1
00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760
Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how

2
00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,840
Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast.

3
00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,160
Speaker 1: I'm Katie Lamber and I'm Sarah Dowdy. And Sarah and

4
00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,400
Speaker 1: I were talking a little bit about podcast names today

5
00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,880
Speaker 1: because of course we get to title our own episodes

6
00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,560
Speaker 1: and tell us how you did this one. Well. Usually

7
00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,960
Speaker 1: podcast names involve a lot of fraud, last minute decision making.

8
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,320
Speaker 1: We come into the studio to record and scramble, scramble

9
00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:38,720
Speaker 1: to figure something out. Jerry Prune's down the amount of

10
00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,559
Speaker 1: punctuation we want to use. We're big in nicolon. But

11
00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,920
Speaker 1: I mean the simple fact is, sometimes really interesting podcast

12
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:49,360
Speaker 1: topics don't have obviously interesting titles, and you have to

13
00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,840
Speaker 1: throw in words like murder or heretic to make things

14
00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,240
Speaker 1: a little more spicy. But fortunately for this episode, Napoleon

15
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,320
Speaker 1: did our job for us. And I'd like to ask

16
00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,080
Speaker 1: you a question. Would you have listened to a podcast

17
00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,160
Speaker 1: on the Battle of Ambaba or perhaps the Mama Luke's

18
00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,240
Speaker 1: at the Melon Fields. I would have done that one still,

19
00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:15,120
Speaker 1: though My point is epic founding battles like the Battle

20
00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,240
Speaker 1: of the Pyramids or the Battle of the Nile send

21
00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,560
Speaker 1: a lot better and apparently you guys are listening now,

22
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,319
Speaker 1: so it must have worked a little bit. But before

23
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,560
Speaker 1: we get to these battles with inflated names, you have

24
00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,800
Speaker 1: to wonder why Napoleon is around the Pyramids and the

25
00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,479
Speaker 1: Nile in the first place. Because we're in about sevent

26
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,560
Speaker 1: right now, so France has barely recovered from the revolution

27
00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,560
Speaker 1: and from the terror. There are all sorts of internal

28
00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,440
Speaker 1: problems and trouble in Europe. So why are the French

29
00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,280
Speaker 1: in Egypt instead of taking care of things at home. Yeah,

30
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,120
Speaker 1: they're conquering and they're spreading democracy and they're liberating the people.

31
00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,040
Speaker 1: But to be honest, they're messing with the British and

32
00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,360
Speaker 1: Egypt and of course the English and the French arch

33
00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,280
Speaker 1: enemies for life. So let's explain a little bit about

34
00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,400
Speaker 1: the state of affairs in France in seventeen The country

35
00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,440
Speaker 1: has been at war with much of Europe since the

36
00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:13,280
Speaker 1: revolution because fellow monarchs really didn't want to let the

37
00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:18,120
Speaker 1: execution of a king slide. No re decide, not okay,

38
00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,639
Speaker 1: But by seventeen ninety eight they've made peace with Holland, Prussia,

39
00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:26,240
Speaker 1: the Austrian Empire in Spain. Only England is left as

40
00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,720
Speaker 1: far as people who aren't getting along enemies. Yes, So

41
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,440
Speaker 1: during this time Napoleon, who is a young officer, is

42
00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,000
Speaker 1: making quite a name for himself. And we'd like to

43
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,760
Speaker 1: remind anyone who hasn't heard already Napoleon was not short,

44
00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,839
Speaker 1: although he was shorter than we are. So he's won

45
00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,560
Speaker 1: his first battle in seventeen ninety three, but he's not

46
00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,120
Speaker 1: Napoleon Napoleon yet, like not how we think of him,

47
00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,440
Speaker 1: like crowning Joseph yeah, or being consulate. Even the consulate

48
00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,440
Speaker 1: comes after this whole Egypt expedition Frances instead being ruled

49
00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,720
Speaker 1: by five men the direct Jory, Napoleon is still just

50
00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:06,240
Speaker 1: a general, but he's a really popular general, unlike the Directory,

51
00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,160
Speaker 1: so it's highly convenient when he proposes this idea that

52
00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,280
Speaker 1: will effectually get him out of the country. So instead

53
00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,280
Speaker 1: of leading a direct attack on England, he's going to

54
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,800
Speaker 1: lead an expedition to Egypt, and a win there would

55
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,600
Speaker 1: be a really great indirect victory over Britain and it

56
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,119
Speaker 1: would disturb their overland route to the jewel of all

57
00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,880
Speaker 1: the colonies of the East, which is of course India.

