A French force of 4,000 defeated 35,000 Ottoman troops near Mount Tabor, eliminating the threat to Napoleon's siege of Acre.
Key Facts
- Date
- 16 April 1799
- French force (Kléber)
- 2,000 men
- French reinforcements (Bonaparte)
- 2,000 men
- Ottoman army strength
- 35,000 men
- Ottoman casualties
- Thousands inflicted
- Context
- During the French siege of Acre
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the French siege of Acre in 1799, the Ottoman pasha of Damascus, Abdullah Pasha al-Azm, dispatched a relief army of 35,000 men to break the siege and drive the French from the region. Bonaparte learned of this force advancing toward Acre and sent out detachments to intercept it before it could threaten his operations.
General Kléber led his division of 2,000 men to engage the vastly superior Ottoman army near Mount Tabor on 16 April 1799. Holding the Ottomans off until Bonaparte arrived with 2,000 reinforcements, the French executed a flanking maneuver that struck the Ottoman rear by surprise, routing the much larger force and inflicting thousands of casualties.
The scattered Ottoman army abandoned its goal of relieving Acre and reconquering Egypt, leaving Bonaparte free to continue the siege. The battle demonstrated French tactical superiority against overwhelming numerical odds and temporarily secured French control of the campaign's strategic situation in Syria.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Napoleon Bonaparte, Jean-Baptiste Kléber.
Side B
1 belligerent
Abdullah Pasha al-Azm.