Napoleon in Egypt: Battle of the Pyramids – Epic History TV Reaction

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You people are Relentless all I’ve heard for the last week is Napoleon in Egypt from epic history TV when are you going to do Napoleon in Egypt from epic history TV okay okay okay it’s here I’m doing it all right Napoleon in Egypt the battle of the pyramids from epic history

TV there’s probably nobody who does it better when it comes to presenting the story of the Napoleonic Wars than epic history TV we’ve gone through most of their uh videos on this topic I know I haven’t done Napoleon’s Marshalls yet you ask for that all the time too it

Will happen I just don’t want to get Napoleon fatigue you know uh and we have actually taken a look at the story of Napoleon in Egypt recently from uh extra history so if you haven’t already seen that series I’ll put a link up at the

End so you can check that out but the link is in the description down uh at the bottom so you can check this out the original content without my commentary and I constantly get people commenting to me telling me Oh I hear you have a gaming channel or if uh if you ever

Start a gaming channel guys Link in this links in the description of every single video to my other channels check them out if you haven’t already I’ve been uploading some new content to vth extra lately there are some new videos up on gaming as well let’s go ahead and dive

Into this one before I do though I want to give a shout out and a thank you to Owen in Seattle Washington who is an executive producer level Patron as well as Rebecca Min not South Dakota I’m sorry oh my gosh Rebecca Min not North Dakota got to get

That right I know the Dakotas are proud thank you for your support as a producer level Patron let’s go ahead and dive In May 1798 a massive French invasion Force sails across the Mediterranean 55,000 men aboard more than 300 ships escorted by 13 ships of the line aboard the most powerful of these the 120 gun lauron sails General Napoleon bonapart France’s celebrated hero of the war in Italy has received new orders from his

Government he is to lead an expeditionary Force East to Egypt the wealthiest province of the Ottoman Empire so a couple of things are happening here Napoleon had been at one point appointed to an army that was called the army of England I think uh pretty sure that’s what it was called

With the idea of forming an invasion Force to land uh on the southern coast of England and knock them out of the war because remember the Napoleonic Wars don’t keep going throughout the first couple of Decades of the 19th century without the backing of the British military the British Navy and

British money so the big thorn in the side of the French continues to be the British so they’re going to try and do something about it but they’re not able to make that happen because of the British Navy same reason so many others have failed to defeat the British so if

You can’t get at them directly you’ve got to find some other way to get at them so you go after them economically because they’re funding these wars and they’re going to continue this is 1797 1798 so this is early yet uh but you’ve got to knock British money out of these

Continental Wars so how do you do that you go off after their trade and to all educated Europeans an ancient land of Mystery and wonder after six years of war in Europe the French Republic faces one last remaining enemy Great Britain the conquest of Egypt will strike a powerful blow against the

British disrupting their trade in the Eastern Mediterranean and threatening their connections to India and the East so just a a point of clarification here because there’s a lot of mixing of names at times Great Britain United Kingdom England those sorts of things the simplest way to put it in this case is

That Great Britain is this island it becomes the United Kingdom about a decade after this when they add Ireland so it becomes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland uh all under one and it’s uh become Great Britain because about about 200 years before this Scotland and England came under a

Union of crowns the King of Scotland was also the king of England they passed an act of Union that made that official uh link the two governments about 80 90 years before this uh and then in of course in the 20th century Ireland and Northern Ireland will split so now it’s

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland whereas Ireland is a republic that’s separate and not part of the monarchy uh but at this point they are still Great Britain and will be for about another decade these profitable trade networks help fuel the British war effort what’s more it will extend

France’s revolutionary civilizing mission to the people of Egypt liberating them from Superstition and feudalism France’s corrupt and avaricious government the directory sees two further benefits from the campaign the opportunity to acquire tremendous riches and to get the alarmingly popular and ambitious General bonapart far away from Paris and it’s never a good sign

When your government leaders who have only come to power because because of overthrowing the previous government which they saw as corrupt and tyrannical when you come in and you become the same came corrupt and tyrannical I don’t know if they were tyrannical but certainly corrupt and only in it for themselves uh

