Napoleon Abandons Egyptian Army; Why?

[Fiddle_Peghead]

On Wiki, it is stated that when Napoleon abandonded his army after the Egyptian campaign, he did so due to orders from the Directory. However, in the biography Napoleon Bonaparte by Alan Schom, no mention is made of this. I also can’t find any evidence online that suggests the former. So, is this a phony story invented by Napoleon apologists, or is there any evidence that the Directory orderd him home?

[SnakesCatLady]

From the reading I have done about Napoleon, I got the impression he abandoned the Army in Egypt in order to be in France to further his own political goals.

[DrDeth]

His army had been cut off from it’s supply route by the British navy.

[silenus]

I’ve never heard of the “orders from the Directory” story, and I teach AP European History. Any cite other than Wiki? Because I have to go with SCL on this: Nap wanted to get back for political reasons.

[Mouse_Maven]

My knowledge on this subject is small.

Napoleon did not seem to have trouble abandoning his men when the Russian Campain fell apart, so there may be a pattern (i.e. the campain isn’t working, Napoleon saves himself and leaves the army to flounder and find their way home.)

This site had some useful information.

[trupa]

Most of the French Navy ships that could provide both some transport and mostly protection for the ships carrying his army had been destroyed / captured / routed by Nelson at the battle of the Nile in Aboukir bay. Napoleon had no practical way of getting his army home without it being captured or destroyed by the British Navy, but he could sneak back to France in a smaller ship that could avoid the British ships.

[Walloon]

Alan Schom, Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life (1997):

Even before reaching Cairo with his defeated remnants, and the bad news he received there of various revolts in the country during his absence, Napoleon had made up his mind to execute his long-prepared plans to abandon the army and return to France. The excuse he would use is that France was again at war with Austria and Russia — that French armies were faltering and needed his presence to recoup their recent losses. To be sure, the newspapers he had been shown at Acre . . . had confirmed the deteriorating military position of the French republic as well as the political situation in Paris. But all that was mere pretext. He had played all his cards here and failed completely. He had lost approximately three thousand men in the Syrian campaign, in addition to the seven thousand or so lost earlier in Egypt. Three of his aides-de-camp had been killed, several generals as well, and numerous others badly wounded more than once. Much of the officer corps had openly protested his command and their very presence in Egypt.

[Freddy_the_Pig]

The memoirs of Napoleon’s private secretary Bourrienne, available online via Project Gutenberg, shed some light on this question.

Bourrienne, despite being pro-Napoleon, fails to assert that Napoleon left Egypt under orders. Instead, he asserts that in July 1799:

The English Admiral gave the flag of truce and some presents in exchange for some we sent, and likewise a copy of the French Gazette of Frankfort, dated 10th of June 1799. For ten months we had received no news from France. Bonaparte glanced over this journal with an eagerness which may easily be conceived. “Heavens!” said he to me, “my presentiment is verified: the fools have lost Italy. All the fruits of our victories are gone! I must leave Egypt!”

This is no doubt something of a fairy tale. The editor of the English translation, who also appears to be pro-Napoleon, then interpolates a comment:

It seems most probable that Napoleon was in occasional communication with his family and with some of the Directors by way of Tunis and Tripoli. It would not be his interest to let his army or perhaps even Bourrienne know of the disasters in Italy till he found that they were sure to hear of them through the English. This would explain his affected ignorance till such a late date.

On the 11th of April Barras received a despatch by which Napoleon stated his intention of returning to France if the news brought by Hamelin was confirmed. On the 26th of May 1799 three of the Directors, Barras, Rewbell, and La Reveillier-Lepeaux, wrote to Napoleon that Admiral Bruix had been ordered to attempt every means of bringing back his army. On the 15th of July Napoleon seems to have received this and other letters. On the 20th of July he warns Admiral Gantheaume to be ready to start. On the 11th of September the Directors formally approved the recall of the army from Egypt. Thus at the time Napoleon landed in France (on the 8th October), his intended return had been long known to and approved by the majority of the Directors, and had at last been formally ordered by the Directory. At the most he anticipated the order. He cannot be said to have deserted his post.

With all due respect to the editor, however, most historians don’t agree with him on this point. Note that the directors speak of bringing back his army and approving the recall of the army, not just Napoleon himself.

Given that the army had no means of escaping the British blockade, I’m not sure what the Directors intended. Perhaps they thought Napoleon could negotiate a peace agreement of some sort, or maybe they wanted him to run the blockade and get out with whatever he could.

I think it’s safe to say, however, that they did not intend for him to sneak off by himself, return to France, and take over the country. While “desertion” may be too strong a word, the charge in most histories of the period that Napoleon “abandoned” his army is substantially correct.