Battle of the Nile Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the Nile Delta of Egypt from 1 to 3 August 1798. The battle was the climax of a naval campaign that had raged across the Mediterranean during the previous three months, as a large French convoy sailed from Toulon to Alexandria carrying an expeditionary force under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The British fleet was led in the
Atlantic campaign of 1806 sailed from Cadiz and was intercepted by Nelson, resulting in the Battle of Trafalgar. Although Nelson was killed at the height of the battle, his squadron inflicted a devastating defeat on the combined fleet, capturing or destroying 17 French or Spanish ships, including Villeneuve's flagship. The battered remnants of the French Mediterranean and Spanish Atlantic fleets retreated to Cadiz, although four French ships fled north and were intercepted and captured at the Battle of Cape Ortegal two weeks later. In total, the campaign cost Napoleon 13 French and 12 Spanish ships, eliminating any possibility of even regional superiority at sea