And you’re your goal is not to benefit your people that can only harm you in the long run and this is going to be the beginning of the end of the directory and it’s going to be this directory that is overthrown in the coup when Napoleon

Comes back from Egypt and uh is brought on board as kind of the military muscle for a coup to overthrow the directory because the directory was falling apart anyway they were losing control uh and and it was an attempt to control what would come next because everybody knew

Something was coming next it was just a matter of what that was going to be and Napoleon takes advantage of that where plots and coups are never far from anyone’s mind Napoleon is thrilled by the Expedition which he has done much to promote and organize himself it is a chance to win fresh

Glory and to walk in the footsteps of his Heroes Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great don’t underestimate that part Ste uh Napoleon was a prolific writer and he wrote all the time about how much he looked up to those two guys in particular other others as well he

Talked about Frederick the great and other people but Alexander and Caesar are the two all the time and what do they both have in common fighting in the Middle East they both did that so this is an opportunity like he said to walk in their footsteps steps also remember

That much of what we know in modern times about Egyptian history wasn’t known yet Egypt is very much still a mystery and so there is that potential for historic and scientific discovery and and Napoleon was always really interested in that this is not a military only minded kind of guy he’s

Very interested in culture and writing and art and history and science all of that stuff like Alexander Napoleon even has fanciful Notions of marching on to India to attack the British there Europe is a mole hill he had told his secretary Burien we must set off for

The Orient that is where all the greatest Glory has been achieved but the Mediterranean is dangerous water for the French while the Republic’s armies have won great victories on land Britain has cemented its status as the dominant Naval power of the age with decisive victories over French allies the Spanish

At Cape St Vincent and the Dutch had camper down rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson and his Squadron of 14 ships of the line now prowl the Mediterranean Nelson knows a large french fleet has just left to long but does not know its destination which remains a closely guarded

Secret this is one of those times in history and we talk about this from time to time about how things could have gone differently and this could be a diverging point in history if you’re talking about alternate history what if Nelson stumbles on the French Fleet what if he stumbles on this massive

Transport uh Force that’s taking this 50,000 man army what if he sinks the ship Napoleon’s on and kills Napoleon how different does the world look today undetected the French Expedition sails South along the Italian Coast on the 9th of June it arrives off Malta the island is ruled by the Knights of St John a religious military order dating back to the Crusades but the French have decided that they want it for a naval base and a thorn in the side of the British in 1565 the knights had famously held out

Against a vast ottoman Army for 3 months wow now despised by the locals divided amongst themselves the knights surrender to Napoleon in just two days so that makes you wonder what changed in 200 years did the Knights of St John weaken that much were they more sympathetic to Napoleon’s cause and

Maybe antithetic toward the British um a lot of questions about why that happened so easily at that point during his six days in Malta Napoleon overhauls its archaic government establishes schools abolishes slavery and requisitions money and supplies this is what Napoleon does he doesn’t just conquer a place he

Transforms it he transforms the laws the government that’s always been a big part of who he is and that that should not be underestimated this is not about military conquest in fact at this part at this point Napoleon’s really this is more offense for the sake of Defense you

Know if the British had dropped out of the war and said we’re done interfering on the continent of Europe none of this probably is necessary then he sails for Egypt leaving General vire and a 5,000 strong Garrison to hold the island but where is the Royal Navy back in May Nelson’s Squadron had

Been dispersed by gals he has now regrouped correctly guessed Napoleon’s destination and is racing to intercept if he can catch the French British seamanship and Gunnery all but guarantee the destruction of Napoleon’s Fleet then a lucky break for the French on the night of the 22 Nelson’s

Squadron passes within a few miles of the French Fleet but thanks to heavy fog and darkness neither side is even aware of the other’s presence how many times in history has the weather changed everything George Washington’s Army was saved by a timely fog on Long Island and in

1776 the British uh or the English uh Fleet is able to defeat the Spanish Armada in part because of the weather the Japanese have been saved by the weather a number of times Interesting the British Squadron sails on to Alexandria where they find no sign of the French an exasperated Nelson Waits 24 hours before heading north to continue his just hours later the first of Napoleon’s ships arrive off Alexandria timing is Everything Napoleon was always fantastic at motivating his men they called him the little Corporal not as a derogatory comment but as a it was a way of saying that they identified him as being one of them they always felt connected to him that’s one of the reasons why they fought for him