58
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,519
Speaker 1: So for the Directory there's nothing to lose, and for Napoleon,

59
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,440
Speaker 1: there are some major possibilities of glory. And if you're

60
00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,480
Speaker 1: wondering why Egypt, Francis had its eye on Egypt for

61
00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,200
Speaker 1: a very long time. Louis the sixteenths advisers had even

62
00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:50,320
Speaker 1: told him Egypt does not belong to anybody. Nominally, it

63
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,080
Speaker 1: belongs to the Ottoman Empire, which of course is on

64
00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,560
Speaker 1: the decline at this time. Except for the past five

65
00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,839
Speaker 1: hundred years it's been ruled by a mostly white war

66
00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,360
Speaker 1: Your slave caste called the Mamelukes and the Motolukes, don't

67
00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,600
Speaker 1: replenish their ranks in any sort of dynastic way. Instead,

68
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,000
Speaker 1: they buy slaves from Eurasia, boys who are scouted for

69
00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,000
Speaker 1: their good teeth and strong limbs, and then train them

70
00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,919
Speaker 1: up as super warriors. And without families, they have no

71
00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,440
Speaker 1: past and no future except for this one, so they

72
00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,000
Speaker 1: live these really luxurious lives in Egypt. You shouldn't think

73
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,719
Speaker 1: of them how you would normally think of slaves. Totally

74
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,920
Speaker 1: different situation. They dressed themselves in silk and turbans, and

75
00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,440
Speaker 1: they carry all of their priceless possessions actually on their persons,

76
00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,760
Speaker 1: sometimes hidden in their robes. So imagine them with jeweled

77
00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,280
Speaker 1: swords and coins tucked into pouches. And Egypt in sev

78
00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,320
Speaker 1: is being ruled by two of them, Ibrahim Bay in

79
00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:55,000
Speaker 1: Alexandria and Mead Bay and Cairo. And they're very oppressive rulers.

80
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,960
Speaker 1: They tax people heavily, they levy these heavy duties and

81
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,240
Speaker 1: live in elaborate palaces. But because they don't bother sending

82
00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,279
Speaker 1: much of that tax revenue to the Ottoman Sultan, Napoleon figures, well,

83
00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,920
Speaker 1: maybe the Turks won't even really mind if I invade Egypt,

84
00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,880
Speaker 1: which is a incorrect, terribly incorrect assumption. So Napoleon, that

85
00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,760
Speaker 1: gives you an idea. Though Napoleon doesn't really know what

86
00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,719
Speaker 1: to expect in Egypt, neither did anyone else, because despite

87
00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,359
Speaker 1: the fact that they're about fifty French merchants operating in

88
00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:32,320
Speaker 1: Egypt and French consulates in Alexandria, Rosetta and Cairo, Egypt

89
00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,400
Speaker 1: is still this mystery land to most Europeans. And some

90
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,120
Speaker 1: thought that they'd find this scary, lawless country with you know,

91
00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,400
Speaker 1: overrun by violent Bedouins. Others thought they would find an

92
00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,760
Speaker 1: Oriental paradise. We're at neither one, and we're somewhere in

93
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,040
Speaker 1: the middle between these two somewhere. So we're gonna start

94
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:56,480
Speaker 1: May with Napoleon putting together this mission to Egypt. He's

95
00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,880
Speaker 1: he's really excited about it. Yeah, and it's secret, which

96
00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,720
Speaker 1: is probably one of the strangest aspects of the whole thing.

