How Napoleon Saved His General Through a Hidden Maneuver at Mount Tabor
In 1799, General Kléber’s division was starving, thirsty, and nearly annihilated by an Ottoman army near Mount Tabor. As Kléber prepared for a final, desperate breakout, Napoleon Bonaparte arrived with reinforcements. He executed a brilliant, unseen flanking maneuver that turned a certain French defeat into a total Ottoman rout.
During the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, Napoleon Bonaparte laid siege to Acre. By April 1799, he grew concerned about Ottoman forces gathering nearby. General Jean-Baptiste Kléber, seeking personal glory, learned of an Ottoman army from Damascus encamped near Mount Tabor. He marched his 2,000 men toward the site, intending a surprise night raid, but miscalculated the timing. He arrived at 6 am, fully exposed to the Ottoman forces.
Kléber’s division was quickly pinned down, forming defensive infantry squares while suffering from exhaustion and lack of supplies. As their ammunition dwindled, Kléber prepared to abandon his artillery and wounded for a last-ditch escape. Unbeknownst to him, Napoleon was already marching to his aid with another 2,000 troops. Napoleon’s approach remained hidden from the battlefield by head-high wild wheat, leaving Kléber unable to spot his reinforcements even when checking with a telescope.
Napoleon emerged between the Ottoman army and their camp, using artillery salvos to signal his presence. He ordered his squares to advance and sent 300 men to torch the Ottoman tents and capture supplies. The sight of their burning camp and blocked retreat threw the Ottoman forces into chaos. Kléber seized the moment to charge, turning the engagement into a general rout. While French losses were minimal—two dead and sixteen wounded—the Ottoman forces suffered an estimated 6,000 casualties, many occurring as they fled toward the Jordan River, which had been swollen by recent rains.
The victory at Mount Tabor eliminated the immediate threat of a relief army, allowing Napoleon to return to the siege of Acre. However, the strategic situation remained precarious. A month later, as plague began to affect his troops, Napoleon ultimately abandoned the siege and retreated to Egypt. The battle remains a testament to Napoleon’s tactical coordination and his ability to leverage terrain, such as the tall wheat, to achieve total surprise against a numerically superior foe.
Source: Battle of Mount Tabor (1799)