As hard as they did for as long as they did and sometimes with massive attrition because they believed in him because he made them believe in themselves he was fantastic at this sort of thing Napoleon aware that British warships are in the area wants to disembark as quickly as possible

5,000 French infantry go ashore at night storm Alexandria the next morning and quickly overpower its Garrison the rest of the French army lands safely Napoleon has brought 38,000 troops to Egypt mostly Veterans of the army of Italy the five infantry divisions are commanded by generals bong Des cel

Menu and renier the single Cavalry division is led by The Towering figure of Tomar Alexandra Duma he is France’s first black General born in what’s now Haiti to a French Aristocrat and enslaved African woman he has already won Fame for his actions in Italy where the austrians had

Nicknamed him the black devil that’s awesome there are more familiar faces from it and uh as many people know he is the father of Alexander Duma who wrote The Three Musketeers Man in the Iron Mask things like that uh I think didn’t he also write the uh Count of Monte Christo

Fantastic Story by the way um yeah so uh black General and you’ll see him in the Napoleon Movie he is portrayed even though like most of Napoleon’s generals he doesn’t really get mentioned much in that movie Napoleon’s Chief of Staff the indefatigable General Bertier and Brigade commanders generals

Mura Lan and marmo who will become Marshals later the Army is also accompanied by 167 scientists Scholars artists and assorted experts even a hot air balloonist collectively they are known as the savons and this is definitely one of the most important aspects of this whole thing forget the military achievements

That all really didn’t change much in the end but the scientific and the archaeological discoveries massive implications have come to study Egypt’s historical and natural wonders but they and Napoleon find Alexandria a bitter disappointment the fabled city of antiquity founded by Alexander himself has been reduced by centuries of

Earthquakes and neglect to a ramshackle town of 6,000 inhabitants Egypt is nominally ruled by the Ottoman Empire in reality power lies with local mamluk Warlords two in particular Murad Bay and ibraim Bay mamluks were originally slave soldiers who once served the Islamic caliphate superb Horsemen and fearless

Warriors they now rule Egypt with an iron fist expropriating its wealth and leaving its peasants in poverty to most Egyptians they are despised foreign overlords a situation that Napoleon hopes to exploit with clever propaganda yeah he sets up printing presses he starts doing everything he can to ingratiate himself

To the locals Napoleon was always concerned about that sort of thing and so he starts learning all he can about Islam even even flirts with the idea of converting to Islam and he would do this multiple times when he was in Italy he would focus very heavily on Catholicism

Uh he recognized the importance of identifying with the locals the whole hearts and Minds sort of thing that’s what he’s after here to the people of Egypt he proclaims I am come to restore your rights and punish usurpers I reverence God his prophet and the Quran meanwhile m and ibraim summon mamluk Warlords to the Alazar mosque in Cairo here they agreed to gather an army to crush the Invaders Napoleon believes his best option is to strike quickly less than a day after his troops finish Landing he begins his Advance on Cairo but he misjudges the blistering

Climate and the baron winds sweat landscape he forces the pace even after his men run out of water and are consumed by thirst hundreds collapse and die a few little foreshadowing of what’s going to happen in Russia only the opposite weather extreme instead of really cold you’ve got really hot here you kill

Themselves to escape the suffering B and horse men Circle the French like vultures stragglers that fall into their hands are robbed tortured and killed even old comrades like Lan and mura are involved in heated conversations about Napoleon’s decision making the army takes 4 days to cover the 45 miles to damor where mercifully

They’re able to rest drink and trade for food it’s not a moment too soon news arrives that a large force of mamluks under Murad Bay is approaching from the southeast the French advance to meet them at shrait on the banks of the Nile as 4,000 mamluk Horsemen come into

View the French Marvel at their brightly colored outfits embellished with gold and jewels and their many ornate weapons including pistols swords daggers and lances Murad boasts that he will sever frenchmen’s heads like slicing watermelons in a field so this is going to be interesting because you have two very different styles of

