On August 1, 1798, the Battle of Aboukir broke out. The British admiral Nelson led 14 warships (carrying more than 1,000 guns) to the port of Aboukir in Egypt, and launched a surprise attack on the French Expeditionary Force fleet anchored there. The French fleet immediately issued an emergency assembly signal, but almost half of the personnel were still ashore to collect water and supplies. Nelson decisively divided the fleet into two, and 5 warships were inserted between the French fleet and the coast, and the rest of the ships attacked the French ships on both sides. The French fleet was unprepared and suffered heavy losses under the heavy artillery fire of the British ships. At dusk, the French flagship "Orient" was sunk, and the French fleet commander, Bryce, was killed. The battle raged until dawn the next day, when all but three of the French battleships escaped, and the remaining 10 battleships were sunk or captured by the British fleet. 1,700 French were killed, more than 3,000 were captured, and only 218 British were killed. The naval battle cut off the retreat of Napoleon's Egyptian expeditionary force, and Nelson was made a baron by the British king.

Comment: Napoleon's ambition to conquer the world received no small setback