of Sydney's ships which was in search of him cut his cables and stood off to sea. The five transports were empty of troops having been transferred to the ships. but the only occupants being many civilians were taken by Sydney's ships on the 7th and brought into Abu Qir Bay. The British took all the provisions and stores on board the transports and with the retreat of their fleet the French thus abandoned El Aft and retreated towards El Rahmaniya on May 7. On the same evening allied troops entered El Aft and thus commenced the Cairo campaign. Cairo campaign On May 9 the British force advanced to Er-Rahmaniyeh where French General Lagrange had taken post with the intention of holding firm. At 10 am Royal Marines and sailors under Captain Curry with four boats and three armed launches commenced an attack upon the French forts at Er-Rahmaniyeh and at 4 pm were supported by Ottoman gunboats and soon the French made a general retreat towards Cairo leaving in the fort 110 of their sick and wounded. A French detachment of fifty cavalry from Alexandria were taken at the same time and with this they were effectively cut off with all communication between there and the interior of Egypt; the allied forces suffered only five killed and 26 wounded. The British force on the 14th continued their march towards the capital of Egypt and on their way captured a French armed vessel and sixteen Feluccas conveying wine, brandy and clothing listed as around £5000 in sterling and 150 troops along with heavy pieces of ordnance which were headed from Cairo to Er-Rahmaniyeh. Having entered the Nile by a canal which joins the Damietta and Rosetta branches the French commanding officer had no knowledge of the recent French defeats. On the 17th a division of cavalry and infantry under Brigadier General Doyle after having been given information by local Arabs intercepted a body of 550 camels escorted by 560 French soldiers going from Alexandria when they had departed on the 14th towards Middle Egypt to secure provisions. The French cavalry made a tired charge but they were overtaken by a party of British dragoons and surrendered upon honourable terms. The small garrison about 200 of the fort of Ras El Bar on the Damietta branch of the Nile was invested on the same day on the land side by a