Action with the Mamelukes

With the completion of the Ottoman artillery I turned my attention to a game to use them in. From the start of the Ottoman expansion the plan was to base the game around the Battle of the Pyramids where a force of infantry and artillery held a fortified camp around the village of Embarbeh on the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Cairo, while a large force of mounted Mamelukes hurled themselves repeatedly against the French divisional squares. The problem here is that it was a dreadfully one sided affair where the a French lost less than 300 casualties, but inflicted more than 10,000 on the Mamelukes. To do such a game justice I would need a lot more figures and do I really need more than 11 units of Mameluke cavalry. Added to that, the purist in me says that all my French figures are in the colourful Kléber uniforms rather than the Revolutionary uniforms with their bicornes.

So I looked to do something a little different. There is an option to set the game a year after the Battle of the Pyramids, after the Syrian Expedition had returned to Egypt and after Napoleon had returned to France. The Ottoman Army followed the French retreat towards Cairo but the French still managed to beat them almost every time so there would still be a struggle to get a balanced game. Then I had an idea.

At the Siege of Acre, Sidney Smith had provided British support for the Ottomans in the form of the marines and sailors of the ships. This was in the period before Abercrombie landed in Abuqir Bay. What if Smith continued to provide that support and I could bolster the Ottoman force with a brigade sized force of marines and sailors?

So the scenario, played on Sunday, was that the Ottoman forces, together with Smith's small brigade, occupied a critical crossing point on the Nile, cutting the route front Cairo to Alexandria. A force of three infantry brigades (18 battalions) and brigade of cavalry was sent to retake the place.

Opposing them was a mixed force of fifteen units of Mamelukes, six European trained infantry units, one Albanian unit and six units of fellahin. In addition they had three heavy batteries in the fortified camp around the town and three field batteries.

My quick sketch of the battlefield

The Ottoman forces were allowed to deploy anywhere on the table to with in 300mm or one foot of the French table edge. The French were able to march on the table between the two points marked.

The Ottomans took an aggressive stance, placing the fellahin, supported by the three field batteries on the left around a village. The rest of the infantry stood concealed behind the hill near the ruins, and the cavalry all remained behind the hills.

The French  decided to swing to the right, but for some inexplicable reason they chose not to advance in brigade squares, although the terrain made the manoeuvring of such formations. 

Once the fighting started I didn't keep detailed notes of the action, but the general gist is that the French got themselves tied up in the terrain and failed to form their brigade squares. On the left they became obsessed with taking the village and threw attack after attack against it. In the end the fellahin held their position. In the French centre the infantry, failing to form brigade squares, was easily contained and eventually destroyed by the Ottomans. The third brigade was only lightly engaged. The French cavalry waited until quite late to enter the action, but were then outflanked and destroyed by the Mamelukes. Smith with his marines and sailors never moved from the fortified camp.

It was a tough day for the Republic and the remaining troops limped back to Cairo.

And the photos...in no particular order...thank to John (commander of the fellahin) for the bulk of the pictures.