last they wheeled their mounts away from Napoleon’s formation and galloped across the rear of Reynier’s and Desaix’s divisions to fall upon the artillery battery on the far right of the line. As soon as the artillery crews saw the threat they abandoned their guns, clambered up on to the flat roofs of the village and fired down on the horsemen swirling between the houses.
Once he saw that the flank would hold off the enemy’s cavalry host, Napoleon turned to Berthier with a grin. ‘We seem to have got their attention on the right. Now’s the time to strike at Embabeh and close the trap.’
He wheeled his horse about and galloped back across the centre of the square. Followed by Berthier and a handful of mounted guides, he made his way through a narrow gap between two battalions of the brigade stationed on the left of the division. They made for the bank of the Nile where General Bon and his men were standing ready to assault Embabeh. Napoleon thrust his arm out towards the earthworks encircling the village.
‘Now’s the time, Bon! Send your men in.’
‘Yes, sir.’ General Bon passed the order on at once and a moment later the drums began to beat the advance. The French battalions rolled forward, their standards rippling out in brilliant colours as they caught the glare of the sun’s rays. To their right three small squares moved to cover the attack in case the Mameluke cavalry attempted to intervene. Napoleon urged his horse forward and joined Bon in the main assault column tramping towards the mud-brick ramparts of Embabeh. Behind the breastwork on top of the rampart Napoleon could see the turbaned heads of the defenders as they levelled their muskets and opened fire.The range was long and only an occasional shot whistled past close enough for Napoleon to hear. Even so, the dense mass of men marching forward was a hard target to miss and as they neared the walls the first men began to fall. Their comrades stepped over them and continued relentlessly towards the ramparts, now shrouded with gunpowder smoke, so that only the stabs of flame showed where the defenders stood.
Cannon fire echoed across the surface of the Nile as the gunboats shifted their aim from the other bank and started to bombard Embabeh, pounding the ramparts. The enemy fusillade slackened as the Mamelukes took cover and the French columns quickened their step as they approached the fortifications. Napoleon ducked instinctively as a roundshot from one of the gunboats whirred overhead.
‘Shit, that was close,’ Berthier muttered.
Napoleon nodded. ‘Hope those bastards on our boats don’t get carried away and forget to cease firing. Time to continue on foot, I think.’
He slipped down from his saddle and handed the reins to one of his staff officers. An infantry battalion was marching past and Napoleon exchanged a few cheerful greetings with them before falling into step with the captain of the rear company.
‘Mind if Berthier and I join you?’
The captain, a stocky youth, a few years younger than his general, flushed with pride as he saluted. ‘It would be an honour, sir.’
‘The honour is ours, Captain. Now, let’s see what your men can do.’
The last cannon fired from the gunboats just as the colours of the leading battalion reached the foot of the rampart. The grenadier company immediately scrambled up the steep slope, struggling to keep moving in the shifting sand that had been piled up against the ramparts to slow the attackers down. Now that the bombardment from the gunboats had ceased the Mamelukes returned to the ramparts and renewed their fire on the French troops. But it was already too late for them, as the skirmishers in front of the ramparts raised their muskets and fired at any turbaned heads that appeared above the parapet, either side of the assault column. As Napoleon watched, the grenadiers swarmed up the slope, and then hauled themselves over the breastwork to fall on the defenders beyond. The sound of musket fire was replaced with the harsh scrape and ring of bayonets and swords and the wild cries of men fighting for their lives.
