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The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; (フランス語:Bataille d'Aboukir); ) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off Egypt from 1 to 3 August 1798. The battle was the climax of a naval campaign that had ranged across the Mediterranean during the previous three months, as a large French convoy sailed from Toulon to Alexandria carrying an expeditionary force under then General Napoleon Bonaparte. In the battle, the British fleet, led by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, decisively defeated the French under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers. Napoleon Bonaparte sought to invade Egypt as the first step in a campaign against British India in an effort to drive Britain out of the French Revolutionary Wars. As Bonaparte's fleet crossed the Mediterranean, it was pursued by a British force under Nelson, who had been sent from the British fleet in the Tagus to learn the purpose of the French expedition and defeat it. For more than two months, he chased the French, on several occasions only missing them by a matter of hours. Bonaparte, aware of Nelson's pursuit, enforced absolute secrecy about his destination and was able to capture Malta and then land in Egypt without interception by the British naval forces. With the French army ashore, the French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, northeast of Alexandria. Commander Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers believed he had established a formidable defensive position. When the British fleet arrived off Egypt on 1 August and discovered Brueys's dispositions, Nelson ordered an immediate attack. His ships advanced on the French line and split into two divisions as they approached. One cut across the head of the line and passed between the anchored French and the shore while the other engaged the seaward side of the French fleet. Trapped in a crossfire, the leading French warships were battered into surrender during a fierce three-hour battle, while the centre succeeded in repelling the initial British attack. As British reinforcements arrived, the centre came under renewed assault and at 22:00 the French flagship ''Orient'' exploded. With Brueys dead, and his vanguard and centre defeated, the rear division of the French fleet attempted to break out of the bay, but ultimately only two ships of the line and two frigates escaped, from a total of 17 ships engaged. The battle reversed the strategic situation between the two nations' forces in the Mediterranean and entrenched the Royal Navy in the dominant position it would retain for the rest of the war. It also encouraged other European countries to turn against France, and was a factor in the outbreak of the War of the Second Coalition. Bonaparte's army was trapped in Egypt, and Royal Navy dominance off the Syrian coast contributed significantly to its defeat at the Siege of Acre in 1799 that preceded Bonaparte's return to Europe. Nelson, who had been wounded in the battle, was proclaimed a hero across Europe and was subsequently made Baron Nelson, although he was privately dissatisfied with his rewards. His captains were also highly praised and would go on to form the nucleus of the legendary Nelsonic Band of Brothers. The legend of the battle has remained prominent in the popular consciousness, with perhaps the best-known representation being Felicia Hemans' 1826 poem ''Casabianca''. ==Background== Following Napoleon Bonaparte's victories over the Austrian Empire in northern Italy–which helped secure victory for the French in the War of the First Coalition in 1797–Great Britain remained the only major European power still at war with the French Republic.〔Maffeo, p. 224〕 The French Directory investigated a number of strategic options to counter British opposition, including projected invasions of Ireland and Britain and the expansion of the French Navy to challenge the Royal Navy at sea.〔James, p. 113〕 Despite significant efforts, British control of Northern European waters rendered these ambitions impractical in the short term,〔Padfield, p. 116〕 and the Royal Navy remained firmly in control of the Atlantic Ocean. However, the French navy was dominant in the Mediterranean, following the withdrawal of the British fleet after the outbreak of war between Britain and Spain in 1796.〔Keegan, p. 36〕 This allowed Bonaparte to propose an invasion of Egypt as an alternative to confronting Britain directly, believing that the British would be too distracted by an imminent Irish uprising to intervene in the Mediterranean.〔Rose, p. 141〕 Bonaparte believed that by establishing a permanent presence in Egypt (nominally part of the neutral Ottoman Empire) the French would obtain a staging point for future operations against British India, possibly in conjunction with the legendary Indian freedom fighter Tipu Sultan of Seringapatam, that might successfully drive the British out of the war.〔Adkins, p. 7〕 The campaign would sever the chain of communication that connected Britain with India, an essential part of her empire whose trade generated the wealth Britain required to prosecute the war successfully.〔Maffeo, p. 230〕 The French Directory agreed with Bonaparte's plans, although a major factor in their decision was a desire to see the politically ambitious Bonaparte and the fiercely loyal veterans of his Italian campaigns travel as far from France as possible.〔Rodger, p. 457〕 During the spring of 1798, Bonaparte assembled more than 35,000 soldiers in Mediterranean France and Italy and developed a powerful fleet at Toulon. He also formed the ''Commission des Sciences et des Arts'', a body of scientists and engineers intended to establish a French colony in Egypt.〔Cole, p. 17〕 Napoleon kept the destination of the expedition top secret—most of the army's officers did not know of its target, and Bonaparte did not publicly reveal his goal until the first stage of the expedition was complete.〔Cole, p. 11〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of the Nile」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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