You remember when Napolean got stranded in Egypt after the British blew apart his Navy? He stayed there for a while, did some novel things, but then suddenly left...his army that had accompanied him there and went back to France. But I was wondering... Does anyone know what happened to that army? Seems like an interesting loose thread in history...
lets see if i remember right..wolrd history was so looong ago....he left the troops behind and was replaced...his replacement was killed and then the british took the troops back to europe..where?... that part i dont remember....
Not all of his army had stayed in Egypt. It wasn't until August in 1801 that the last of the French army surrendered. Some accompanied him to France after he was stranded in Ajaccio. The captured the French soldiers in Egypt were allowed to return home which was made possible after the singing of the treaty of Amiens which stipulated the repatriation of prisoners of war. And he didn't suddenly leave. He had a terrible time in Syria as his army had contracted the plague and were severely harassed by Ottoman soldiers and the locals weren't particularly happy with him particularly after the massacre of Jaffa now known as Tel Aviv. And of course this forced him into the desert with precious little supplies.
Sounds like they all kind of got dispersed, stranded, cuttoff, and runoft, amidst all manner of screwed up behavior by those around them, and chasing them.
Well in no uncertain terms the republics campaign in Egypt and Syria was a complete mess. But yes I agree with your assessment. - - - Updated - - - No worries. Also I think some of locally recruited auxiliaries managed to accompany Napoleon as well.
Love those history buff questions, and I didn't know the answer to this one, . Hopefully Upside down will make this a regulat thing, especially with military history
Napoleon returned to Europe and gave the coup of 18 Brumaire. Napoleon was in Egypt risking a lot when he came across Nelson's fleet near Malta because he wanted to imitate to Alexander the Great: to conquest Egypt, Middle East, Persia and India ..., the ultimate objective of Napoleon. He would consider again this campaign in 1808, when he thought to do it with Russia.
I've given this consideration as an alternate history scenario, but I had him doing it in 1812. Having the Grande Armee at his back wouldn't he be in a better position then to offer the Russians the choice to join him against their old Turkish enemy or face invasion? Also, didn't the Turks consider hiring him at one point or another?
Well that would depend of what happened between 1798-1812 in your alternate history? One of the main reasons for the invasion of Russia was to weaken trade with Britain which had been thorn in Napoleons side And of course to break the Russian army which was a major concern. The Russians in 1812 had been the victors against the Ottomans in Russo-Turkish war and it wouldn't be prudent to declare war so soon after a peace treaty had been signed. That's a new one to me. Although I doubt Napoleon would accept such an offer because despite being sceptical of the Republic he was surprisingly loyal and I think he was more interested in ascending up the ranks.
Napoleon's proposal was serious and was made in 1808. A Frencho-Russian alliance. The Russians would invade Finland with French support and in return, Russian and French march to India: Balkans - Bosphorus - Anatolia - Persia - India ... three empires: the Ottoman, Persian and British would be destroyed. The document you can find in Correspondance de Napoleon Ier, Tome 16, letter without number, page 498-499. An extract: A Alexander Ier, Empereur de Russie Paris, 2 février 1808 Monsieur mon frère..... Votre Majesté aura vu les derniers discours du Parlament d´Angleterre, et la décision oú l´on y est de pousser la guerre á outrance...Votre Majesté a besoin d´eloigner les suédois de sa capitale, qu´elle étende de ce côté ses frontières aussi loin qu´elle le voudra. Je suis prèt à l´y aider d etous mes moyes... In other words, Napoleon encouraged Zar to invade Finland and expel the Swedes. If the Russians invaded Finland, France would support the action with all means. But the letter continuous "Une armée de 50.000 hommes, russe, française, peut-être mème un peu autrichienne, qui si dirigerait par Constantinople sur l´Asie, ne serait pas arrivé sur l´Euphrate, qu´elle ferait trembler l ´Angleterre et la mettrait aux genoux du continent. Je suis en mesure en Dalmatie; Votre Majesté l ést sur le Danube. Un mois après que nous en serions convenu, l ´armée pourrait être sur le Bosphore. Le coup en retentirait aux Indes, et l´Angleterre serait soumise..." So, in 1808, Napoleon thought to open a new campaign in that spring. With a 50.0000 Russian - French Army (and maybe with a little portion of austrian troops) he would make way to India to expel the British. He would cross the Balkan, Anatolie, Mesopotamie, Persia and India. In that moment the Russian army was in Danube and the French one in what nowadays is the Croatian coast. He thought to begin the operation in March with a double attack: the russian in Finland and Sweden, the French in Balkan against the Ottoman Empire. You can read: "Tout peut ètre signé et décidé avant le 15 mars. Au Ier mai nos troupes peuvent ètre en Asie, et à la mème époque les troupes de Votre Majesté à Stockholm. Alors, les anglais, menacés dans les Indes, chassé du levant seront écrasés sous les poids des événements...Napoleon." In other letters, Napoleon comunicated the Danish army (and an French expeditionary force) was ready to invade Sweden when the Russians so decided. It is a What if... so It is a game..speculations.(and I prefer to write about facts)..but What would have happened if in 1808 the French, Danes and Russians invade Sweden, while Napoleon and the Russian armies marched on India? the worst nightmare for the British government. In the end everything was postponed and later forgotten by a new event that appeared on the horizon and that would be fatal to the Empire. In principle, an insignificant event would end up running the French Empire (The abdication of the King Charles IV in Aranjuez) ... what Napoleon called "Cette malheureuse guerre d'Espagne". Regards.