97
00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:08,120
Speaker 1: Even though some people know they're going to Egypt, and

98
00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,680
Speaker 1: even though there's a there's secret talk that the destination

99
00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,360
Speaker 1: is probably Egypt, very few of the soldiers know where

100
00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,880
Speaker 1: they're really bound. And it's a measure of Napoleon's popularity

101
00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 1: that people are okay with this. It doesn't matter if

102
00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,960
Speaker 1: you have no idea where you're going, they'll still if

103
00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,599
Speaker 1: you're with Napoleon, it's probably going to be good. The

104
00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,400
Speaker 1: soldiers have to go, of course, but civilians are volunteering

105
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,880
Speaker 1: for this, and that's because in addition to the thirty

106
00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,600
Speaker 1: six thousand soldiers and seventeen thousand sailors, Napoleon's bringing along

107
00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,880
Speaker 1: a group of scientists and artists. And we'll talk about

108
00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,320
Speaker 1: this group of savants in a later episode, but by

109
00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,159
Speaker 1: bringing them, Napoleon has a plan for this. He knew

110
00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,359
Speaker 1: if he was going to conquer a country, he'd have

111
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,600
Speaker 1: to understand the country, and he'd also need educated help

112
00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,240
Speaker 1: doing things like surveying the land and finding water. But

113
00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,360
Speaker 1: he also loves science, and he wants these talented savants

114
00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 1: who are experts in their field and students students to

115
00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:09,960
Speaker 1: collect all the information on Egypt that they can, and

116
00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,960
Speaker 1: traveling with them will make him like Alexander traveling with

117
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,880
Speaker 1: his philosophers, kind of Napoleon's hero. We've got to say

118
00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,640
Speaker 1: this whole episode or minds us a little bit of Horace.

119
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:25,480
Speaker 1: Horace and Alexander episode. So we've got the forces of troops,

120
00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:30,000
Speaker 1: we have the savants. They're all crossing on four hundred transports,

121
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,040
Speaker 1: one warships, most of which are leaving from Toulon, and

122
00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,920
Speaker 1: the British fleet, which has been lurking nearby, you know,

123
00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,720
Speaker 1: suspecting the French might be up to something, is scattered

124
00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,480
Speaker 1: by a storm only a day before the ship's leave,

125
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:49,840
Speaker 1: and it's commander Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson guesses that Napoleon's

126
00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,840
Speaker 1: headed east and decides to follow him. And then you

127
00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,080
Speaker 1: have this little game of cat and mouse. Nelson misses

128
00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:01,160
Speaker 1: Napoleon narrowly two times before Napoleon is finally able to

129
00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,760
Speaker 1: unload his men. You really don't want the British fleet

130
00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,520
Speaker 1: to catch you on the water, and the French gain

131
00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,560
Speaker 1: control of Malta, and from there they sailed towards Alexandria.

132
00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,080
Speaker 1: They arrived west of the city in early July and

133
00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,760
Speaker 1: they're pretty excited, and you know, they see Pompey's column,

134
00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,640
Speaker 1: but are a bit underwhelmed by the rest of it.

135
00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:22,720
Speaker 1: There's kind of a lot of sand and a lot

136
00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:27,400
Speaker 1: of feral dogs, and it's not quite the Oriental paradise

137
00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,520
Speaker 1: some of them were expecting. So the British have been

138
00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,040
Speaker 1: spotted in the area though, So Napoleon is not gonna

139
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,520
Speaker 1: just hang out on the ship for a few days

140
00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,240
Speaker 1: and check out Alexandria from afar, So even though it's storming,

141
00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,760
Speaker 1: he has some of his men come ashore in the

142
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,959
Speaker 1: middle of the storm, nineteen of them drown, and then

143
00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,800
Speaker 1: once they're on land, Napoleon, with three of his generals,

144
00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,800
Speaker 1: takes four thousand, five hundred men to go conquer Alexandria.

145
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,880
Speaker 1: It's not hard work conquering the city. The Mama Luke

146
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,840
Speaker 1: Ibraheim Bay loses the city in a matter of hours,

147
00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:05,480
Speaker 1: and Napoleon steps in, publishing a proclamation claiming he's coming

148
00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,000
Speaker 1: to free the Egyptian people. He's setting himself up not

149
00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,199
Speaker 1: as an enemy of the Egyptians, but as an enemy

150
00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,360
Speaker 1: of the mam Lukes, and a few groups are dispatched

151
00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,800
Speaker 1: to set up garrisons while the bulk of them, the

152
00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,520
Speaker 1: twenty five thousand, take a hike to Cairo, which of

153
00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,600
Speaker 1: course is a five day hike across the desert with

154
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,400
Speaker 1: no water and in wool coats. As you can imagine,

155
00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,080
Speaker 1: a lot of them don't survive the trips, some even

156
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:36,480
Speaker 1: commit suicide. Some are left behind and savonk esparmnge coins

