Battle of Chobrakit

Napoleon Bonaparte faced a crucial battle over a week before the Battle of the Pyramids. This fight was against Mamelukes who lived in a village to the north of Cairo. At this battle Napoleon’s strategy was tested against eastern tactics. In the end, this battle helped the French plan their attack in the Battle of the Pyramids. This significant battle is known as the Battle of Chobrakit on July 12 1798.

Night Before

The night before the Battle of Chobrakit, General Boyer of the French army was sent on a scouting mission up the Nile. His objective was to locate Mamelukes, the enemy forces. It was reported early that day Mameluke forces were approaching with a land cavalry and with gun ships and other artillery in the river. Boyer, in the beginning of his scouting mission, claimed to not have found any trace of the enemy when visiting villages along the Nile. However, later on Boyer spotted enemy installations and naval fleet belonging to the Mamelukes. He sent word back to Napoleon of the approximate number of boats and artillery and to head to Chobrakit, a small place on the left bank of the Nile where the enemy was located. Boyer and his men remained posted near the enemy forces and prepared for a possible battle that next day.

At crack of dawn, Boyer, according to a letter he wrote to his parents, woke up to discover six Turkish ships heading in his direction. Many other French soldiers, on boat or on land, recalled having the same sight. It was at this time the Battle of Chobrakit had begun.

The Battle

Land

From the beginning the French took control of two villages with a small infantry strike by flanking the enemy. Napoleon arranged his army to form a square battalion, with artillery between each square. The artillery presented fire to whichever side the Mamelukes attacked from. This proved to be devastating to the enemy. The only attacking tactic the Mamelukes knew was to circle the enemy and look for weak spots and expose it. Unfortunately, for the Mamelukes once they were in half a cannon shot distance of the French, cannonballs began taking a huge toll on their infantry. On top of that, French sharpshooters were starting to pick off the Mamelukes trying to skirmish. Worst for the Mamelukes was, when trying to retreat from the scene, they were picked off by the sharpshooters of three French divisions. It seemed any tactic made by the Mamelukes was being repelled by Napoleon and his army.

Naval

Compared to the dominance of the French on land, the battle on the Nile turned out to be much more equally matched. Two French gunboats and the galley were run ashore. After the French crew bailed for safety, the ships were claimed by Mamelukes. Later, General Andreossy and his cavalry, who were onboard the Cerf, were put to the test and reclaimed at least two of the French boats. After Napoleon drove away the Mamelukes, he sent his troops to attack enemy batteries on the Nile’s banks. This caused Mamelukes along the river to retreat, giving the French the opportunity to win the stalemate of the naval battle. This ended the Battle of Chobrakit.

It is well noted that Napoleon did not want to win this battle quickly. He knew more important battles against this enemy were to be fought in the very near future. He studied his and his enemy’s tactics carefully and made the adjustments he felt was necessary to make a more efficient attack. It turns out he made the right adjustments as a little more than a week later, Napoleon and his army easily destroyed the Mamelukes in the Battle of the Pyramids.

References

*cite journal |last=Brier |first=Bob |coauthors=Mary Mendenhall Wood |title=Napoleon in Egypt: The Battle of Chobrakit |journal=Napoleonic Scholarship:The Journal of the International Napoleonic Society |year=1998 |month=December |volume=Vol. 1 |issue=No. 2 |url=http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/scholarship98/c_chobrakit.html |accessdate=2008-03-09