Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2012) |
The Second Egyptian–Ottoman War lasted from 1839 until 1841 and was fought mainly in Syria. It has sometimes been referred to as the Syrian War[1] or Second Syrian War.[2]
Second Egyptian–Ottoman War | |||||||||
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Part of the campaigns of Muhammad Ali of Egypt | |||||||||
Map of Syria, 1848. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Ottoman Empire Allies: United Kingdom Austria Russia Prussia |
Spain | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Muhammad Ali Ibrahim Pasha |
In 1839, the
Origins
The war was the climax of the long power-struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Pasha of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, which had reached a point of crisis that threatened to destabilize the whole of the Levant.
On June 24, 1839 an invading Ottoman army (accompanied by
Although the new Sultan's ministers moved to resolve the crisis by offering to cede the rule of Syria to Muhammad Ali, the British, Austrian and Russian ambassadors forced them to rescind this offer and stand firm against him. There was even a possibility of war with France, who looked to Muhammad Ali's success to increase its sphere of influence in the Near East.
The English Historical Review No. 69 from January, 1903, has a letter Palmerston wrote to defend not notifying France about the date of the intervention.[6]
War
In June 1840 Admiral Sir
On August 11, 1840, Napier's ships appeared off Beirut and he called upon Suleiman Pasha, Muhammad Alis governor, to abandon the town and leave Syria, whose population shortly revolted against Muhammad Ali's occupying army. With such a small force, there was little that Napier could do against 15,000 Egyptian troops until September, when Stopford's ships joined up with him. Open war broke out on September 11, when Napier bombarded Beirut and effected a landing at Jounieh with 1,500 Turks and Marines to operate against Ibrahim, who was prevented by the revolt from doing more than trying to hold the coastal cities.
Sidon, Nahr-el-Kelb and Boharsef
Due to the illness of the Brigadier-General of the army, Sir Charles Smith, Napier was instructed to command the land force and made a successful sortie against a force of Albanians at
Bombardment of Acre
The fleet was then instructed to retake Acre, which was the only coastal position left in Egyptian hands. The Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Stopford, and supported by small Austrian and Turkish squadrons, moved into position against the western and southern sides of Acre on November 3-4 and opened fire at 14:00. The ships anchored closer to the shore than expected, at 450–800 metres, and the Egyptian guns were aimed too high. The fire of the ships was devastatingly accurate thanks to the training associated with the Royal Navy's new gunnery school, HMS Excellent. The Egyptians had no opportunity to correct their error; their guns were disabled by direct hits and by the walls of the fortifications falling on their crews. The sailing ships of the line were in two lines with steamers manoeuvring in between. At 16:20 a shell penetrated the main magazine in the south of the city, which exploded killing 1,100 men. The guns ashore fell silent and that night the city was occupied. British losses were light: 18 men killed and 41 wounded. The ships had fired 48,000 rounds.
Aftermath
The rapid collapse of Muhammad Ali's power, with the prospect of bloody chaos in Egypt, was not part of the Allies' plan, and Stopford sent Napier to command the squadron at Alexandria and to observe the situation. Here, acting independently again, he appeared before the city with part of his squadron on November 25 and enforced a blockade. Then without reference to his Admiral or the British government he personally negotiated a peace with Muhammad Ali, guaranteeing him and his heirs the sovereignty of Egypt, and pledging to evacuate Ibrahim's beleaguered army back to Alexandria, if Muhammad Ali in turn renounced all claims to Syria, submitted to the Sultan and returned the Ottoman fleet. Stopford and the British ambassador were furious with this outcome. Stopford repudiated it immediately when he had heard the news and several of the Allied powers declared it void. Despite Napier’s long-standing personal friendship with Lord Palmerston, the arrangement was at first denounced by the British government; but the formal treaty later concluded and confirmed by the Sultan used Napier’s original as the basis for negotiations and differed from it only in minor ways.
See also
Citations
- ^ Jochmus 1883.
- ^ Dixon & Sarkees 2015, p. 694.
- ^ Dixon & Sarkees 2015, pp. 330–31.
- ^ Dupuy and Dupuy (1993), p. 851.
- ^ Kohn (1999), p. 502.
- ^ Garnett (1903), p. 125.
References
- Dixon, Jeffrey S; Sarkees, Meredith Reid (2015). A Guide to Intra-state Wars An Examination of Civil, Regional, and Intercommunal Wars, 1816-2014. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9780872897755.
- Dupuy, R. Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 B.C. to the Present. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-270056-1.
- Garnett, R. (1903). The English Historical Review. Vol. XVIII. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Jochmus, August Giacomo (1883). The Syrian War and the Decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1840–1848. Albert Cohn.
- Kohn, George Childs (1999). Dictionary of Wars (Revised ed.). New York: Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-3928-3.
Further reading
- Aksan, Virginia (2014). Ottoman Wars, 1700–1870: An Empire Besieged. Routledge.
- Anderson, M.S. (1970). The Great Powers and the Near East, 1774–1923. Edward Arnold.
- Napier, Charles John (1842). The War in Syria. Vol. 1. Harrison and Co.
- Napier, Charles John (1842). The War in Syria. Vol. 2. Harrison and Co.
- Carl Michael Runeberg (1962), Finland under orientaliska kriget / Carl Michael Runeberg., Wikidata Q113528425