Marmaris Bay 1800-01

I am writing this as I look out on Marmaris Bay in Turkey. This city in modern-day Türkiye has a lot of historical interest, but the descent of 16,000 British troops here in 1800-01 is a lesser-known event. 

Britain and the Ottoman Empire were often allied during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars if we overlook Admiral Duckworth's excursion up the Dardanelles in a failed attempt to bombard Constantinople! Napoleon's invasion of Egypt caused a breach in the normally positive Ottoman-French relationship. That act brought General Abercromby and his troops to Marmaris Bay not to invade but to prepare for an amphibious assault on Egypt.

The British government intended the expedition to sail directly to Egypt. However, Abercromby had 1270 sick soldiers and needed supplies and small craft. The sloop Petrel (Captain Inglis) caught up with the fleet (Admiral Keith and 120 ships) off Rhodes and brought them to Marmaris. There was a precedent for this. In 1798, Admiral Nelson assembled his fleet in the harbour at Marmaris before setting sail for Egypt and the Battle of the Nile. 

This was December 1800, and the bay provided some shelter from the storms that can beset this coast – not that you would imagine that today, with unbroken sunshine and 29C! Memoirs mention 'showers of hail or lumps of ice, the largest seen by any of us. The tents on shore were beaten down and riddled as if by musket balls.'

General Moore was liaising with the Grand Vizier's army at Jaffa, but he was unimpressed by their readiness, calling them 'a wild ungovernable mob'. This report persuaded Abercromby to land at Aboukir Bay near the expedition's target of Alexandria rather than nearer to the Ottoman army.

Abercromby also received little of the promised supplies and small boats. He also needed horses for the cavalry. Lord Elgin had purchased horses and mules in Smyrna (Izmir), but storms scattered the convoy. Abercromby wrote home, 'The Turkish government has been lavish of promises, but in no one circumstances have they been fulfilled.' However, he managed to buy around 100 horses at Marmaris, with more boats there and at Rhodes, along with fascines and gabions for the engineers. Although as the government funds had not arrived, the officers paid for the horses from their own pockets.

General Ralph Abercromby

The four weeks the army stayed in Marmaris Bay were well-spent. The shore leave and better diet improved the health of his soldiers, and daily drills prepared his men for the future conflict. Strict discipline and respect for local customs (not always the case with British tourists today!) were enforced. He simplified Dundas' principles and concentrated on the practice of forming a square, as he would face superior French cavalry in open Egyptian terrain. This included marching in a square - wargame rules writers, please note!

Moore took the view that the stay at Marmaris was a mixed blessing. He reported they got cavalry horses and mules for transport and engineering supplies. However, 'we have lost two months and the advantage of surprise'. The French did manage to get 800 reinforcements into Egypt, avoiding the Royal Navy blockade in February. The rank and file took a more positive view. Private Nichol of the 92nd Foot reported, 'The army was exercised by brigades in landing in flat bottomed boats … this was an excellent plan which we had felt the want of in Holland.' A modern army with a strong training ethos would concur.

The fleet left for Egypt on 22 February 1801. The army (including marines) had 16,237 men and 627 horses (454 cavalry mounts). They were refreshed and better trained for their stay in Marmaris Bay. The landings in Aboukir Bay went well, and the army defeated the French at the Battle of Alexandria (21 March 1801), effectively ending French rule in Egypt. Sadly, Abercromby died of wounds inflicted during the battle. He was buried in Malta, and there is a monument to him in St Paul's Cathedral. It is hard to disagree with the Duke of York's tribute, "His steady observance of discipline, his ever-watchful attention to the health and wants of his troops, the persevering and unconquerable spirit which marked his military career, the splendour of his actions in the field and the heroism of his death, are worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a life of heroism and a death of glory."

Landing at Aboukir Bay

I am pleased to report that, unlike Abercromby, Turkish hospitality has fully met all my needs! 

We did the Battle of Alexandria as a GDWS display game at Claymore in 2010