Description
In 1798, Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile changed Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign without a British army ever meeting him in the desert. After Napoleon’s forces landed in Egypt, the French fleet remained anchored in Aboukir Bay near Alexandria, serving as the army’s connection to France. When Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson found that fleet, he chose to attack in fading light rather than wait for morning.
This documentary follows the decision, the danger, and the battle that unfolded as British ships struck the French line from both sides. The destruction of L’Orient became the night’s most famous image, but the deeper consequence was strategic: Napoleon’s army was left isolated, its route to France badly damaged, and British control in the Mediterranean strengthened.