General Desaix and the
Campaign in Upper Egypt
1798-99
The Battle Of Samhud
22 January 1799
by Dave Roberts, UK
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Desaix's Division consisted of 3,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry and some light artillery pieces. He faced a force over three times as large, but this was the battle Desaix had been seeking since he left Cairo in August; a chance to inflict a crushing defeat on Murad Bey and force him into submission. Desaix divided his troops into two squares with the artillery on the flanks and a cavalry square at the centre. The Mamelukes followed their usual tactics and flung themselves upon the French. Swarming around the squares, searching for a way through the ranks of bayonets. One French square is reported to have held its fire until the Arabs were less than 20 paces away. A volley at this range was devastating, but risky in that momentum could easily carry a wounded horse or Mameluke crashing into the French ranks, thus opening a gap for others to exploit. The Mamelukes continued to charge and fall back, in an effort to break the squares. After a while they simply turned and fled into the desert, leaving the Meccans to continue the fight. The battle did not last long, and by the end of it several thousand Meccans were killed or wounded. The French casualties amounted to a single hussar, and several wounded. Desaix was determined that Murad should not escape this time and a vigorous pursuit was ordered. He wrote to Bonaparte . . . "we will chase Murad out of Egypt, occupy the southernmost provinces, and wait until Murad and his men were destroyed by hunger and want."
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As Murad fled south his allies began to abandon him and deserters began to join the French. They included one Mameluke who had been born in Saxony. Murad continued his flight deep into the Sudan, where he once again began to raise new troops to continue the fight. As Desaix wrote, ". . . the Mamelukes are like the Hydra of Lerna; as you cut off their heads, new ones keep growing." [5]
The French marched south through Dandara and Tentyra. On January 27th, the French arrived at the ancient site of Thebes, and the whole army is said to have spontaneously halted and applauded, overawed by the sights that greeted them. Denon made notes and sketches of everything they saw, sometimes risking his own life to do so as he was often left behind by the speed of the French march.
On February 2nd, Desaix crossed the river and arrived at Aswan, 250 miles south of Samhud. The French were now over 580 miles from Cairo. They were exhausted, ill shod and nearly all were suffering from one disease or another. Desaix called off the pursuit and rested his troops in Aswan.
Desaix did stay long in Aswan and left on February 4th to further establish French rule along the Nile. Leaving behind General Belliard and his 21e demi-brigade to occupy Aswan, Desaix marched north once more and returned to Luxor on February 18th. By March 8th, he was back at Asyut and halted there for ten days to rest his weary troops.
Bonaparte had expected Desaix to control a 600-mile strip of enemy territory, either side of the Nile. Desaix could not leave isolated garrisons to enforce French rule, because as soon as the main force was out of sight, the garrisons would be turned on by the native population or butchered by one of the many roving bands of Arabs loyal to Murad. He was forced to march continuously up and down the Nile, appearing anywhere and everywhere. If he was to defeat Murad and subjugate the populace, Desaix must be omnipresent, dispensing justice and enforcing French rule wherever he may appear. Despite the obvious enormity of the task, Desaix was determined to attempt it. After all, it was an order from his Commander-in-Chief.
On February 24th, General Belliard abandoned Aswan. His spies had informed him that Murad Bey had raised fresh troops and was marching across the desert to Asyut, in an attempt to cut him off from Desaix. Belliard's force was too small to leave a garrison behind and so he hurriedly began to march north to intercept Murad - or at least prevent himself being cut off from the main body of the French forces. With the departure of Belliard, French rule in the southernmost provinces of Egypt ended. The only lasting evidence of their occupation- the names of three French soldiers carved in he stone next to the names of their Roman predecessors; the last European troops to venture so far south during their occupation.
During his series of marches up and down the Nile, Desaix had been forced to leave his flotilla at Qena. At the beginning of April, Sheriff Hassan, one of Murad's allies, learned of the flotilla presence and marched his 2,000 Meccan infantry to intercept it. On April 3rd, Hassan caught the French ships, just north of Karnak. The Meccans fired their muskets at the ships and L'Italie, with 200 marines, 300 wounded and blind and a regimental band returned fire with a deadly cannonade. Undaunted, the Meccans captured some of the smaller boats and began to board L'Italie. The situation soon became desperate for the French as hundreds of Arabs poured on board, and a vicious melee ensued. The captain had barely ordered the ship to be torched and abandoned when he was shot down in a hail of bullets. The French survivors were led ashore and the Arabs began their routine of rape, mutilation and decapitation.
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