157
00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,240
Speaker 1: the word mirage. But the two savants who attend this

158
00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,320
Speaker 1: march are riding up front with Napoleon, and they're just

159
00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,760
Speaker 1: having a great time riding through the desert, checking out

160
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,560
Speaker 1: all the interesting natural phenomena. Well behind them, men are

161
00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,640
Speaker 1: blowing your brains exactly. So are there better ways to

162
00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:58,560
Speaker 1: get to Cairo than walking? Yes, there definitely are. But

163
00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,840
Speaker 1: Napoleon was afraid that if he took the Nile to

164
00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,640
Speaker 1: get to Cairo, he'd run into some British ships along

165
00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:08,240
Speaker 1: the way. So finally, July temp we have these dying

166
00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,720
Speaker 1: men reach the Nile, or reach this muddy little branch

167
00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,960
Speaker 1: of the Nile, and it wouldn't be water you or

168
00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,240
Speaker 1: I would want to drink. It's gross and muddy and

169
00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:22,480
Speaker 1: full of leeches and crocodiles. Some of them men drown

170
00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:24,880
Speaker 1: in their heavy clothing. You can imagine they're not taking

171
00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,400
Speaker 1: too many precautions after a five day march in their

172
00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:30,520
Speaker 1: wool coats. They just want to get in there. But

173
00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,720
Speaker 1: guess who else is in the area. It's our buddy

174
00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,600
Speaker 1: Murad Bay and a bunch of Mama Luke's and they

175
00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,680
Speaker 1: skirmish at l Romania. And this is number one of

176
00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,280
Speaker 1: our Mama Luke encounters. And we should note to a

177
00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,760
Speaker 1: lot of this battle info that's about to come up

178
00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,559
Speaker 1: is from John Dellinger's article for Military History, but for

179
00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,880
Speaker 1: a pretty fun source on the savants, I'd recommend Nina

180
00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,079
Speaker 1: Burley's Mirage, which I'm in the middle of reading right now.

181
00:10:57,280 --> 00:10:59,679
Speaker 1: And I'm a big fan of John Dellinger. After our

182
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,600
Speaker 1: amy had the great podcast on that came in handy,

183
00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,200
Speaker 1: so thank you Military History, awesome writer. So a few

184
00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,600
Speaker 1: days of rest for Napoleon's men, and then they run

185
00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,440
Speaker 1: into the mam Lukes again. This time it's at shuber

186
00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,480
Speaker 1: Kit and encounter number two is a little more intense

187
00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,520
Speaker 1: than the last one, but still Napoleon's able to press on. Finally,

188
00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,120
Speaker 1: we have our third encounter with the Mamlukes on July

189
00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,560
Speaker 1: twenty one, and this is what should be called the

190
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,439
Speaker 1: Battle of Embabe, but that is where it was after all,

191
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,720
Speaker 1: but since it's in sight of the Pyramids, it gets

192
00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,880
Speaker 1: a much cooler name. They had our our podcast titles

193
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:43,160
Speaker 1: must have been. So at about two pm, Napoleon approaches

194
00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,319
Speaker 1: the village and the mam lukes of both of the bays,

195
00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,000
Speaker 1: Ibraheim and Murad, are waiting for him across the river,

196
00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:52,920
Speaker 1: and Napoleon isn't going to be able to cross that

197
00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,120
Speaker 1: river with all these guys waiting on the other side

198
00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,199
Speaker 1: to get to Cairo. So good position, it seems like, yeah,

199
00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,720
Speaker 1: it seems like very good position ning, except for some reason,

200
00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,040
Speaker 1: Murad Bay decides that he's going to cross the river

201
00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:09,480
Speaker 1: and attack Napoleon on the west bank, So this splits

202
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,480
Speaker 1: the Egyptian forces and Abraham Bay is left stranded or

203
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,640
Speaker 1: waiting and watching rather on the east bank. Napoleon takes

204
00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,800
Speaker 1: stock of the situation and tells his men soldiers from

205
00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,720
Speaker 1: the Summit of Yonder Pyramids forty centuries behold you. And

206
00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,000
Speaker 1: as a side note here, he almost gets the age right,

207
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,840
Speaker 1: which is crazy because it's not officially determined for about

208
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,200
Speaker 1: fifty more years, so that Napoleon guest Napoleon. So the

