Word: ophthalmia
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...riflemen were not. After Nelson finally caught the French fleet at Abukir Bay and all but destroyed it in the Battle of the Nile, Napoleon's lines of supply and communication with Europe were virtually cut off. His army was steadily reduced by sieges of sickness (most notably, ophthalmia and bubonic plague), by Bedouin raids, and by the almost incessant warfare the French were forced to wage to keep their sprawling colony subdued. Some 27,000 Frenchmen died in Egypt, and after a time even victories became too costly. Napoleon pushed into Syria with 13,000 men, was stalemated...