Fighting coming face to face and Napoleon’s never faced an army like this this Army has never faced a guy like Napoleon before so it’s going to be a CL Clash of cultures a clash of very different ideas on how to fight but for all their bravado and panach the mamluks have neither the

Discipline nor tactics to face a trained modern Army when Napoleon forms his troops into giant squares the mamau Cavalry can only Circle impotently they’ve probably never seen this before and when you’re Cavalry you’re riding horses which have brains of their own and which aren’t robots that just do exactly what you tell them

To do and when they come up against these squares they’re going to do what horses do which is avoid charging into the square you don’t want to get stabbed by the guys with the bayonet sticking out and and there’s nothing they can do about it able to break through the walls of French

Bayonets scores are shot from the saddle after 2 hours the mamluks call off their attack and retreat they have suffered around a thousand casualties the French have scarcely lost a man the victory is a much needed morale boost for Napoleon’s men after the hardships of the

Desert the mamluks fall back to urba a small town on the banks of the Nile across the river from Cairo here within sight of Egypt’s fabled pyramids 9 m to the South they will face The Invader with their full Force yeah it’s easy when you’re when you’re in the sight of one of the most impressive structures ever constructed by man it’s pretty easy to find ways to inspire your men to Victory they’re nine miles away but a structure that massive in a flat plane nine miles away would have been clearly Visible 40 centuries of History are looking down on You on the sweltering afternoon of the 21st of July Napoleon’s forces approach shba he has 25,000 men organized into five giant divisional squares with Cavalry and baggage inside and cannon at every corner Murad with characteristic boldness has crossed to the West Bank of the Nile leaving ibraim behind their forces total many thousands

But sources disagree wildly on just how many his Elite maml Cavalry 6,000 strong are deployed between the small village of big Teel and the well fortified town of embe so this whole Cavalry Force numbers roughly what one of these squares is and now Napoleon’s already encountered them once so I I have to

Feel like him and his men they have a lot more confidence because they’ve already taken them on once this time they’re prepared this time they’re ready this time they’re going in with a chance to really win a great Victory which is garrisoned by a mix of Ottoman infantry and peasant

Militia Napoleon’s plan is simple to drive through the enemy Center and Crush their right flank against the river at 3:30 p.m. desay and renier divisions begin their Advance the fact that he’s just going to go straight forward he’s already done the preparation as far as formations go that

He’s just going straight forward shows how little regard he has for the M Lukes in this case he just figures we can just plow right through him but as they move across the Broken Ground their formation becomes disordered that’s a problem Murad spots his chance and unleashes his

Cavalry the mamluks Thunder forward at lightning speed desay and theier react just in time and close ranks the French hold their fire until the last moment then unleash a devastating volley horses and Riders are sent tumbling the survivors have no way to get to grips with the Enemy who continue

Pouring deadly fire into their midst the mams wheel back to regroup but more charges meet the same result see how do you deal with these anti-cavalry squares well you deal with it with infantry and artillery which you don’t have an all Cavalry force in this case has no chance against a disciplined

Infantry Square in this situation none at all many mamluks simply give up and flee the field Napoleon orders the divisions of bong and valal to move forward once more the maml cavalry charge once more the wave of Horsemen shatters French musketry and bayonets With the Enemy Cavalry broken

Bong and viv’s Men pour into MBA it is a Slaughter those who are not killed flee into the Nile where hundreds drown Murad Bay escapes with the remnants of his Cavalry to to Giza from where he will withdraw to Southern Egypt ibraim Bay watches the Calamity unfold

Across the river then withdraws with his men back to Cairo he wisely stayed on that side it is a crushing one-sided victory that takes just 2 hours but the problem is for Napoleon is not about winning victories it’s easy for him to win victories on the battlefield the problem for him is what

Happens in between the victories the mamluks suffer more than 5,000 casualties with heavy losses among their Elite Cavalry and Leadership French losses are less than 300 that’s Napoleon with his usual flare for PR decides this great Victory will be known as the battle of the pyramids just in sight to the

