British were aware that the French had amassed a large army, led by General Napoleon Bonaparte, but their destination was unknown. Rendezvousing with Troubridge's squadron on 7 June, Nelson now had a sufficient force to engage the French, and began to comb the Mediterranean. The search lasted nearly two months, with the British force tracking westwards, and then back east, sometimes missing the French force by days. The French force, after invading and capturing Malta, arrived off Alexandria on 1 July and began landing troops. It was not until 25 July that news reached Nelson, by then at anchor off Sicily, that the French fleet had appeared off Egypt. He took his fleet to sea, and arrived off Alexandria on 1 August, but found the harbour empty. Heading east, he discovered the French fleet, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, four frigates and a number of gunboats, at anchor in Abu Qir Bay. Battle of the Nile It was late on 1 August when the British fleet appeared in the bay, and the French were at anchor in a strong defensive position. The French commander, Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, did not expect a night attack, but Nelson ordered his ships to form up and attack the head of the French van, taking advantage of a favourable wind which allowed his ships to drift down the line, while preventing the French rear from reinforcing the van and centre. Bellerophon was the eighth ship in the British line, and as the battle began, Darby turned her towards the French centre, eventually coming to anchor at 7 pm. Possibly due to some error on the part of the crew or because the anchor had dragged, Bellerophon came to rest alongside the French flagship, the 120-gun Orient. Bellerophon now found herself in a desperate position. The much more powerful three-decked Orient fired several broadsides into Bellerophon, smashing her boats, dismounting guns and cutting rigging. French marines on the higher decks poured volleys of musket fire onto Bellerophons exposed upper decks. Between 60 and 70 of her crew were killed or wounded in the first stages of the engagement, including Darby, who was rendered unconscious by a head wound. Command then devolved to the first lieutenant, Lieutenant Daniel. Daniel and the second lieutenant, Lieutenant Lander, were both wounded, but were able to direct the fighting until a shot took away Daniel's left leg. As