[5][6] Although Alexandria was quickly captured and occupied, British attempts to proceed inland were rebuffed, resulting in the invaders being defeated twice in battles at Rosetta (Rashid; the port that guarded the entrance to the Nile), sustaining hundreds of casualties.

British prisoners of war were marched to Cairo, where many hundreds of severed heads from their slain comrades were displayed between rows of stakes.

[5] The expedition began in mid-February 1807 when a force of British troops, deployed in Calabria and Sicily, were ordered by General Fox in Messina[7] to embark on transports.

By 17 March, the fleet of transports, with nearly 6,000 British troops embarked and approached Alexandria under the command of General Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser.

[10][Note 2] Despite the rough waves, nearly 700 troops with five field guns, along with 56 seamen commanded by Lieutenant James Boxer, were able to disembark without opposition near the ravine running from Lake Mareotis to the sea.

The next day, 20th of March, the rest of the transports appeared off Alexandria, and an Arab messenger was sent with an offer of capitulation that was accepted by the city authorities.

Sir John Thomas Duckworth appeared on 22 March,[10] off Alexandria in his flagship HMS Royal George,[16] with a part of his squadron,[15] further bolstering the confidence of the British troops.

Upon the occupation of the city, Fraser and his staff first heard of the death of Muhammad Bey al-Alfi, upon whose cooperation they had founded their hopes of further success.

[17] Muhammad Ali, meanwhile, was conducting an expedition against the Beys in Upper Egypt (he later defeated them near Assiut) when he heard of the arrival of the British.

Ali promised to comply with all the Beys' demands if they should join his campaign against the British; this proposal being agreed to, both armies marched towards Cairo on opposite sides of the river.

At the same time, the British would capture several strategically important Egyptian ports, and then march to the Delta and occupy Cairo, provided that the Mamluks assisted their forces in Egypt, especially the Millennium Front.

Five hundred troops of the 31st Foot and the Chasseurs Britanniques were detached, accompanied by a section of Royal Artillery, under Major-General Patrick Wauchope[18] and Brigadier-General the Honourable Robert Meade.

Sheikh Hassan Crere mobilised the general public to support the Egyptian forces, so he ordered the removal of the Egyptian boats from the front of the Nile, Rashid, to the eastern bank opposite the Green Island and a spindle tower in the Moutoubis county to prevent the people from getting over them and fleeing the city, so that his garrison men do not find a way to retreat, surrender or withdraw, as the Alexandria garrison did before.

The garrison among the people became concealed in the homes inside the city of Rashid, as in front of them would only be skirmishing, and ordered them not to move or fire unless after the issuance of an agreed signal, so the British advanced and did not find any Egyptian troops.

Muhammad Ali Pasha and General Fraser negotiated the withdrawal from Egypt and he left with the remaining British forces.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali Pasha arrived in Cairo on the night of 12 April 1807 (3 Safar in 1222 AH) returning from Upper Egypt.

The purpose of its occupation was to encircle Rashid, preventing the city's garrison from being reinforced with supplies from the south and securing local sources of water for the British.

[citation needed] The British commanders assumed that a continued bombardment would cause a loss of morale among the city's garrison and compel them to surrender.

The British dispatched a messenger to the city, informing them that if the demand of surrender was refused, a naval and land bombardment would commence.

Upon learning of this initial collision, General Stuart sent Colonel Patrick Macleod, along with several soldiers and cannons, to Al-Hammad to establish forward positions fortified with artillery.

If the British had strengthened that defensive position, they could have blocked the road, preventing the Egyptian army from passing the isthmus and reaching Rashid to provide relief.

However, General Stuart inevitably noticed the impact of the defence line in Al-Hammad (the night of 21 April) and that it was not possible in some areas to pressure the Egyptian army if its numbers increased.

He decided to wait until the next day (21 April), and if Mamluk reinforcements did not reach him, he would withdraw from Al-Hammad, lift the siege on Rashid, and retreat to Alexandria.

He was encouraged by the victory the Cavalry of Hassan Pasha achieved on the western mainland in the first collision, so he intended attack Al-Hammad.

His force crossed the Nile at night and their boats transported them to the enemy's left flank, where they joined the Hassan Pasha contingent in preparation to attack Al-Hammad on the morning of 21 April.

The Egyptian cavalry surrounded the British army's right flank, killing most of its men, including Colonel Macleod and its commander, Captain Tarleton.

When he realised the amount of losses in Al-Hammad, he quickly lifted the siege on Rashid and took the initiative to withdraw before the Egyptian army attacked him.

However, the British government did not formally recognise independence, as it had no intention of seeing the Ottoman Empire dismantled in the face of an expansionist Russia.

[19] Colonel Dravetti, now advising Muhammad Ali in Cairo, persuaded the ruler to release the British prisoners of war as a gesture of goodwill, sparing them the usual fate of becoming slaves to their captors.