The siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria, along with the Battle of the Nile. It was Napoleon's third tactical defeat in his career, being defeated at the Second Battle of Bassano and the Battle of Caldiero three years previously during the Italian campaign, and his first major strategic defeat, along with the last time he was defeated in battle for 10 years. As a result of the failed siege, Napoleon Bonaparte retreated two months later and withdrew to Egypt.
Failed siege of Acre by French forces led by Napoleon
Sidney Smith at the walls of Acre
The remains of the internal fortification line erected by Farhi and de Phélippeaux within the walls of Acre during Napoleon's siege, May 1799.
The general outlook of Old Acre, seen here in a present-day view from above, has changed little since 1799
Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French emperor and military commander who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and briefly again in 1815. His political and cultural legacy endures as a celebrated and controversial leader. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and his wars and campaigns are still studied at military schools worldwide. However, historians still debate the degree to which he was responsible for the Napoleonic Wars, in which between three and six million people died. Napoleon brought modernizing reforms to France and Western Europe and stimulating the development of nation states. He also sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803, doubling the latter's size. However, his mixed record on civil rights and exploitation of conquered territories adversely affect his reputation.
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, fought for Corsican independence under Pasquale Paoli. After their defeat, he eventually became the island's representative to Louis XVI's court.
Statue of Bonaparte as a schoolboy in Brienne, aged 15, by Louis Rochet [fr] (1853)
Bonaparte, aged 23, as lieutenant-colonel of a battalion of Corsican Republican volunteers. Portrait made in 1835 by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux