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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.
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