(1771-1814) French general in the Revolutionary Wars who led a division under Napoleon in the history-making French Invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798-1801). HEADLINE: Reynier transmits military intelligence from his informant to Kleber just four days before the Battle Marengo, and the day of Kleber’s assassination!Superb content A.D.S. ‘JL Reynier’, 2pp. legal folio, Cairo, June 10, 1800, to General JEAN-BAPTISTE KLEBER (1753 - 1800) French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. Kleber served in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition, and also suppressed the Vendee Revolt. He accompanied Napoleon in the Egyptian Campaign and commanded French forces in Napoleon's absence. Assassinated in Cairo on June 14, 1800. In this document Reynier transmits complex and highly detailed intelligence to his superior just months after the abortive Convention of El Arich and the subsequent French occupation of Cairo. In part: ‘…The judge who formerly was attached to me [and] to whom I had sent a passport to come here…has gone back among the Arabs of El Arich. He arrived today after several days of travel. He says that he is certain that the garrison of El Arich has been reinforced. The news of the expedition towards Katia has caused them much concern, but only 50 or 60 Mamluks have arrived there with some provisions. Since the return of Hassouf Pacha, there have always been 400 to 500 Arnaut cavalry under the orders of Hafar Pacha, who had been made pacha to march towards Cairo, and who has received orders to remain at El Arich. In the fort, which has been repaired, whose walls have been topped off with crenellations and which is armed with eight cannon, three of them positioned in the embrasure in front of the gate, there is a garrison of 200 janissaries. The Agha of the janissaries, who had been disgraced and replaced with another, has been relegated to El Arich and commands the fort. At Gaza, he says that there are no more than 1,000 men under the orders of Mahomet Abouram Pacha, merchant of Gaza, who has been made pacha. Provisions there are very expensive. Dervish Pacha just arrived at Gaza; he does not know what has become of him since. The Vizier is still at Jaffa; he does not estimate more than 2,000 [soldiers] remaining to him, including the Mamluks of Ibrahim Bey and those of Hasan Bey Djeddaoui. It appears that his court is always uneasy and that they do now know what decision will be made in Constantinople. The Vizier has dismissed Nasif Pacha, stripped him of what he possessed, and had him embark on a ship for Cyprus. The reason or pretext for this is not stated. Osman Effendi is with the Vizier and appears to be in his favor. Osman Effendi, one of his advisors, left for Constantinople some time ago. Hasa Agha is still at Jaffa. There is still no talk of the arrival of reinforcements. Ali Pacha has quarreled with the Vizier and had sold his equipment in order to depart for Constantinople, but they have since been reconciled and he remains at Jaffa. Apart from him, there is no other pacha with the Vizier except Cherif Pacha. Hussein Pacha and Ismail Pacha, who had withdrawn to Acre due to a dispute with the Vizier, have not entered the city; they are encamped outside, where Djezzar provides them with provisions. Djezzar Pacha is currently on good terms with the Druze, but on bad terms with the people of Nablus. Abdallah Pacha of Damascus, brother of Nasif Pacha, has departed for Mecca with the caravans. The wives of Ibrahim Bey are still at Nablus, and it seems that Bey intends to go south, waiting for a pretext to leave while taking his wives with him. I beg you to let me know what should be done with if he sends them back. The 88 1/2th brigade will not arrive here for another 12-15 days because General [Josef] Zayonczk is waiting for General [Francois-Xavier] Donzelat to have received orders and to send a battalion to Beni-Souet. I have ordered General [Jacques-Francois] Menou to leave Cairo with a garrison for the fort of Beni-Souet in order to await this battalion and then move the rest forward…’.Having achieved initial successes in Egypt in 1798 and early 1799 but anxious about a devolving military position there, Napoleon surreptitiously departed for France on August 22, 1799 and there seized power as First Consul. Jean-Baptiste Kleber was now tasked with leading the deteriorating campaign against the Ottomans. To Kleber’s annoyance, Napoleon had given no direct orders or even information about handling the situation. Seeing no prospect in consolidating his military conquests, Kleber entered Cairo on August 31, 1799 and took leadership there in the form of temporary military occupier. He immediately set to furnishing the French with cash - and the Ottoman Empire with peace – by sending hints of negotiation to Grand Vizier Kor Yusuf Ziyauddin Pasha in September, 1799. In October, 1799, the British – desirous of forcing the French to quit Egypt and thus punt Kleber back in France, where he would become Napoleon’s problem - became involved in the upfolding negotiation which began to develop in November, 1799. On January 24, 1800, Kleber signed the Convention of El Arich and evacuated the eastern delta as the Grand Vizier and his army advanced as agreed. This treaty should have allowed Kleber’s army to simply return to France, but a few weeks later the terms were radically changed: confusion within the Pitt Ministry resulted in Sir Sidney Smith, commander of the British blockading squadron, demanding the unconditional French surrender rather than simple re-patriotism. Whether Smith overstepped his boundaries, or the English underestimated the strength of the French military grip on the region they wanted is not clear; Kleber, however, was understandably enraged at the sudden reversal and instigated a retaliatory attack in the form of the Battle of Heliopolis on March 20, 1800. According to Christopher Herold: ‘…Kleber's reaction was spectacular. Within forty-eight hours, he countermanded all orders regarding the evacuation; notified the Grand Vizier that the armistice was terminated; issued a proclamation to his army which…contain[ed] only two lines: 'Soldiers, the only answer to such insolence is victory: prepare yourself for battle'. A 2 a.m., on March 20,1800, Kleber moved forth from Cairo to meet the Grand Vizier. Before nightfall, he had routed an army four times as large as his near the ruins of Heliopolis…A week later, he had driven the Turkish army out of Egypt.’ While Kleber was busy pummeling the Ottomans with his army of 10,000 against theirs of 60,000, trouble was also brewing in Cairo: returning to city on March 27, 1800, Kleber was met with a violent uprising which he brutally and systematically suppressed over the course of four weeks. To stabilize the region, he made a deal with his former enemy, Mamluk leader Murad Bey, in which the latter assumed governorship of Upper Egypt in exchange for the support of French troops. When Cairo finally capitulated on April 22, 1800 and, his plan for a return to France stymied, Kleber resigned himself for a long stay in Egypt. Ironically, his sojourn in the country would be short-lived: on June 14, 1800, Kleber was stabbed to death by a Kurdish (or Arab Syrian) student while walking in the garden of a palace, the very same day that his former comrade, General Louis Desaix, lost his life at the Battle of Marengo. Kleber’s role as general in chief was passed to General Jacques-Francois Menou. Though considered a successful administrator, Menou lacked Kleber’s military genius or charisma, and his leadership was widely criticized by generals in the French army. Those included our writer, Reynier, who frequently quarreled with him. Menou eventually charged Reynier with treason on May 14, 1801 and sent him back to France on July 31, 1801, where Reynier attempted to convince Napoleon that the downfall of the French presence in Egypt was the fault of Menou. Napoleon refused to support Reynier’s position, and Reynier wrote a scathing history of the Egyptian campaign, blaming Menou for its failings and the eventual surrender to the British in September 1801. Reynier went on to rejoin the Grande Armée and was chosen to replace Bernadotte in the Saxon IX Corps at the Battle of Wagram. His significant military reputation was cemented by further leadership in the Battles of Bussaco, Fuentes de Onoro, the Russian Campaign and, finally, the Battle of the Nations. Silked for preservation, a few small splits at right margin, overall very good condition and offered with a contemporary transcript in French as well as a helpful contemporary hand-drawn map of the region. Most worthy of further research.