South on the 24th of July July Napoleon enters Cairo parts of the city are abandoned and in ashes after being torched by the mamluks in their frantic withdrawal another little uh foreshadowing of Moscow there poon observes it would be difficult to find a richer land and a more wretched ignorant and brutish

People nonetheless Cairo is the heart of Egypt a city of 600,000 inhabitants and is in French hands 600,000 even now is a pretty good siiz City uh back then that is huge I mean let’s let’s compare that to some things here so here’s the population of Paris from

1600 uh actually it goes back to 1365 in 1796 well heck in 1801 Paris has 546,000 people cairo’s bigger than Paris that gives you a little bit of perspective on the size of the city that Napoleon’s got to try and occupy and manage with an army of 30,000 or so and

He’s got to deal with armies that are descending on him and it’s not just Cairo there’s a lot of other territory that’s got to be covered as well MLS scattered and On The Run Napoleon’s dream of Eastern Conquest seems about to be realized just 8 Days Later the dream is Shattered at Sea Nelson and the British Mediterranean Squadron have not given up their hunt for the French Fleet finally on the the afternoon of the 1st of August Nelson finds the French Sheltering in abukir Bay with 14 ships of the line against 13 he decides to attack that Evening the British win a complete and stunning Victory just as Napoleon if you give Napoleon even odds he’s pretty much always going to win on the battlefield same thing with the British especially guys like Nelson you give them fairly even odds uh in a sea Battle and they’re

Going to win pretty much every time the French only chance in this situation would have been to have a massive numbers Advantage because they didn’t have the Tactical knowledge to be able to defeat Nelson the giant French Flagship lauron is destroyed in a massive explosion by the time it’s over the

British have destroyed or captured 11 French ships of the line and taken more than 3,000 Prisoners with no Fleet Napoleon is stranded in Egypt what’s more most of his Army’s cash has gone down with laon how you going to pay but Napoleon does not despair how you going to pay not only your army but how are you going to pay for what you need from the civilian

Populace exchange for things you want their Goodwill you’re going to need to buy things from them you can’t just take it so this really sets him off on the wrong foot if anything he is invigorated by the crisis his options are now simple he and his army must support

Themselves in this foreign land or perish burn the ships while General desay is sent south in pursuit of Murad Bay Napoleon sets about reforming the administration of Egypt like I said what’s the first thing he does when he conquers a land he reforms it tries to make it easier to be able to

Control the populace by reforming their laws their government their structures everything the old feudal system is abolished a postal service and hospitals are set up and a new tax system introduced Napoleon establishes The Institute of Egypt for scientific and scholarly research he shows great interest in and respect for Islam yeah funding the

Construction of mosques and encouraging the observance of religious festivals such engagement later leads to rumors that Napoleon actually converted to Islam but it is merely a tactic to Curry local favor Napoleon always understood the importance of using religion as a way of controlling the populace it’s why when he comes to power

In France he negotiates with the Pope for the restoration of the Catholic church in France I remember the French Revolution had been also a revolution against uh the influence and power of religion uh in particular Catholicism in France uh so he restores some of that it’s hard to say exactly what Napoleon

Believed he’s probably a deist probably believes in in God but not a God that’s actively involved in the Affairs of man uh it’s hard to say though because he was so Adept at embracing whatever religion was going to help him as a means to an end Napoleon also grapples with news

That his wife Josephine has resumed her affair with an ex-lover yep it is he’s told common knowledge amongst Paris Society he consoles himself with Affairs of his own including one with an officer’s wife all the while French efforts to win over the local population are failing most Egyptians see only foreign

Occupiers and infidels yep the situation is already at Boiling Point minor revolts break out across the Nile Delta which are brutally suppressed by the French and this is where you have escalation right you’re trying to control the populace they Rebel you put it down brutally that just makes the populace

Want to rebel even more which you have to put down even more brutally and it just ramps up the tension more and more then in September from Constantinople Sultan Sim II declares a holy war against the French now the situation in Egypt is about to Explode Cairo the 21st of October 1798 General D cairo’s military Governor is called out to break up a disturbance he finds the locals erecting barricades is set upon and killed soon the whole city is up in arms you got 20 25,000 men and you got a 600,000 person City in rebellion and you

