# Battle of Nezib

The Battle of Nezib (Arabic: معركة نزب) (present-day Nizip) was fought on 24 June 1839 between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The Egyptians were led by Ibrahim Pasha, while the Ottomans were led by Çerkes Hafız Mehmed Paşa, with Helmuth von Moltke the Elder playing an advisory role, in command of the Ottoman artillery.

## Battle

Several hours prior to when the major combat began, von Moltke had pleaded Çerkes Hafız Mehmed Paşa to withdraw to a more secure and fortified position near Birecik and to await expected reinforcements, as Çerkes Hafız Mehmed Paşa's forces were outmatched in quality by the advancing Egyptians. Initially Hafiz acquiesced to Moltke, but not long after he decided to maintain his army's position, due to the advice of his mullahs.
The Ottoman troops under Çerkes Hafız Mehmed Paşa were positioned at Mezar, southwest of Nezib, with the Nezib river on their left. Ibrahim advanced his force, under heavy Ottoman artillery fire, towards the Ottoman lines. At the same time, the Ottoman line began to take Egyptian artillery fire, and were suffering losses. By the time Ibrahim's infantry had encountered the Ottoman line, Hafiz's army was in complete rout, the Egyptian artillery having broken their morale. The Ottoman army was composed mainly of recently subdued Kurdish conscripts, and their morale was low.

## The two armies

The two armies were well equipped and balanced. The number of soldiers in each army was approximately forty thousand men, supported by artillery and knights. Constantine Bazili says:
"Since he applied European tactics in the East, he has never met in the battlefield of Al-Wa better than these two armies."
In terms of training the Egyptian army, he was trained in the latest military methods in terms of organizing ranks, speed of movement and maneuvering, the presence of Suleiman Pasha the French as chief of staff of the Egyptian army, and the leadership of Ibrahim Pasha, who became an expert on how to defeat the Ottoman armies years before. On the other hand, the Ottoman army had the advantage in terms of preparations, as the Ottoman army had more supplies and had been resting for several weeks in its camp, unlike the Egyptian soldiers who were exhausted by the march to meet the Ottoman army under the heat of the sun at the beginning of the summer.
The two armies were in close proximity to each other. Hafez Pasha, the commander of the Ottoman army, spent an entire month digging trenches and establishing strongholds and fortresses, and his army was flexible to defend and attack in that region, and there was a difference between those who stood to defend and those assigned to attack, as the attack is undoubtedly more difficult. But Ibrahim Pasha's army was more complete and more combat-oriented. Ibrahim Pasha and his chief of staff, Suleiman Pasha Ali, had one opinion, while Hafez Pasha and his Chief of Staff Moltech had two different opinions. Ibrahim Pasha's officers respected and feared him, and all of them had earned their ranks from his wall and merit. As for the officers of the Turkish army, most of them were among the leaders of the rulers and ministers in Istanbul.
One story narrates how Hafez Pasha, the commander of the Ottoman army, asked a prisoner from Ibrahim Pasha's army his opinion in the two camps, then the Egyptian prisoner told him after Çerkes Hafız Mehmed Paşa gave him safety:
“Ibrahim Pasha’s camp is a soldier’s camp. As for your camp, it is like the pilgrims’ strikes. In Ibrahim's camp you only see soldiers with their weapons, besides their horses and cannons. As for your camp, I saw the Jews, merchants, scholars, and jurists. Your camp is like pilgrimage rackets.”