Battle of Mount Tabor

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Mount Tabor
partof= the French Revolutionary Wars
date=April 16, 1799
place=Mount Tabor
result=French victory
combatant1=flagicon|Ottoman Empire|1453Ottoman Empire
combatant2=flagicon|FranceThe Directoire
commander1=Ahmed al-Jazzar Pasha.
commander2=General Bonaparte,
General Kleber
strength1=25,000 menSmith, D. p.151]
strength2=ca 4,000Smith, D. p.151]
casualties1=6 killed or wounded,
500 capturedSmith, D. p.151]
casualties2=2 killed,
60 woundedSmith, D. p.151] The Battle of Mount Tabor, or Skirmish of Mount Tabor, opposed French forces under General Kleber to an Ottoman force led by the Pasha of Damascus on 16 April 1799. General Bonaparte was besieging Acre, and Damascus sent its army to relieve the siege. Operating to the south of Acre, Kleber decided to intercept the Ottoman army and ran into the 25,000 men strong army to find himself outnumberedSmith, D. p.151] .

The French forces fought divided in two squares and resisted for eight hours against the Ottomans before running out of ammunition. Napoleon arrived with 2,500 men and two cannon reinforcements as the Ottomans seemed to be on the verge of winning. Napoleon had seen the upcoming disaster before it was clear even to Kleber, and he struck the Ottomans in the flank. Taken by surprise, the Ottoman force was finally routed.

External links

* http://www.napoleonguide.com/ a page on the Napoleonic Wars, it includes a description of the battle.

Footnotes

References

*Smith, D. "The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book". Greenhill Books, 1998.