1801



Napoleon was determined to invade Britain but his fleets suffered severe setbacks at the hands of the Royal Navy. The Spanish fleet was destroyed off Cape St Vincent in February 1797, and the Dutch fleet was defeated in October at Camperdown.  With the loss of these fleets he was unable to invade Britain so he turned his attentions to the east.
 
In 1798 he occupied Egypt, and despite the destruction of his fleet by Nelson at Aboukir Bay in August 1798, he pushed on to Palestine before he was finally halted. Napoleon then decided to leave his army in Egypt and head back to Europe to continue his conquests.
 
In January 1801, the 1st Battalions of the Coldstream and Third Guards were part of a Guards Brigade heading towards Egypt. The force halted at the Bay of Mamorice in Turkey where they trained with the Royal Navy and developed techniques for an opposed beach landing. Once satisfied that they were as highly trained as they could be, they headed towards Egypt.
 
The force landed at Aboukir Bay on 8th March, 1801. The beaches were approximately ten miles to the east of Alexandria, and were covered by the guns of Aboukir Fort. At dawn, the assaulting troops rowed ashore only to be met by vicious gunfire, and several boats were sunk whilst still some distance from the shore.
 
Once ashore they formed up and prepared to advance inland. A desperate and confused battle followed, but eventually the British carried the day and the French withdrew. Cairo was captured in June, and Alexandria in September.
 

This highly successful campaign left Britain firmly in command of Egypt, and French ambitions in North Africa ended.
 
For their conspicuous service in the campaign, the Coldstream, along with several other regiments were awarded the distinction of a badge of a sphinx superscribed with the word ‘Egypt’ which was to be borne on their colours.