Battle of Heliopolis (1800)

E580638

The Battle of Heliopolis (1800) was a decisive engagement during the French campaign in Egypt in which French forces under General Jean-Baptiste Kléber defeated a much larger Ottoman army near Cairo, temporarily securing French control of the region.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf battle
military engagement
alsoKnownAs Battle of Mataria NERFINISHED
belligerent French Republic NERFINISHED
Mamluk forces NERFINISHED
Ottoman Empire
campaignObjective maintain French presence in Egypt
commander Grand Vizier Kör Yusuf Ziya Pasha NERFINISHED
Jean-Baptiste Kléber NERFINISHED
commanderKilledSoonAfter Jean-Baptiste Kléber NERFINISHED
conflict French Revolutionary Wars
countryAtTime Ottoman Empire NERFINISHED
date 20 March 1800
era Napoleonic era
followedBy French reoccupation of Cairo (1800)
FrenchCasualties relatively light
FrenchCommander Jean-Baptiste Kléber NERFINISHED
FrenchForceComposition veteran infantry and artillery units
FrenchStrength approximately 10,000 troops
historicalPeriod French Revolutionary era NERFINISHED
location near Cairo, Egypt
near Heliopolis, Egypt
longTermOutcome did not prevent eventual French evacuation of Egypt
namedAfter ancient city of Heliopolis NERFINISHED
notableFor French victory against numerically superior Ottoman army
opponentType coalition of Ottoman regulars and Mamluk forces
opposingForceComposition Ottoman infantry, cavalry, and artillery
OttomanCasualties heavy
OttomanCommander Kör Yusuf Ziya Pasha NERFINISHED
OttomanStrength significantly larger force
tens of thousands of troops
partOf French campaign in Egypt and Syria NERFINISHED
precededBy Ottoman invasion of Egypt (1800) NERFINISHED
preparation French forces concentrated around Cairo
region Lower Egypt NERFINISHED
relatedCampaign Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition NERFINISHED
relatedEvent assassination of Jean-Baptiste Kléber
result French victory
shortTermOutcome French control of Cairo restored
strategicSignificance repulsed an Ottoman attempt to expel the French from Egypt
temporarily secured French control of Egypt
tacticalFeature French infantry repulsed Ottoman cavalry charges
French use of divisional squares
terrain open desert plain near Heliopolis
theatre Middle Eastern theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars NERFINISHED
year 1800

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Jean-Baptiste Kléber notableBattle Battle of Heliopolis (1800)