Ibrahim Pasha was appointed commander-in-chief of the invading army, which was composed of six regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, forty field-pieces, and many siege-pieces.  Provisions, artillery, and ammunition were on board the men-of-war.  Thousands of baggage camels and ambulances were being collected ready for departure when cholera broke out.  Coming from India, after having touched along the coasts of the Persian Gulf, it had penetrated into the caravan to Mecca, where the heat and dearth of water had given it fresh intensity.  It raged in the Holy Town, striking down twenty thousand victims, and touched at Jeddah and Zambo, where its effects were very dire.  Passing through Suez, it decimated the population, and in August it reached Cairo and spread to Upper and Lower Egypt.  The army did not escape the common scourge, and when about to invade Syria was overtaken by the epidemic.  Five thousand out of ninety thousand perished.  All preparations for the expedition were abandoned until a more temperate season improved the sanitary conditions.

About the beginning of October, 1831, the viceroy gave orders to his son to prepare for departure, and on November 2d the troops started for El Arish, the general meeting-place of the army.  Ibrahim Pasha went to Alexandria, whence he embarked with his staff and some troops for landing.  Uniting at El Arish, the army marched on Gaza and took possession of that town, dispersing some soldiers of the Pasha of Acre.  Thence it turned to Jaffa, where it met with no resistance, the Turkish garrison having already evacuated the town.

At this time the army which had sailed from Alexandria was cruising about the port of Jaffa, and Ibrahim Pasha landed there and took over the command of the army, which advanced slowly on St. Jean d’Acre, seizing Caiffa to facilitate the anchoring of the fleet, which had landed provisions, artillery, and all kinds of ammunition.  After six months’ siege and ten hours’ fighting, Ibrahim Pasha obtained possession of St. Jean d’Acre, under whose walls fell so many valiant crusaders, and which, since the repulse of Napoleon, had passed for all but impregnable.  Abdullah Pasha evinced a desire to be taken to Egypt, and he landed at Alexandria, where he was warmly welcomed by the viceroy, who complimented him on his defence.

Hostile in everything to Mehemet Ali, the Porte seized every opportunity of injuring him.  When Sultan Mahmud learned of the victory of the viceroy’s troops in Syria, he sent one of his first officers to enquire the reason of this invasion.  The viceroy alleged grievances against the Pasha of Acre, to which his Highness replied that he alone had the right to punish his subjects.

The eyes of Europe were now fixed upon the Levant, where a novel struggle was going on between vassal and suzerain.  Authority and liberty were again opposing each other.  The Powers watched the struggle with intense interest.  The viceroy protested against bearing the cost of the war, and demanded the investiture of Syria.  Mehemet Ali was then declared a rebel, and a firman was issued against him, in support of which excommunication an army of sixty thousand men advanced across Asia Minor to the Syrian boundaries, while a squadron of twenty-five sail stood in the Dardanelles ready to weigh anchor.