209
00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,800
Speaker 1: Egyptians are about one mile off, and just to give

210
00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,360
Speaker 1: you some numbers on it, they have about four thousand

211
00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:50,160
Speaker 1: to six thousand of these Mamlukes, who are crazy fighters,

212
00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,559
Speaker 1: really talented and really brave. They have some highly trained

213
00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:58,800
Speaker 1: Turkish soldiers and they have about forty cannons. And then

214
00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,640
Speaker 1: there's a lot of infant free men and they're called Fellaheen,

215
00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,920
Speaker 1: about fifteen thousand of them, which sounds good. That sounds

216
00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:07,960
Speaker 1: like a lot of guys, right, except that the Philaheen

217
00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:12,000
Speaker 1: are really just a bunch of rabble, basically peasants with clubs,

218
00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:17,319
Speaker 1: and they're not particularly effective fighters. Abrahim has an additional

219
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,760
Speaker 1: eighteen thousand Fellaheen, plus several thousand Mamelukes, but he doesn't

220
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,680
Speaker 1: really matter at this point because he is across the river,

221
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,640
Speaker 1: not in the game, and Napoleon has seen how the

222
00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:31,840
Speaker 1: Mamoluke cavalry fight. They come in swarming on their Arabians,

223
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:36,199
Speaker 1: their silk scarves billowing and first they fire their musket

224
00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,600
Speaker 1: and pistols and toss them behind them for a servant

225
00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,840
Speaker 1: to collect. I would not want that to be my job.

226
00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,120
Speaker 1: And then they go close range with javelins, battle axes,

227
00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,360
Speaker 1: maces and jeweled scimitars. And these are big guys. So

228
00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,320
Speaker 1: if you imagine it, you can see how intimidating it

229
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:57,960
Speaker 1: would be. Bright colors and yeah, all really impressively, very Hollywood.

230
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,200
Speaker 1: But the tactic is straightforward. It's charge, that's it. So

231
00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:06,200
Speaker 1: Napoleon knows how to counter such a straightforward tactic. So

232
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,480
Speaker 1: with some riverboat cover, he groups his men into square

233
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:14,239
Speaker 1: divisions that can work in any direction, and Encyclopedia Britannica

234
00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:20,120
Speaker 1: calls this idea massive divisional square, Napoleon's one significant contribution

235
00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,800
Speaker 1: to tactics. And just to give you a basic explanation

236
00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,840
Speaker 1: of how it works, imagine a square with cavalry in

237
00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:32,360
Speaker 1: its center. All around are about six ranks of infantry,

238
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,400
Speaker 1: so heavy padding on every side. Then the corners are

239
00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,000
Speaker 1: studded by artillery. So the beauty of the square is

240
00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,560
Speaker 1: that it can move in any direction and that it's

241
00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,680
Speaker 1: equally protected from all directions, so it doesn't matter what

242
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,400
Speaker 1: side you're attacked from you can accommodate it. Napoleon sets

243
00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,680
Speaker 1: up five of these in a line along the nile,

244
00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,960
Speaker 1: and his is in the middle, because that offers him

245
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,080
Speaker 1: the most protection of each side and the ability to

246
00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,360
Speaker 1: see what's going on. Sarah called the Beauty of the squares.

247
00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,400
Speaker 1: I think that would be a lovely title for a

248
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,960
Speaker 1: collection of short stories. And the other point, of course,

249
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,160
Speaker 1: is that you can't chicken out, because you're only safe

250
00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:14,280
Speaker 1: in your square. If you try to get out of it,

251
00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,560
Speaker 1: you're completely screwed. Mama Luke is going to be cutting

252
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,320
Speaker 1: you down with his sword. So the mom Lukes charged

253
00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,240
Speaker 1: the right flank, and the artillery that's positioned at the

254
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:26,840
Speaker 1: corners there go ahead and fire, but the infantry holds. Finally,

255
00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:28,880
Speaker 1: when the Mamo Lukes are right in front of them

256
00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,480
Speaker 1: pretty much, they fire, and a lieutenant writes that the

257
00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,920
Speaker 1: soldiers fired with such coolness that not a single cartridge

258
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,840
Speaker 1: was wasted, waiting until the last minute when the horsemen

259
00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,760
Speaker 1: were about to break our square. The number of corpses

260
00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,400
Speaker 1: surrounding our square soon was considerable, and the close of

261
00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,440
Speaker 1: the dead and wounded mam Lukes were burning like tinder.

