In a fascinating study of Napoleon's ten-week incursion two hundred years ago into the Holy Land and Syria, Nathan Schur brings to life in the new book Napoleon in the Holy Land the key events between February and May 1799. Using numerous eyewitness accounts, he examines the response to the invading French armies and French attitudes to the people and land they were attempting to subjugate. In early 1799 Napoleon launched an offensive from his base in Egypt and pushed his available forces northwards into Palestine, capturing Gaza and storming Jaffa, accompanied by great loss of life and a massacre of the defenders. His troops, elated by victory, were halted by the determined resistance of Ottoman and British forces at Acre, 'the key to Palestine', and a protracted and bloody siege resulted. Napoleon, despite defeating Turkish forces sent to relieve Acre, was frustrated with the slow progress of the siege and eventually called the expedition off and withdrew into Egypt with a French army decimated by bubonic plague. With details of the savage fighting, the progress of the campaign from the perspective of such diverse figures as French generals, British marines, Ottoman officials and inhabitants of the region, and a masterly insight into the thoughts and actions of the leading participants – including Napoleon, Berthier, Sidney Smith and Djezzar-Pasha – this is the full story of an inglorious but colourful episode in the wars of Napoleon. Bicentenaries of the Napoleonic Wars are already being the subject of articles and reviews in the military enthusiasts' magazines, and it is anticipated that this fascinating campaign will also receive media attention. Nathan Schur is a historian living in Israel. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 87 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com