Are a thousand miles or more from help the French fight back with ruthless discipline and crush the revolt some 300 French soldiers are killed alongside several thousand Egyptians Napoleon ostentatiously pardons the ring leaders while quietly telling Bertier that every rioter caught with a weapon is to be beheaded and thrown into the

Nile the French have bloodily reasserted control in Cairo but it is clear Napoleon will never win the hearts and minds of the Egyptians nope for all of his desire to try and embrace their culture he really was never viewed as more than a like they said as an outside

Invader trying to conquer them trying to take over from other outside Invaders as they were viewed the next few months see the French languish in Cairo there is limited communication with France much homesickness and a dwindling supply of stores ammunition and wine there is also an outbreak of

Bubonic plague which torments the Army and further thins its ranks and this is one of those moments though where Napoleon again shows why he’s beloved by his men there’s this dramatic scene where he actually picks up one of the guys who’s dealing I think with the plague and Carries him to the hospital

Uh to show that he has no fear and and you know it could have been a really risky and dangerous thing to do the only action is in the South where General desa’s column 2,800 men pursue Murad Bay deep into Upper Egypt in this epic Chase one officer distinguishes

Himself a 28-year-old Cavalry Brigadier named Louie Nicola davu on the 22nd of January 1799 e and desay inflict a serious defeat on Mad Bay scattering his remaining forces mad himself escapes and remains at large but such military victories do little to change the outlook for Napoleon’s Expedition some of you may

May wonder why if they’re going south is that called Upper Egypt and why is Lower Egypt in the North you’ll see this on a lot of maps it has to do with the flow of the river the river the NY river flows from south to North and empties

Into the Mediterranean up here north of Cairo so the upper part of the river is down that direction to the South uh in Ohio we have upper sanduski which is south of sanduski because the the river flows toward the north same thing they remain 1600 mil from France

With with no Prospect of reinforcements or getting home Napoleon briefly puts his hopes on a diplomatic solution France’s foreign minister the brilliant Urbane and slippery sha Maurice had been an early supporter of the Egyptian Expedition he’s assured Napoleon that he will personally travel to Constantinople to smooth relations with the sultan and

Win Egypt for France it’s gut but toon never leaves Paris the sultan remains furious at France’s attack on his Egyptian Province there is to be no negotiation and no compromise orders have gone out to every corner of the Ottoman Empire to raise troops to drive out the French Invader Napoleon’s position looks more

Desperate than it’s ever been is true troops cut off disease ritten in the midst of a hostile population he will respond in the way that seems obvious to him as it would to his hero Alexander he will attack go on the attack this is this is a a pretty common

Thought process even for the next hundred years after this even in the early part of World War I they’ll have what’s called The Cult of the offensive which is it’s always better to attack but in Napoleon’s case it’s really simple you keep the initiative you go after them before they can consolidate their

Forces and trap you in a situation where you’re besieged and you have no escape to the Sea because you don’t have a Navy anymore to to help you get out of there uh so you go on the attack and you catch them before they can consolidate you keep the initiative you keep them

Guessing as to what your next move is all right well they obviously have set that up to where we’re going to have future episodes where we’re going to see what happens next uh with Napoleon and Egypt so be definitely keeping a close eye out for those I I know a lot of you

When a new episode of something like this comes out immediately start telling me about it and I appreciate that I’m not discouraging you from doing that but my standard practice is to give a little bit of time for the original content to marinate so to speak let everybody watch

That who wants to watch it before I do my reaction so I’m not really stepping on the original content creator too much in that way so when future epes come out we will visit them a little while after they come out uh I want to give a shout

Out and a thank you to Charles in Columbus Ohio and Joel in Gold River California thank you so much for your support on patreon if you want to support the channel through patreon the link is in the description uh to be able to go and do that as well as to the

Other channels like I mentioned new content went up today on vth extra I ranked all of the popular us fast food chains on a teer maker let me know what I got right and what I got wrong thanks for watching