Battle of Mount Tabor
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Mount Tabor, or Skirmish of Mount Tabor, opposed French
forces under General Kleber
to an Ottoman
force led by the Pasha
of Damascus on 16 April 1799. General Bonaparte
was besieging Acre
, and Damascus
sent its army to relieve the siege. Operating to the south of Acre
, Kleber decided to intercept the Ottoman army and ran into the 25,000 men strong army to find himself outnumbered.
The French forces fought divided in two squares
and resisted for eight hours against the Ottomans before running out of ammunition. Napoleon arrived with 2,500 men and two cannon reinforcements as the Ottomans seemed to be on the verge of winning. Napoleon's artillery opened fire on the Ottomans flank and, taken by surprise, the Ottoman forces suddenly routed.
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
forces under General Kleber
Jean Baptiste Kléber
Jean Baptiste Kléber was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. His military career started in Habsburg service, but his plebeian ancestry hindered his opportunities...
to an Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
force led by the Pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
of Damascus on 16 April 1799. General Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
was besieging Acre
Siege of Acre (1799)
The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.-Background:...
, and Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
sent its army to relieve the siege. Operating to the south of Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
, Kleber decided to intercept the Ottoman army and ran into the 25,000 men strong army to find himself outnumbered.
The French forces fought divided in two squares
Infantry square
An infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:The formation was described by Plutarch and used by the Romans, and was developed from an earlier circular formation...
and resisted for eight hours against the Ottomans before running out of ammunition. Napoleon arrived with 2,500 men and two cannon reinforcements as the Ottomans seemed to be on the verge of winning. Napoleon's artillery opened fire on the Ottomans flank and, taken by surprise, the Ottoman forces suddenly routed.