Siege of Acre

The siege of Acre in 1799 was the check that ended Bonaparte's drive into Syria. Ahmed al-Jazzar defended the walled port with a strong garrison, and Royal Navy captain Sidney Smith ran a small squadron into the bay, capturing the French siege train at sea and keeping the route open for Ottoman reinforcements. For nine weeks Bonaparte assaulted the walls while plague spread through his camps; mines and storming parties repeatedly failed, and a final assault on 21st May was thrown back. Losses from combat and disease reached several thousand, and the French withdrew to Egypt in June without taking the city. Acre ended the threat to the Ottoman Empire's Syrian provinces, proved that an expedition could be strangled from the sea, and marked the furthest point of Bonaparte's eastern adventure. Smith and the garrison became celebrated defenders, while for Napoleon the failure planted the legend that his star stopped at the walls of Acre.