Napoleon's Lost Fleet: Bonaparte, Nelson, and the Battle of the Nile (DISCOVERY BOOKS) - Hardcover

August 1, 1798: Thirteen French ships sit anchored in Aboukir Bay off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, in support of Napoleon, now ashore with the bulk of his troops. Nighttime approaches--and so do the British.

Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson has for months been hunting Napoleon at sea; now, upon his command, the English fleet opens fire on the surprised and trapped enemy. By battle's end, nearly all of the French ships are sunk or captured, and the 120-gun flagship Orient--the pride of the French navy--has exploded. With 1,700 of his men dead, Bonaparte's ability to dominate the region is crushed. Nelson becomes a hero throughout all of Britain.

Discovery Books presents Napoleon's Lost Fleet: Bonaparte, Nelson, and the Battle of the Nile, a spirited chronicle of Lord Nelson's pursuit of Napoleon as the French general set out to capture Egypt. Gifted storytellers Laura Foreman and Ellen Blue Phillips bring this great age of naval warfare to life as they recount the greed, audacity, bravery, and bloodshed that made up this, the Battle of the Nile.

With equal parts bold narrative and historical accuracy, the authors show Bonaparte and Nelson as complex and brilliant militarists destined to lead their countries to glory. That Nelson prevailed in Egypt was testament to his impudence, his highly maneuverable ships--and considerable good fortune. Despite an ill-equipped, undermanned, and financially strapped navy, Napoleon had assembled a formidable armada of 13 battleships, 300 transport vessels, and 38,000 men. His plan to conquer Egypt--which started off with a treasure-raiding stop at Malta along the way--might well have succeeded if the pursuing Nelson had not followed a hunch about Bonaparte's destination.

Following this riveting account of the chase, the battle, and the aftermath, the book takes readers far beneath Aboukir Bay with French underwater explorer Franck Goddio and his team as they dive at the site of the Orient and two other sunken French ships, the Serieuse and the Artemise. There they uncover and salvage exotic coins, artillery, personal artifacts, and other finds that speak eloquently of life at sea and at war in the late eighteenth century.

Lavishly illustrated with more than 200 extraordinary full-color photographs, expedition images, portraits, scenic paintings, and battle maps, Napoleon's Lost Fleet joins military history with cutting-edge marine archaeology to captivate all lovers of discovery.