Nile, Battle of the

Nelson’s destruction of the French Mediterranean fleet in Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798, also called the Battle of Aboukir Bay. Rear-Admiral Nelson’s 13 ships of the line attacked Vice-Admiral Brueys’s 13 anchored ships, some passing inshore between the French line and the shoal to engage from both sides. Of the 13 French ships of the line only two escaped; the flagship L’Orient blew up. The victory stranded Napoleon’s army in Egypt and restored British control of the Mediterranean.