21 July 1798, afternoon
The squares and the Mamluk charge
After a short rest Bonaparte forms each of his five divisions into a hollow rectangle, with the cavalry and baggage inside and guns at the corners. They advance south in echelon, the right leading and the left covered by the Nile: from right to left the divisions of Desaix, Reynier, Dugua, Vial and Bon. Bonaparte rides in Dugua’s square, and Desaix sends a detachment to occupy the village of Biktil.
The Battle of the Pyramids, painting by Louis-François Lejeune, 1808Wikimedia Commons, Louis-François, Baron Lejeune, Public domain (Louis-François Baron Lejeune 001.jpg)
Murad Bey rests his right on the Nile at Embabeh, held by infantry and artillery behind entrenchments, and his left on Biktil. His Mamluk cavalry, about 6,000 horsemen, stands in the centre, while Ibrahim Bey’s army watches from the east bank without being able to cross. Murad’s plan is to hold the French on his fortified flanks and break their centre with the cavalry.
At about 15:30 Murad sends his defterdar Ayyub Bey with the mass of the Mamluks against the squares. The divisions of Desaix, Reynier and Dugua hold their ground and drive the horsemen off with musketry and grapeshot. A charge against Desaix’s detachment at Biktil fails as well.
Sources
- David G. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (1966).
- Andrew Roberts, Napoleon: A Life (2015).
- Paul Strathern, Napoleon in Egypt (2008).
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