Forgotten Battle 19

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This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Battle of Arsuf

Intro

The battle of Arsuf took place on September 7, 1191. It was fought between European Crusaders against Arab tribesmen during the Third Crusade in what is present-day Israel. This battle would pass into legend as one of the greatest clashes for the Holy Land.

Part I

The Third Crusade officially began on May 11, 1189. After suffering a decisive defeat at the Battle of Hattin at the hands of an Arab general called Saladin, the Holy Roman Empire was more determined than ever to retake the holy land. On October 29, 1187, Pope Gregory VIII called for a new crusade to take back Jerusalem.

Initially, the command of the crusader army was held by the Holy Roman Emperor (and King of Germany) Frederick Barbarossa (Fredrick I). However, during their march into the Holy Land, Barbarossa unexpectedly drowned in the Seraph River. His death caused many soldiers in his army to desert and return home. After this, command fell to King Philip II of France and King Richard I of England (aka: Richard the Lionheart). In late June of 1190, the two Crusader armies resumed their invasion of the Holy Land. Their first main target was the Arab port-city of Acre (located in present-day Israel). 

The city of Acre had been under siege since August of 1189 by Guy of Lusignan (the former King of Jerusalem). For the next year, more and more crusader armies began pouring into the Holy Land and joining the siege. Even with superior numbers, their assaults on the city were repulsed with heavy casualties. By the time King Richard and King Philip arrived with their armies, the siege had lasted over a year. 

Part II

In spite of repulsing every attack on their city and inflicting thousands of casualties on the crusaders, the Arab garrison was also suffering high casualties in turn. With their supplies nearly gone, they finally surrendered on July 12, 1191. Unfortunately, major quarreling began occurring between the crusader army's leaders. Leopold V of Austria eventually left the army and returned home with all his soldiers. And then King Philip II was forced to abandon the Crusade to quell rebellions igniting in France in his absence. This left King Richard I as the sole leader of the Crusader army.

With Acre now under crusader occupation, the stage was set for a clash between Richard and Saladin. The latter gathered his army and camped a few miles away from Acre opposite the Crusaders. For the next month Saladin and Richard I attempted to establish a diplomatic solution. The situation vastly deteriorated on August 20, when Richard ordered the execution of 2,500 Arab captives that he was holding in Acre. After watching this massacre from a distance, Saladin had all of his Christian captives executed in retaliation.

After this, King Richard departed Acre with 11,000 soldiers for the city of Jaffa. In order to prevent his soldiers from dying from dehydration and exhaustion, he decided to hug the coastline. This allowed the crusaders to be supported and resupplied by their navy, which shadowed them from the Mediterranean Sea. However, they were also being constantly harassed by Saladin's army (using hit-and-run tactics) as they marched. By September 3rd, the Crusader Army reached the River of Reeds. After resting his army for a day, King Richard resumed their march to Jaffa. 

This took them through the Arsuf Forest. With Saladin's Army (numbering 25,000) still shadowing them, the Crusaders were able to successfully pass through the forest relatively unscathed and camped in the Rochetaille Valley. At this point, it became clear to both Richard and Saladin that battle was inevitable.

Part III

Early in the morning on September 7, the Crusader Army departed from their camp and resumed their march towards the city of Arsuf. Just before leaving, Richard I (who was anticipating an attack) had arrayed his army in position with their marching flank facing inland. His army consisted of archers, crossbowman, and caravan guards on the flanks. His vanguard consisted of knights from the Knight's Templar and the Hospitaller Knights. King Richard himself was in the center column with Norman and English horseman at his command. At 9:AM in the morning, Saladin's army emerged from its camp in battle formation and the battle began.

The Arabs began to bombard the Crusaders with volleys of arrows and javelins. Although the Crusaders were heavily armored, many of their horses were killed. In spite of suffering casualties, Richard I ordered his soldiers to continue marching towards Jaffa. The Arabs continued to make hit-and-run attacks on the marching column for the next two hours. Getting the worst of it, were the Hospitallers located in the rear. Their commander sent a desperate plea to Richard for permission to launch counter-attack. Unwilling to engage in a battle on Saladin's terms, the King ordered the Hospitallers to press on and not retaliate.

By mid-afternoon, the Hospitallers could not tolerate the harassment any longer. They drew their weapons and launched an attack without any orders. Upon seeing this, Richard knew his hand had been forced and ordered the rest of the crusaders to attack as well. The sheer ferocity of their attack smashed right through the Arab lines. Caught completely by surprise, they were driven back with heavy casualties. After cutting through Saladin's flanks, Richard (who personally fought alongside his men) ordered a second charge on the center line. Saladin's center was also cut to pieces by the ferociousness of the Crusader attack and fled in complete disarray. Those that survived quickly fled into the dense woods. Richard I chose not to pursue them. By nightfall, the battle was over.

Epilogue

The casualties for the battle of Arsuf are not fully known. But one source claims that the Arabs had suffered over 7,000 casualties while the Crusaders only lost 700. A few days later King Richard arrived in the city of Arsuf and celebrated his victory. However, instead of marching on the city of Jerusalem, Richard decided to not to attack for fear of being surrounded and isolated from his supply lines. After almost a year of skirmishing with Saladin's armies (which eventually recovered from their defeat) Richard I led a successful amphibious attack that captured the city of Jaffa in July of 1192. 

By now however, both armies and their leaders were completely exhausted and decided to negotiate a truce. Together, Richard and Saladin signed the Treaty of Jaffa. This agreement would allow the Arabs to keep control over Jerusalem and allow Christian pilgrimages to the city. After this, Richard declared Acre to be the new capital of the Crusader Kingdom. Like King Philip II before him however, Richard I was forced to depart the Holy Land in order to retain control of his interests in his home country. For a while, it seemed that there would be peace. Sadly, it would not last very long and brutal fighting for control over the Holy Land would continue for the next century.

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-crusades-battle-of-arsuf-2360710

https://www.medievalists.net/2022/01/battle-richard-saladin-arsuf/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-locate-site-famous-battle-third-crusade-180975490/

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2021/06/13/battle-of-arsuf-1191/

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