Part III: Wars of Succession, Independence, and Revolution in .NET framework

Printing QR in .NET framework Part III: Wars of Succession, Independence, and Revolution

The London government, severely shaken by the rebellion and angered by the Irish Establishment s inability to keep order, passed the Act of Union in 1800 This merged the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain and allowed Ireland to send elected members to the Westminster Parliament, governing the country from London rather than Dublin

Chasing the French out of Egypt, 1801

On 12 April 1798 General Napoleon Bonaparte, commander of France s 40,000-strong Army of the Orient, sailed from Toulon for Egypt He intended to occupy Egypt as a stepping stone to India, thereby ruining British trade in the Middle and Far East Although Napoleon s land campaign in Egypt went well, the British Admiral Nelson ruined his strategic aim by destroying the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798 This left the French army completely stranded Egypt was a province of the Ottoman Empire and to secure its possession, Bonaparte made a fruitless foray into Palestine On returning to Egypt his troops repulsed a Turkish landing from British ships at Aboukir on 25 July 1799 On 23 August he abandoned his troops and returned to France aboard a fast frigate Britain wanted the French out of Egypt altogether, so in 1801 a combined British Turkish force of 18,000 men assembled at Rhodes under the command of General Sir Ralph Abercrombie Setting sail for Egypt, it made an opposed landing from ships boats on 8 March The landing should have been made before dawn, but it was full daylight when the troops were committed A hail of round shot, shells, grape, and musketry met them The French smashed and sunk several boats, and cavalry who waded into the sea attacked the occupants of others More than a few of the British took a ducking A sergeant had to hold one tiny Guards officer s head above the water to prevent him from drowning Despite this, Abercrombie s troops reached the shore in increasing numbers and drove off the French Thrown back into Alexandria, the French counter-attacked on 21 March The 28th Foot (1/The Gloucestershire Regiment), occupying an incomplete redoubt (fortification) in the sand dunes, found themselves engaged in a furious fire-fight with a French grenadier regiment that called itself the Invincibles; more French grenadiers were closing in behind the 28th The order was given for the regiment s rear rank to face about, and for a while each rank fought its own battle against superior numbers In due course, the Invincibles pulled back, leaving the 28th to go to the assistance of their neighbours, the Black Watch, who were also surrounded The battle ended with the repulse of a major cavalry charge that failed to reach the British line British casualties amounted to 1376 killed and wounded, including Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who sustained a mortal wound French losses were estimated at 3000 In recognition of their remarkable feat, the 28th were awarded

the distinction of wearing the number 28 on the back of their headdress, signifying the regiment s ability to fight in two directions at once In due course, a small sphinx badge replaced this Without the need for serious fighting, Cairo and Alexandria both passed into allied hands Disheartened and isolated from their homeland, the 26,000 French troops remaining in Egypt surrendered and received a free passage home in September 1801

The Peace of Amiens, signed on 27 March 1802, ended hostilities between Great Britain and France, but only for a while It was simply half-time (well, nearly) in a war lasting 22 years (see 11 for the war s conclusion) In May 1803 it was time to start fighting again In both halves of this protracted war, British troops were involved in operations that most Britons have now all but forgotten about This is a good place to give brief details: Holland, 1799 When Holland became part of the French sphere of influence, it was of paramount importance to stop the Dutch fleet falling into the hands of the French In August 1799 the Duke of York returned to Holland at the head of 27,000 British troops as part of a combined operation to secure the Dutch warships at the island of Texel, which surrendered to a British naval squadron Joined by two Russian divisions, the Duke fought several engagements with the French and then, having secured his objective, signed a convention with them in October Under the terms of this the allies withdrew from Holland, the British repatriated French and Dutch prisoners, and the Dutch fleet remained in British hands Copenhagen, 1801 and 1807 On 2 April 1801 the 49th Foot (1/Royal Berkshire Regiment) and the Rifle Brigade served as marines during the naval battle in which Nelson destroyed the Danish fleet In 1807 a larger British force successfully besieged Copenhagen to prevent the Danish fleet falling into French hands A division under the command of the future Duke of Wellington beat off a Danish relief force Malta, 1798 1800 In 1798 the Maltese rose against the French force that was occupying the island British troops served alongside the Maltese until the French surrendered on 5 September 1800 This marked the beginning of a long association of the British armed services with Malta that ended only in comparatively recent years