The companies following the grenadiers began to climb up and feed into the fight spreading out along the wall.As Napoleon made his way forward with the last company of the battalion the churned sand gave way beneath his boots and he was breathing hard by the time he reached the ramparts. The bodies of Mamelukes and French soldiers were sprawled on either side. A short distance ahead lay the nearest houses of the village and the Mamelukes were streaming back from the walls into the narrow alleys between the mud-plastered buildings, pursued by French soldiers wildly shouting out their cries of triumph and jeers of contempt.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom and a cannon ball cut a bloody path through the soldiers who had just entered a street right in front of Napoleon. An instant later the ball struck the inside slope of the rampart a short distance from Napoleon and Berthier, flinging sand over them. Napoleon blinked and brushed the dirt away from his face before running to peer round the corner of the street into the heart of the village, where a cloud of smoke eddied around the monstrous muzzle of a vast gun. Already the Mamelukes were busy ramming another charge down the barrel while two men approached, struggling under the burden of a huge ball. A fearsome weapon indeed, thought Napoleon, but its very size was its biggest weakness. It could cover the street, but it was far too large to be manoeuvrable.
‘You!’ Napoleon beckoned to a corporal. ‘Find your company commander. Tell him I want him to work forward down a side street and take that gun. He’s to place a man here to warn others to keep clear. Understand?’
The corporal saluted and turned away to find his captain, just as the gun boomed out again, this time with greater elevation, so that the ball roared close overhead and Napoleon felt the wind of its passage before it ploughed through a group of men and blew out a section of the breastwork on the rampart.
‘Sweet Jesus . . .’ Berthier said softly as he looked up and saw the mutilated bodies and torn limbs that marked the place where the ball had struck.
Napoleon ignored him, and the carnage behind Berthier, and started forward until he reached the men assembling at the edge of the village a short distance along from the street covered by the gun.The young captain had drawn his sword and was issuing his orders to his men.
‘No firing.We go down this alley as fast as we can. Don’t stop for anything. I’ll shoot the first man I see looting. Once we are parallel to the cannon, we’ll take them with the bayonet.’ He paused as he caught sight of his general. ‘Sir, what are you doing here? It’s dangerous.’
Napoleon grinned. ‘You tell me where it isn’t dangerous today!’
The men laughed along with their officer and then, as the captain led them into the alley, they followed with bayonets raised. Napoleon and Berthier went after them and Napoleon felt his pulse racing with the familiar feeling of excitement that only came when his life was at risk. He thought briefly of Josephine, and how she might react if he fell in this battle. The idea of her sweet grief spurred him on and he ran headlong behind his soldiers. The captain halted his company at a broad intersection and motioned to them to take cover along the sides of the street. Napoleon crept over to him and squatted down at his side.
‘The gun’s down there, sir.’The captain nodded to the corner. ‘Not far.’
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ Napoleon drew his sword. ‘Give the order, Captain.’
The other man nodded, rose up and drew a deep breath. ‘Company! On your feet!’ He paused a moment as his men gathered themselves, clutching their muskets tightly. Then he raised his sword and swept it down towards the street that led to the gun. ‘Charge!’
They dashed forward, and Napoleon ran with them, sword held low to prevent it from accidentally stabbing any of his men. As he rounded the corner, he saw the Mameluke artillery crew throw down their equipment and snatch out their curved swords and pistols. There was no time to organise a defence and only a few managed to fire their weapons before the French were in amongst them, thrusting with their bayonets and clubbing at the enemy with the heavy butts of their muskets. It was all over even before Napoleon reached the gun.The Mamelukes had been cut down in the rush and the soldiers finished off the wounded with quick thrusts to the throat or heart.
As in every other village Napoleon had seen in Egypt, a mosque faced on to the market square and he beckoned to Berthier to join him as he made his way through the arched entrance. Inside it was cool and gloomy and as his eyes adjusted Napoleon was aware of movement across the floor of the building, and saw bodies stretched out before him. A few of the enemy orderlies treating their wounded glanced up with frightened expressions, but Napoleon and Berthier ignored them and made for the base of the tower to climb the steps to the roof.
From that vantage point they could see out over the entire village and its line of defences. Here and there Napoleon caught sight of his men in the streets or on the roofs as they steadily fought their way through Embabeh. The Mameluke defenders were falling back towards the river bank, and would surely escape to join the rest of their
