Guns in the Desert - General Jean-Pierre Doguereau's Journal of Napoleon's Egyptian Expedition

This lively, firsthand account of an army trapped in a hostile land, cut off from reinforcement and facing powerful enemies, is offered in English for the first time. As an active artillery officer, Jean-Pierre Doguereau was present at most of the major battles and sieges of the campaign. He suffered the hardships and disappointments and experienced the triumphs and hopes of the courageous, but ultimately doomed, Army of the Orient. While essentially the account of a professional soldier, the journal also details Doguereau's wonder and reflections on the invaded country and its people, so different from the land he and his comrades had expected.

As the memoir of a junior staff officer, albeit one who later rose to high rank, this account gives a view from the discomfort of the bivouac. Doguereau details the taking of El Arich and the murder of the garrison at Jaffa, the failure of the assault on Acre, then the terrible march of the plague-stricken French Army back to Cairo. After Napoleon departs for France, the struggle continues against the rising opposition of the Turks. Doguereau writes with an air of great honesty in a style that avoids self-glorification. This translation should interest all students of the period and all who study the reactions of human beings under stress.

List of contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Preparations
Leaving Alexandria
Mission to Alexandria
Journey to Suez
The Syrian Expedition
The Investment of Jaffa
The Army Arrives before Saint-Jean-d'Acre
The Retreat of the Army
Events in Upper Egypt
Commander in Chief Kleber
The Breakdown of the Treaty of El-Arich
Leaving Salheyeh
Commander in Chief Menou
Biographical Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the author

ROSEMARY BRINDLE is an independent scholar.

Product details

• Authors: Brindle Rosemary, Kenneth S. Broun, Jean-Pierre Doguereau
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 7 to 17
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.12.2002
• EAN: 9780313325120
• ISBN: 978-0-313-32512-0
• No. of pages: 232
• Weight: 482 g
• Series: Contributions in Military Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; HISTORY / Ancient / Egypt, HISTORY / Africa / General, HISTORY / World, military history, General & world history, CE period up to c 1500, Ancient History, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, African History, General and world history, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Ancient Egypt, African history: pre-colonial period