ABSTRACT
The conquest of the Aboukir dunes had cracked the thin shield of the enemy's overstretched coastal defences, and only Friant's little covering force stood between Abercromby and his first objective at Alexandria. Now should have been the moment to dislodge Friant and unleash a force of boldly led cavalry, with the infantry marching hard on their heels in an irresistible torrent to rush the Alexandria defences. Then, with the only good port in Egypt in his grasp, Abercromby could have waited, as his instructions indicated, for the French forces trapped in the interior to fall like ripe plums, while the British fleet rode in safety in Alexandria harbour and supplies flowed ashore in all weather. And in England news of the capture of Alexandria would have cleared the way for the peace negotiators.
