The siege of El Arish was a military engagement between the French garrison of El Arish and the Ottoman army during the French invasion of Egypt and Syria. The Ottomans attacked and invested in the fort, massacring the French garrison.
Background
The Ottoman army, led by Kör Yusuf Ziyaüddin Pasha, arrived at Jaffa and began negotiations between the belligerents. The French general, Jean-Baptiste Kléber, dispatched General Louis Desaix and M. Poussielgue to negotiate on Sidney Smith's ship; however, after the appearance of the Ottomans, El Arish, it was important to carry the negotiations with them. However, an unexpected event threatened to prolong the conflict.Andrew Archibald Paton, p. 327
Siege
El Arish was garrisoned by 300 French men led by Chef de Bataillon Louis-Joseph Elisabeth Cazals. The Ottoman army consisted of 14,000 men. They besieged the fort on December 23, 1799. The fort was isolated from the main force in Egypt, and the French troops were demoralized by Napoleon's departure of Egypt and wished to see their homeland again.Pierre Gorlier, p. 325 Cazals resolved to defend the fort; however, his troops asked him to surrender the fort.Pierre Gorlier, p. 325Andrew Archibald Paton, p. 327 Cazals ordered a captain to attack the Ottomans, who had built trenches around the fort; however, the troops refused to move. Having lost confidence, which created a sign to the Ottomans that they were ready to surrender.Andrew Archibald Paton, p. 327-8
Some of the rebellious troops even pulled down the French flag. The Ottomans, finding that they were not defending, began scaling the walls, which was met with no opposition. The Ottoman prisoners learned of this and began throwing rocks to help the Ottomans enter the walls. The Ottomans then began massacring majority of the French troops. The sick and wounded were killed. Some of the French troops, realizing what happened, regrouped with the rest and defended themselves valiantly; however, almost all of them were massacred.Andrew Archibald Paton, p. 328Pierre Gorlier, p. 325
Aftermath
News of the massacre reached Gaza. Kléber was resentful with what happened and complained to Smith about it. After lengthy discussion, Kléber admitted that the massacre was due to misunderstanding and allowed the negotiations to continue. On January 24, 1800, both sides signed the Convention of El Arish.Andrew Archibald Paton, p. 328Walter Frewen Lord, p. 171
References
Sources Andrew Archibald Paton (1863), A History of the Egyptian Revolution, Vol I. Walter Frewen Lord (1901), England and France in the Mediterranean, 1660–1830. Pierre Gorlier (1970), Le Vigan à travers les siècles, Histoire d'une cité languedocienne.