I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1142 An "Outing" in Egypt

Massena's artillery launched several salvos, and the Mamluk defenders outside the port scattered in panic.

Subsequently, the French infantry, encountering almost no resistance, stormed into the port from the east and south.

Ottoman officials accompanying the French troops immediately stepped in to restore order in Alexandria. By dusk that day, the French soldiers were already enjoying a dinner of roasted lamb and fava bean paste, brought by the Egyptians.

After a brief rest, Massena began leading his army eastward along the Nile River.

Yes, this is completely different from the situation in history when Napoleon maintained order throughout Egypt. Because of the support of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt's theoretical suzerain state, the Egyptian people were very secure and even actively provided logistical supplies to the French army.

Massena remained on high alert throughout, constantly observing the surrounding terrain with binoculars, and sending cavalry to scout each area three times before daring to let the troops pass.

The journey proceeded smoothly, and a day later he arrived at the important town of Damanhur. This was a crucial water source and supply depot in northern Egypt. Controlling this town would effectively give the French a foothold in Egypt.

Damanhur still had few defensive forces, and Massena's army did not even stop there, but continued south along the Nile.

After a week of intense marching, the majestic pyramids finally came into view of Massena.

He felt that this military operation was as easy as a picnic, except that he was not used to the food and the water was very murky.

Well, what he didn't know was that Napoleon had taken more than 20 days to travel this route. In order to avoid being ambushed by the Mamluks, he had to march through the desert for a long time, and nearly a thousand soldiers died of thirst and disease along the way.

However, this time France was acting in conjunction with the Ottomans. As early as half a month ago, tens of thousands of Ottoman troops had already entered the Sinai Peninsula in eastern Egypt.

The Mamluk army's attention was almost entirely focused on the Ottoman army, and they never expected to be attacked from the west.

Therefore, Joseph decisively ordered Massena to travel along the Nile River, which was not only shorter but also provided ample supplies along the way.

As he had predicted, the entire west bank of the Nile was completely undefended.

Historically, the Battle of Chaubrakchi, which posed a significant challenge to the French army, never actually took place.

The French generals looked at the pyramid complex, which resembled mountains in the desert, through their telescopes and couldn't help but marvel.

Artillery Commander Marmont excitedly rode up to Massena's side and shouted, "General, I haven't even seen the enemy! If we cross the Nile now, we can join forces with the Ottoman army to attack Cairo by noon tomorrow!"

The main part of Cairo is built on the east bank of the Nile River, while the west side is mostly agricultural area and has little strategic value.

Massena, however, remembered His Highness the Crown Prince's instructions and shook his head, saying, "No, we'll wait here."

A communications soldier ran over and reported, "General, we have confirmed that the other side has sent out a signal to move."

“The Ottomans were defeated very quickly. Luckily we didn’t arrive too late.” Massena turned to Marmont and said, “Please set up artillery positions nearby immediately and fire a few shots toward Cairo.”

Marmon's eyes widened immediately: "But there are no enemies here at all?"

“Yes,” Massena nodded, “but they will come after you fire the cannon.”

West bank of the Nile.

Murad, one of the two great beys of the Mamluks, listened to the distant cannon fire and looked irritably at the cavalry officer beside him: "Where are the French?"

"About halfway west of the village of Inbaba, Lord Bey," the officer added, "there are at least 1 soldiers."

The "Felsach" was a cavalry unit, and one Felsach covered a distance of approximately 6 kilometers.

Murad grew even more anxious. The village of Imbaba was less than 10 kilometers from Cairo, and the French army could be at the gates of Cairo at any moment.

He only had a little over 4 cavalrymen at his disposal—the main Mamluk force was under the command of Ibrahim and was fighting the Ottoman army east of Cairo.

This small force was simply no match for the attack of tens of thousands of French troops.

Just then, an Egyptian officer ran up quickly, saluted Murad, and said, "Lord Bey, the Great Bey has ordered you to clear the riverbank immediately, as his cavalry are crossing the river."

The so-called "Big Bey" is the Mamluk term of endearment for Ibrahim.

Murad's eyes widened in surprise: "Cross the river? What about Cairo then?"

The officer hurriedly replied, "Lord Bey successfully launched a surprise attack on Raif's left flank this morning, routing the Ottoman army. Now, the enemy's vanguard has retreated to the vicinity of Obo."

"When Big Bey heard that the French were approaching, he decided to take this opportunity to fight them off with you first, so as to prevent being attacked from both sides."

Murad was overjoyed. Ober was 25 kilometers from Cairo, and it was unlikely that the Ottomans would launch another attack for at least two days.

Well, it wasn't that the Mamluks became stronger, but rather that the Ottoman army was simply too incompetent.

Needless to say, the Janicheri Guard was a different story. The new batch of Pygs's new army was originally poorly trained, and after spending three years in Constantine, they had become almost indistinguishable from the old army.

In order to maintain the privileges of the military class, the Mamluks maintained high-intensity training according to tradition, making them an elite force in the face of the Ottoman army.

So when Ibrahim discovered the gap on the Ottoman flank, he decisively gathered tens of thousands of cavalry and launched a surprise attack, easily tearing apart Raif's army formation.

Had it not been for the threat posed by the French army, Ibrahim could have driven the Ottoman army back east of Suez.

Murad hurriedly ordered his men to clear the riverbank and then asked the officer, "How many troops are being sent to reinforce the west bank?"

"8 cavalry, 1 infantry, and 12 cannons."

Murad's gaze toward Inbaba Village had changed.

Including his army, his elite Mamluk cavalry alone numbered over 1, enough to crush an equal number of French infantry.

The ferry industry was very developed on both sides of the Nile, and Ibrahim's army arrived on the west bank by 10 a.m. the next day.

The two Mamluk supreme commanders then led their troops to the vicinity of the village of Inbaba.

When the cavalry reported that the French army was still halfway west of the village of Fersach, Murad couldn't help but show a disdainful expression:

"It's been a day and a half, and they still haven't even captured this small village."

Ibrahim pondered:
"Perhaps their supplies haven't kept up. We can use this opportunity to crush them."

He turned his head and waved to the messenger:

"Order Abdullah to set up a defensive line with his back to Inbaba village, and have the cavalry launch a frontal assault!"

In the French camp on the other side, a communications soldier reported to Masséna at breakneck speed:
"General, the enemy has approached to within 3 kilometers. The cavalry is divided into two parts: 8 are assembled on the front, and another 2 have circled around to our left flank."

　Thank you to the following generous donors: Valerie, Haiyuemingfan, Aifankundekailin, Haiyizhan, Lantianbaiyunxiadeyuezhuo, Kolbitar, HLittleDi, PRINCESS, and Book Friend 20191202144456517! Your generous donations have enabled this character to achieve the glory of a sixth-rank character! I am deeply grateful for your generosity and support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)