262
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,000
Speaker 1: The blazing wads of our muskets penetrated at the same

263
00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,000
Speaker 1: time as our bullets through their rich uniforms which were

264
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,960
Speaker 1: embroidered with gold and silver and floated as lightly as gauze,

265
00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,400
Speaker 1: so in that in a close range just the sparks

266
00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,560
Speaker 1: were setting them on fire as they were getting shot. Yeah,

267
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,120
Speaker 1: so Napoleon's middle squares also shelling the cavalry, and a

268
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,440
Speaker 1: group of frenchmen has been dispatched to the nearby village

269
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,600
Speaker 1: and they've camped out on the rooftop, so they have

270
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,920
Speaker 1: a lot of covering fire. But the square tactic is

271
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,280
Speaker 1: working really well. Is that the mamlukes don't get the point.

272
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,280
Speaker 1: They keep on charging. They don't know what else to do,

273
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:27,880
Speaker 1: and their buddies on the east bank, who of course

274
00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,920
Speaker 1: are just watching and can't fight themselves, cheer them on,

275
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,600
Speaker 1: probably encouraging them to go on these suicidal missions. We

276
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,200
Speaker 1: also read about a very strange encounter which was this

277
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,120
Speaker 1: man to man combat when one old mom luke strips

278
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,360
Speaker 1: about one of these squares and a French lieutenant comes

279
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,960
Speaker 1: out to accept his challenge. They face off. The mom

280
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,200
Speaker 1: luke is shot, but he crawls away and cuts off

281
00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,200
Speaker 1: the feet of the French lieutenant's horse before the lieutenant

282
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,560
Speaker 1: goes ahead and gets him with his say burt and

283
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,280
Speaker 1: finally the other frenchman come over and rifle butt him.

284
00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,639
Speaker 1: So that was the end of that encounter. Let the

285
00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,439
Speaker 1: end for the mom Luke after about an hour of

286
00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,879
Speaker 1: fighting Nearad Bay, who is also wounded by this point,

287
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:17,000
Speaker 1: escapes before the French cut off the retreat and the

288
00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:20,800
Speaker 1: mom Lukes, who are trapped though, meet a pretty bad fate.

289
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,560
Speaker 1: They try to distract the French by throwing coins about

290
00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,440
Speaker 1: which shiny doesn't work because you know, you can also

291
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,160
Speaker 1: collect your coins when you're a dead body lying there.

292
00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,080
Speaker 1: So some of them jump into the nile and some

293
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,479
Speaker 1: of them drown, and some of them are shot, probably

294
00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,600
Speaker 1: by frenchmen trying to get some of those riches. But

295
00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,080
Speaker 1: where's Abraham and all of this, we have to wonder

296
00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,720
Speaker 1: what's he doing with all of his guys just sitting

297
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,239
Speaker 1: on the other side of the river. The problem is

298
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,880
Speaker 1: a dust storm has come up, so he can't see

299
00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:56,280
Speaker 1: what's really happening. He flees east miad Bay eventually flees

300
00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,000
Speaker 1: to the south and there we go. That's pretty much

301
00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:05,080
Speaker 1: the end of the Mamlukes fight against Napoleon. This is

302
00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:08,360
Speaker 1: a decisive win for the French. And if you're wondering

303
00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:13,000
Speaker 1: what napoleon goddess is, spoils of war an Arabian horse,

304
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,720
Speaker 1: which we can only hope is as good as a maringo,

305
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,440
Speaker 1: even though he's yet to come. And to mom Luke boys.

306
00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:24,960
Speaker 1: Even though slavery is illegal in France, Napoleon's he keeps.

307
00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,360
Speaker 1: I think one of them becomes Josephine's servant. So they

308
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:34,880
Speaker 1: last a long time. But on July, Cairo is surrendered

309
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:39,040
Speaker 1: to Napoleon and he enters the city July. He tries

310
00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,919
Speaker 1: to court the people, show his sympathy for Islam. But

311
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,000
Speaker 1: things are are pretty good at first for the French.

