Alexandria expedition of 1807

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Alexandria expedition of 1807
Part of the Anglo-Turkish War and campaigns of Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Battle of Rosetta
Date 18 March – 25 September 1807 Location Egypt Result Egyptian victory[1] Mohammed Ali seizes power in Egypt
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Egypt Eyalet
Commanders and leaders
General Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser Major-General Patrick Wauchope of Edmonstone † Admiral Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet[2] Brigadier the Hon. Robert Meade (WIA)[3]	Muhammad Ali Pasha Umar Makram Tabuzoglu Pasha Hassan Pasha Ali Bey Al-Slanki
Strength
7,500–9,500 British regulars[4] 5000+ foreign troops	4,000–6,000 infantry (Tabuzoglu division), 1,500 cavalry (Hassan Pasha division), 700 infantry (Rosetta's garrison) and an unknown but large numbers of Egyptian irregular troops and armed civilians (fellahin)
Casualties and losses
185 killed 282 wounded 120 captured (at Rosetta) 416 killed 400 captured (at Al Hammad)	Unknown

The Alexandria expedition of 1807, also known as the Fraser expedition, (Arabic: حملة فريزر), was an unsuccessful attempt by the British forces to capture the Egyptian city of Alexandria during the Anglo-Turkish War. The aim was to secure a base of operations against the Ottoman Empire and the French Empire in the Mediterranean Sea. It was part of a larger British strategy against the Franco-Ottoman alliance negotiated by Sultan Selim III.^[5][6]

Although Alexandria was quickly captured and occupied, British attempts to proceed inland were rebuffed, resulting in the invaders being twice defeated in battles at Rosetta (Rashid, the port that guarded the entrance to the Nile), sustaining hundreds of casualties. Many were captured at the second siege of Rosetta alone. British prisoners of war were marched to Cairo, where many hundreds of the severed heads of their slain comrades were displayed between rows of stakes. The prisoners were either condemned to hard labour or sold into slavery.^[5]

The remaining British forces in Egypt were forced to retreat to Alexandria, where they remained besieged and unable to gather supplies. Using this trapped army and his British prisoners as a bargaining tool, Viceroy Muhammad Ali compelled the British commanders to cease further operations in Egypt. The British then agreed to embark on their transports again and leave Alexandria, not having gained any significant position of influence in Egypt or reached any specific goals towards influencing the Ottoman Empire's improving relations with France. In Egypt, the expedition had the effect of uniting the populace behind Muhammad Ali, who proceeded to seize power. It also convinced the British government to support Egypt remaining as part of the Ottoman Empire.^[5]