‘The Directory is losing the war,’ Napoleon announced to his inner circle of senior officers: Berthier, Lannes and Murat. He had summoned them to his office as soon as he had returned to Cairo. The contents of the newspapers Smith had sent him had been carefully sifted before being circulated via the army’s official journal, and only a handful of men had been permitted to know the full details of events in Europe. Napoleon did not bother to hide his bitterness as he continued. ‘Almost everything that we gained in Italy has been lost to Austria. In Germany our armies have been beaten back towards the French border and in Paris the factions plot against each other with no thought of the men fighting and dying for France.The war will be lost, the revolution will be crushed and France will return to the tyranny of the Bourbons, unless the situation changes.’ He paused and glanced round at the others. ‘Or unless the situation is changed, by us.’

Berthier coughed.‘By us? How can we change anything from here, sir? You’ve said it yourself, we have been abandoned by the Directory. They might as well have forgotten we exist.’

‘Very well, then,’ Napoleon responded. ‘If we can’t influence events from Egypt, then we must return to France.’

Murat laughed. ‘Return to France? And how do you propose we do that, sir? March the army back into Syria, through Turkey, across the Balkans, over the Alps, and back through Italy? I warrant we’d get as far as the Sinai before the troops mutinied and shot us all.’

‘Then we go by ourselves, and leave the army here.’

The three generals looked at Napoleon in shocked silence. It was Lannes who responded first. ‘Abandon the army?’

‘They would hardly be abandoned,’ Napoleon countered. ‘I will leave Kléber in command. After the defeat at Aboukir Bay it’ll be a while before the Turks mount any further invasions. If the situation here worsens then the army can be evacuated at a later date. I give my word on that.’

‘As long as you can persuade the Directory to send the ships.’

‘My dear Lannes.’ Napoleon smiled. ‘I think the Directory is a spent force in France. The people, and more important the army, are desperate for a change. They crave a government with the will to act decisively and save the revolution. France needs strong men, now more than ever. It is our patriotic duty to return to France and do what we can to save her.’

There was a moment’s silence before Berthier said, ‘My general, you know I would follow you anywhere, but what exactly do you intend to do if . . . when we reach France, when we reach Paris?’