312
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,880
Speaker 1: They have little expeditions to the Pyramids, which I'm glad

313
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,719
Speaker 1: they get to do that. I mean, imagine you're this

314
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,800
Speaker 1: French soldier, you'd want to see the Pyramids while you

315
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:59,760
Speaker 1: were there. They have really luxurious living quarters. But the

316
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,720
Speaker 1: victory is extremely short lived because only ten days after

317
00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,000
Speaker 1: the Battle of the Pyramids, Horatio Nelson finally catches up

318
00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,120
Speaker 1: with the French fleet, and that's in Abu Kuer Bay

319
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:18,640
Speaker 1: near Alexandria. But why is Napoleon's fleet still there because

320
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,639
Speaker 1: they landed weeks ago, yes, and they're still just hanging

321
00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,920
Speaker 1: out here, loaded with supplies and gunpowder. That's a little

322
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,160
Speaker 1: bit strange. It is strange, and according to Napoleon's secretary,

323
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,200
Speaker 1: the general had had plans to unload all of that

324
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,399
Speaker 1: stuff once Egypt was finally secure and send the ships

325
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,520
Speaker 1: back to Toulon to rejoin the navy, and from there,

326
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,120
Speaker 1: who knows, maybe go across the channel attack the British.

327
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,600
Speaker 1: But it's August and the ships are still sitting there,

328
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,480
Speaker 1: and Nelson finally comes across them at about two am

329
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,800
Speaker 1: and decides he's going to fight that very morning, and

330
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,159
Speaker 1: he maneuvers between the fleet and the shore, which is

331
00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,480
Speaker 1: something that the French thought was impossible bowl and consequently

332
00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:05,159
Speaker 1: they neglected to put any weapons on that side of

333
00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:09,320
Speaker 1: the ship, so they're completely vulnerable. The French admiral is

334
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,680
Speaker 1: aboard the flagship, of course, and the flagship had been

335
00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:16,720
Speaker 1: the home of these very impressive salons on the journey

336
00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:21,000
Speaker 1: to Egypt, and it was filled with lots of intelligent conversation,

337
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,120
Speaker 1: but right now it's filled with all of the powder

338
00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:27,000
Speaker 1: from the expedition, so it is a giant ship bomb

339
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:31,160
Speaker 1: and even after the admiral's legs are blown off by cannon,

340
00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 1: he's still on the ship, directing the course of the fight.

341
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,760
Speaker 1: Finally he's killed by a cannonball. In about an hour

342
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,359
Speaker 1: after his death, the fire that has spread aboard the

343
00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:47,360
Speaker 1: ship finally reaches the powder magazine. We have this huge explosion.

344
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:52,720
Speaker 1: It's heard fifty miles away. Hundred frenchmen are dead, their

345
00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,040
Speaker 1: three thousand prisoners. No fleet left, no way home unless

346
00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:01,520
Speaker 1: you're managed to hop aboard a merchant ship, no communication,

347
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,080
Speaker 1: no supplies. Can things get any worse? And sure enough,

348
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,959
Speaker 1: they do get worse. By September eleven, the Ottoman Sultan

349
00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:13,720
Speaker 1: Selim the Third it declares war on France, and by

350
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,800
Speaker 1: October one there's a revolt in Cairo because people aren't

351
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,760
Speaker 1: really buying Napoleon's argument that he's here for the Egyptians

352
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 1: and he really loves them. So Napoleon is defeated in

353
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:30,080
Speaker 1: Ottoman Syria, which is now part of Israel, and by August,

354
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,399
Speaker 1: it's just a little more than a year after he

355
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,240
Speaker 1: arrived in Egypt, Napoleon's out of there. He high tails

356
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,840
Speaker 1: it on this merchant ship and leaves the army there

357
00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,399
Speaker 1: for another two years. He has other things to do.

