For the French, this was a new war, and the conquered would be protected. In fact, Napoleon often found it difficult to maintain his military orders in this regard, and to punish those who disobeyed, whose actions often undermined his policies. The problem was that those who violated military orders were often high-ranking generals. They sometimes blatantly disobeyed orders and constantly damaged his authority. Even so, his policy was very clear: He wanted to win the hearts of the Egyptian people (except Mamluk), rebuild the country's government according to the French model, and make it a French colony by peaceful conquest as much as possible.
Some laws, such as his demand that the Egyptians hand over all their weapons to the French army, were reasonable. However, some of the orders were extremely absurd. For example, every resident of Alexandria was required to use a tricolored headscarf. What was even more difficult to implement was that Napoleon asked the French army to pay tribute to all senior Muslim officers wearing the tricolored epaulets of the French army. These orders were read out to the entire army. All Muslim monasteries must be respected. No Frenchman, whether soldier or civilian, was allowed to enter the Mosque without permission... Anyone who violated the order would be shot. The army did not have the little freedom it had in the past. Napoleon specifically reminded the army that they had to pay for anything they took from the market... They were not allowed to rob or insult the Egyptians. We must make friends with them. Our war can only be directed at the Mamluks. After Napoleon announced a series of decrees and announcements, the sheik of Alexandria signed a solemn declaration of support for the new French regime. Napoleon's grand plan to conquer Egypt had officially begun.
After safely occupying the city and guarding the city gates, the French finally saw the situation around them. It was a terrifying desert. There was no living thing anywhere. The sun was blazing during the day, and the nights were abnormally cold. The troops that landed later camped on Marabut Beach, and the situation was even more severe. We lack everything. There was no food (other than the dry rations we brought from France), no kettle, no cooking utensils, and we couldn't find water. Regardless of whether they were inside or outside the city, the Europeans were suddenly caught in the mysterious realm described in "One Thousand and One Nights." The problem of food could only be solved after the French logistics troops landed in a few weeks, but the land of Egypt itself was the biggest problem.
Alexandria Port was the only large port in Egypt. It was actually located on a long strip of land formed by a series of sand dunes. It was only 1.5 miles wide and several miles long. The city faced the Mediterranean Sea, and behind it was the dry lakebed of Lake Mariotis and two saltwater lakes, Lake Abu Kir and Lake Ediku. These saltwater lakes completely isolated the city from the interior. Only the narrow causeways between Lake Abu Kirk and Lake Mariotis and a large canal connected Alexandria to Ramonia on the Nile River, becoming the only passage from the port to the Nile River and Cairo.
The French, who were worried about the ambush, did not let out a sigh of relief at the endless open terrain. The lake was surrounded by desert, while Lake Ediku was surrounded by swamps. A few miles further inland, along the canals from Alexandria to Lamania (which dried up half the year), there were occasional palm trees and fields, villages and tribes, including Birkat and Damanhur. Forty miles east of Alexandria, along the coast of Egypt, was the entrance to Rosetta, a tributary of the Nile River. There was nothing to the west except for the endless desert. The terrain of Alexandria Port was very steep. As long as the causeways and canals behind the port were guarded, Egypt's only exit to the Mediterranean Sea would be cut off.(In 1801, the British Navy seized Alexandria Port from the French.)
When the French army entered the ancient city founded by Alexander the Great and once flourished because of its cultural prosperity, they found that centuries of vicissitudes had caused the ancient city to decline. When Colonel Lougil passed through the Pompei Gate, what he saw in his unimaginative eyes was: It was hard to imagine that there was a place uglier than this city. There was no trace of the glory of the past and the genius founder... Almost every dilapidated house had the mark of a despotic dictator who only knew how to destroy and not protect. The houses were dilapidated and no one repaired them…The other half was completely in ruins.
Fearing a sudden attack by the British navy, Napoleon ordered the remaining troops to land as soon as possible. However, due to the bad weather, the plan was not carried out smoothly. Almost half of the people and most of the horses, artillery, equipment, and food could not land for the time being. Within 24 hours of landing, the troops were in a state of chaos. Due to the lack of good organization, this chaotic state lasted for days or even weeks, and a large number of people died of hunger and thirst.
At five o'clock on the morning of July 3, when two divisions had yet to land, Napoleon summoned all the artillery and engineering officers. They set out from Alexander's headquarters to inspect the water and food supplies, fortresses, and new French garrison barracks throughout the city. Despite the difficulties, Napoleon decided to complete the work here as soon as possible in order to march into Cairo. If he wanted to defeat the Mamluks in one go, time was an important factor. He organized the city with Bertier's help, and on the sixth day of his arrival in Egypt, he appointed Magalon and Poussielgue to be in charge of taxation. He arranged for the former Muslim leaders to return to their traditional positions, and the city would be supervised by military law. The army landed and reorganized, and new arrangements were made for defense. However, because Napoleon did not carry out effective reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and logistics planning, the losses suffered by the expeditionary army were more serious than the enemy.
Due to Napoleon's haste and carelessness, not only the landing plan but also the entire Egyptian campaign plan fell into chaos from the beginning. The landing was abrupt and irresponsible, and every soldier of the expeditionary army suffered greatly. In fact, Napoleon was not familiar with the location of the main cities in Egypt. In the hottest season of the year, he knew nothing about the food stores, money, wells, and water storage locations on his journey. Such a hasty battle plan would not work even in Europe, let alone in a foreign land. Moreover, this was a boundless desert, which was worlds apart from the rich Europe. The expeditionary force had only brought a few hundred warhorses. They had to find horses, donkeys, and cattle (and later camels) for the cavalry, artillery, and transportation. However, not only were there no livestock for transportation in Alexandria and its vicinity, but what made him extremely annoyed was that he had no idea where to find these livestock. As a result, until they arrived in Cairo a few weeks later, and for several months after that, Napoleon's cavalry still did not have mounts, so there was no use for cavalry. His wagons, ammunition wagons, supplies, officers, engineers, and luggage wagons all lacked power and mounts.
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