cy of England at sea. On the
other hand the continuance of the struggle would give triumph after
triumph to his foes. One such blow had already fallen. Even in the midst
of his immense schemes against Britain at home, Buonaparte had not
abandoned the hope of attacking her in India. Egypt was needful to such
a scheme; and from the first moment of his power he strained every nerve
to retain Egypt in the hands of France. Menou, who commanded there, was
ordered to hold the country; an expedition was fitted out in the Spanish
ports for its relief; and light vessels were hurried from the Italian
coast with arms and supplies. But at the very moment of the attack on
Copenhagen, a stroke as effective wrecked his projects in the East.
England had not forgotten the danger to her dependency; ever since
Buonaparte's expedition her fleet had blockaded Malta, the island
fortress whose possession gave France a first stepping-stone in any
enterprise against it; and the surrender of Malta left her unquestioned
mistress of the Mediterranean. From Malta she now turned to Egypt
itself. Triumphant as England had been at sea since the opening of the
war, her soldiers had proved no match for the French on land. Two
expeditions had been sent against Holland, and each had ended in a
disastrous retreat. But at this moment England reappeared as a military
power. In March 1801 a force of 15,000 men under General Abercromby
anchored in Aboukir Bay. Deserted as they were by Buonaparte, the French
had firmly maintained their hold on Egypt. They had suppressed a revolt
at Cairo, driven back Turkish invaders in a fresh victory, and by native
levies and reinforcements raised the number of their troops to 30,000
men. But their army was foolishly scattered, and Abercromby was able to
force a landing five days after his arrival on the coast. The French
however rapidly concentrated; and on the 21st of March their general
attacked the English army on the ground it had won with a force equal to
its own. The battle was a stubborn one, and Abercromby fell mortally
wounded ere its close; but after six hours' fighting the French drew off
with heavy loss; and their retreat was followed by the investment of
Alexandria and Cairo, into which Menou had withdrawn his army. All hope
however was over. Five thousand Turks, with a fresh division from
England and India, reinforced the besiegers; and at the close of June
the capitulation of the 13,000 soldiers who remained clos