358
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,360
Speaker 1: I guess the Battle of the Nile was the beginning

359
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,320
Speaker 1: of the end for the French in Egypt. The Battle

360
00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:53,040
Speaker 1: of the Pyramids was simply a fleeting victory, but while

361
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:56,600
Speaker 1: it didn't secure French success, it did open up Cairo

362
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,960
Speaker 1: to the savants, which is something that really helped develop

363
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,520
Speaker 1: the field of archaeology and led to this obsession with

364
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,959
Speaker 1: Egypt that swept through Europe and also through our elementary

365
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,880
Speaker 1: school classrooms. Yeah, so that is of course an episode

366
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,720
Speaker 1: for next time. But I guess it brings us to

367
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:19,520
Speaker 1: listener mail. So we've been getting tons of mail on

368
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:23,360
Speaker 1: our podcast on King Ludvig the Second. Mad King Ludvig,

369
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,840
Speaker 1: he would have so many dinner guests. I think maybe

370
00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:28,240
Speaker 1: had been around he would So our first is from

371
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,080
Speaker 1: Julie and she wrote, you said, if you're in Bavaria,

372
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,120
Speaker 1: let us know what Germans think of King Ludwig the Second. Well,

373
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,840
Speaker 1: I just got back from various specifically Munich, yesterday, and

374
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,440
Speaker 1: have I got some Ludvig the Second facts for you.

375
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,919
Speaker 1: And she goes on to talk a little bit about

376
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,879
Speaker 1: how elaborate his family's castles were and how that probably

377
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:51,000
Speaker 1: set a precedent for his own designs. But she also

378
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,200
Speaker 1: mentioned that the Bavarian political party that wants to bring

379
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,720
Speaker 1: back the monarchy only receives about one percent of the votes,

380
00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,520
Speaker 1: and she writes Germans don't love the idea of a

381
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,720
Speaker 1: monarch and practice, but they recognized that King Ludwig the

382
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:08,080
Speaker 1: Second was, despite his eccentricities, a brilliant man and a visionary.

383
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,080
Speaker 1: He funded several early flight attempts and you can now

384
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:13,800
Speaker 1: find a statue of him in the Munich airport. He

385
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,399
Speaker 1: treated his workers very well, giving them a portion of

386
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,080
Speaker 1: their pay if they were injured or disabled, and paying

387
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,600
Speaker 1: their families if they died on the job. So Ludvig,

388
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:25,399
Speaker 1: he's a little bit ahead of his times, I guess.

389
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,640
Speaker 1: She also writes if Germans don't love lud Wig, they

390
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 1: certainly respect the brilliance and humanity that the mad king possessed.

391
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,560
Speaker 1: We're Ludwig fan, so we can go along with that.

392
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,879
Speaker 1: And our second email as also about Ludwig. This one's

393
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,080
Speaker 1: from Kelly, who was an army brat and lived in

394
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,320
Speaker 1: West Germany in the eighties, and she said, in school,

395
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,879
Speaker 1: we had a host Nation teacher whose favorite topic was

396
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,560
Speaker 1: King Ludwig the second. Unfortunately, Sarah and I did none

397
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,119
Speaker 1: of his teacher And two things that she told us,

398
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,679
Speaker 1: which I always assumed were true, that you didn't mention

399
00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,160
Speaker 1: in your podcast were one. He invented a toilet system

400
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,080
Speaker 1: in his castles as a child. The first time I

401
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,560
Speaker 1: visited Ni sevon Stein, I asked the tour guide if

402
00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,359
Speaker 1: I could see the bathroom and was disappointed to be

403
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,720
Speaker 1: told that it was off limits and not part of

404
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,919
Speaker 1: the tour. And too, he invented the magic table because

405
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 1: he had gum disease, was ashamed about his bleeding gums,

406
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,679
Speaker 1: and therefore wanted to dine in private. So now I

407
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: feel a little bad about making fun of that whole

408
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: table contraption. Now I loved the table. I will never

409
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,399
Speaker 1: make fun of the table. If you'd like to email us,

410
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,920
Speaker 1: our address is History Podcast at how stuff works dot com.

411
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:39,159
Speaker 1: We're also on Twitter and missed in History, and we

412
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,280
Speaker 1: have a Facebook fan page, and if you'd like to

413
00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:47,000
Speaker 1: read a little bit more. In preparation for our Sammonts podcast,

414
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:51,479
Speaker 1: Sarah wrote a great article called how Archaeology works, and

415
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:55,240
Speaker 1: you can find it if you search our homepage on www.

416
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,080
Speaker 1: Dot how stuff Works dot com. For more on this

417
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,720
Speaker 1: and thousands of u their topics, visit how stuff works

418
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:03,840
Speaker 1: dot com and be sure to check out this stuff

419
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,160
Speaker 1: you missed in History Glass blog on the how stuff

420
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:12,399
Speaker 1: Works dot com point page. H