At Aboukir and Acre (Pt2)

As the main French assault on the village began, a scout came galloping towards the General: "Mamlukes approaching our rear sir! Moving fast!"   

There was no time to lose. "Ride to your Brigadier  and tell him to take two squadrons and protect the army's rear!",  "Lt. Leblanc, ride to the 3rd battalion and order Chef de Battaillon Desjardins to fallback to protect the artillery and the rear of the army".   
"We will NOT! let these barbarians disturb our attack! 

On the far side of the field, the fighting was hot and heavy but though several assaults had been repulsed,  French numbers were beginning to tell. The Turkish commander had been wounded repulsing an assault with the bayonet but his twin brother who was 2ic, took his place. 

Assault after assault was sent forward against the Lobsters and the Naval Battery, but led by their brave Captain Trumpeter, they repelled every assault despite their own heavy losses. If only the 3rd battalion had not been drawn off to face the Mamlukes, the attack might have been successful, but the 3rd had their own battle, along with the cavalry, against the Mamluke cavalry.

Vive Bonaparte! A third assault from two directions finally drove the remainder of the Turks from the low wall, abandoning their canon as they retreated. But the pursuit ran into the Marines and a determined battalion of the new Turkish army. The fighting was fierce and prolonged.

Suddenly, it was too much, the sun was sinking, casualties had been high and the French soldier would be facing street fighting to get to the wells against some of the toughest soldiers their enemy had. It was time to fall back before darkness caught them surrounded by increasing numbers of the enemy.

As hard as the French and Turkish soldiers and irregulars fought, in the end, it was Lt.(N) Trumpeter and his sailors and marines that had made the difference in a battle that had come close to being a defeat followed by a difficult retreat for our hero.

(Note: The die rolling was not fudged but those sailors and marines always rolled up in close combat!)