Read Napoleon in Egypt for Free Online

went through the motions, and on February 8, 1798, he set off on a tour of inspection of the Channel ports from Boulogne to Antwerp. Two weeks later he returned to Paris, declaring against any invasion: “It’s too chancy. I don’t intend to put France at risk on the throw of a dice.” 12
    But the Directory were less easily persuaded when Napoleon appeared before them to put his renewed case for an invasion of Egypt. A stormy scene ensued, during which two members of the Directory—Reubell and Larevellière-Lépeau—made no secret of their contempt for the young upstart general. Napoleon for his part eventually lost his temper and threatened to resign. Reubell seized the opportunity and with a dramatic gesture exclaimed: “Here is a pen. We await your letter.” Barras at once realized the seriousness of the situation: if the unpopular Directory appeared to have dismissed the hero of the hour, this could well provoke a popular uprising which they might not survive. Eventually he succeeded in smoothing ruffled feathers and Napoleon was asked to go away and provide a memo outlining his plans. 13
    In fact, Napoleon was not exactly the innocent victim in this confrontation, which may well have concealed his first attempt at a bid for power. He knew that his popularity in Paris was fading (“nothing lasts long here”). At the same time, he knew that there were others who were considering a coup against the Directory. If he could not leave Paris and regain popularity by leading his Egyptian campaign, he needed to stake his claim to become ruler at once. What better way than to appear to have been dismissed by the Directory? But the moment had passed; Barras had sensed which way the wind was blowing and had foiled him by patching up his relations with the Directory. Even if Napoleon had been forced to resign from his command of the Army of England, he would probably have retained its loyalty. At the same time, he could certainly have relied upon the loyalty of the Army of Italy, where he was still regarded as a hero. Such strong backing from two of the armies of the Republic would probably have swayed the rest of the army to rally behind him, and in this way he could have staged a coup, coming to power as a military dictator with considerable popular backing.
    This would have been a big step on to the larger stage, and when the moment arose Napoleon appears to have had stage fright: he did not yet feel sufficiently confident in himself to call the Directory’s bluff. Even so, it seems to have been a much closer-run thing than is usually acknowledged, and its failure to materialize will account for many of Napoleon’s subsequent actions. As he confided to Bourrienne when they were passing through the streets of Paris in an open carriage: “I ought to overthrow them and make myself king; but the time has not come. I would be alone. I want to dazzle the people once more. . . . We will go to Egypt.” 14 He realized that he could well have lost his opportunity. It was at this time that he famously declared: “My glory is slipping from my grasp, tiny Europe has not enough to offer. . . .”
    Yet again, Napoleon presented to the Directory his plans for an invasion of Egypt. These were nothing if not ambitious. He would require 30,000 men and 3,000 horses, mainly drawn from the Army of Italy; the cavalry would in fact require 10,000 horses, but as it would not be possible to transport so many, the extra number would be made up from Arab mounts to be captured in Egypt, though all cavalrymen would bring their own saddles. He would also need to take 1,500 artillerymen, and the requisite number of artillery pieces. The invasion fleet would embark from at least four separate ports, where supplies would be loaded in a particular sequence, to facilitate the immediate requirements of the first troops ashore, spearheading the invasion. The details went on and on, each aspect of the expedition meticulously accounted for. As Napoleon