admiral Brueys' fleet
Line of battle
Ship	Rate	Guns	Commander	Casualties			Notes
				Killed	Wounded	Total
Guerrier	Third rate	74	Captain Jean-François-Timothée Trullet	~350–400 casualties[20]			Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured but later destroyed as unserviceable.
Conquérant	Third rate	74	Captain Etienne Dalbarade  †	~350 casualties[21]			Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Conquerant but never saw front line service.
Spartiate	Third rate	74	Captain Maurice-Julien Emeriau	64	150	214 [22]	Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Spartiate.
Aquilon	Third rate	74	Captain Antoine René Thévenard  †	87	213	300 [8]	Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Aboukir but never saw front line service.
Peuple Souverain	Third rate	74	Captain Pierre-Paul Raccord	Heavy casualties			Fore and main masts collapsed and hull severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Guerrier but never saw front line service.
Franklin	Third rate	80	Contre-Admiral Armand Blanquet Captain Maurice Gillet	~400 casualties[23]			Main and mizen masts collapsed and hull severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Canopus.
Orient	First rate	120	Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers  † Contre-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume Captain Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca  †	~1,000 casualties[24]			Destroyed in an ammunition explosion
Tonnant	Third rate	80	Commodore Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars  †	Heavy casualties			Dismasted, grounded and severely damaged. Captured on 3 August and became HMS Tonnant.
Heureux	Third rate	74	Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne	Light casualties			Grounded and severely damaged. Captured on 2 August but later burnt as unserviceable.
Mercure	Third rate	74	Lieutenant Cambon	Light casualties			Grounded and severely damaged. Captured on 2 August but later burnt as unserviceable.
Guillaume Tell	Third rate	80	Contre-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve Captain Saulnier	Light casualties			Escaped on 2 August
Généreux	Third rate	74	Captain Louis-Jean-Nicolas Le Joille	Light casualties			Escaped with Guillaume Tell on 2 August
Timoléon	Third rate	74	Captain Louis-Léonce Trullet	Light casualties			Grounded and severely damaged. Scuttled by its crew on 3 August.
Frigates
Sérieuse	Fifth rate	36	Captain Claude-Jean Martin	Heavy casualties			Sank due to damage received in the battle
Artémise	Fifth rate	36	Captain Pierre-Jean Standelet	Light casualties			Scuttled by its crew on 2 August
Justice	Fifth rate	40	Captain Villeneuve	0	0	0	Escaped with Guillaume Tell on 2 August
Diane	Fifth rate	40	Contre-Admiral Denis Decrès Captain Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil	0	0	0	Escaped with Guillaume Tell on 2 August
The head of the French line was supported by guns mounted on Aboukir Island and a number of gunboats and bomb vessels situated among the shoals to the west of the line.[25] These participated in the battle but with little effect, and several grounded during the engagement, with one bomb vessel scuttled by its crew.[26]
Total casualties: ~3,000–5,000[Note A]
Source: James, pp. 152–175, Clowes, p. 357

Notes

1. ^ Sources often give casualty figures for the battle that vary significantly: Adkins list British losses as 218 killed and 677 wounded, French as 5,235 killed or missing and 3,305 captured including approximately 1,000 wounded men.^[27] William Laird Clowes gives precise figures for each British ship, totalling 218 killed and 678 wounded, and quotes French casualty estimates of 2,000 to 5,000, settling on the median average of 3,500.^[28] Juan Cole gives 218 British dead and French losses of approximately 1,700 dead, a thousand wounded and 3,305 prisoners, most of whom were returned to Alexandria.^[29] Robert Gardiner gives British losses as 218 killed and 617 wounded, French as 1,600 killed and 1,500 wounded.^[18] William James gives a precise breakdown of British casualties that totals 218 killed and 678 wounded and also quotes estimates of French losses of 2,000 to 5,000, favouring the lower estimate.^[24] John Keegan gives British losses as 208 killed and 677 wounded and French as several thousand dead and 1,000 wounded.^[30] Steven Maffeo vaguely records 3,000 French casualties and 1,000 British.^[31] Noel Mostert gives British losses of 218 killed and 678 wounded and quotes estimates of French losses between 2,000 and 5,000.^[32] Peter Padfield gives British losses of 218 killed and 677 wounded and French as 1,700 killed and approximately 850 wounded.^[33] Digby Smith lists British losses of 218 killed and 678 wounded and French as 2,000 killed, 1,100 wounded and 3,900 captured.^[34] Oliver Warner gives figures of 5,265 French killed or missing, 3,105 taken prisoner and British losses of 218 killed and 677 wounded. It should be noted that almost all of the French prisoners were returned to French-held territory in Egypt during the week following the battle.^[26]

References

1. ^ James, p. 151
2. ^ Clowes, p. 356
3. ^ Gardiner, p. 31
4. ^ Adkins, p. 23
5. ^ James, p. 164
6. ^ Gardiner, p. 33
7. ^ Clowes, p. 366
8. ^ ^{a b} Keegan, p. 65
9. ^ James, p. 172
10. ^ James, p. 173
11. ^ Mostert, p. 272
12. ^ Adkins, p. 37
13. ^ Mostert, p. 274
14. ^ Jordan & Rogers, p. 219
15. ^ Rose, p. 144
16. ^ Gardiner, p. 62
17. ^ James, p. 185
18. ^ ^{a b} Gardiner, p. 39
19. ^ James, Vol. 1, p. 32
20. ^ James, p. 166
21. ^ James, p. 167
22. ^ Germani, p. 59
23. ^ James, p. 171
24. ^ ^{a b} James, p. 176
25. ^ Clowes, p. 353
26. ^ ^{a b} Warner, p. 121
27. ^ Adkins, p. 38
28. ^ Clowes, p. 370
29. ^ Cole, p. 109
30. ^ Keegan, p. 66
31. ^ Maffeo, p. 271
32. ^ Mostert, p. 273
33. ^ Padfield, p. 132
34. ^ Smith, p. 140

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