A History of the Crusades-Vol 3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

long
resistance.
     

    Map 1. Environs of Acre.
     
    1189: Saladin moves to Acre
    Reinforcements began to arrive from the
West early in September. First came a large fleet of Danes and Frisians,
undisciplined soldiers but excellent sailors, whose galleys were invaluable for
blockading the city from the sea, especially when the death of William of
Sicily in November led to the withdrawal of the Sicilian squadron. A few days
later ships from Italy brought a Flemish and French contingent, led by the
gallant knight, James of Avesnes, the Counts of Bar, Brienne and Dreux, and
Philip, Bishop of Beauvais. Before the month was ended a party of Germans
arrived, under Louis, Margrave of Thuringia, who preferred to travel with his
followers by sea rather than accompany his Emperor. With him were the Count of
Guelders and a party of Italians under Gerard, Archbishop of Ravenna, and the
Bishop of Verona.
    These arrivals alarmed Saladin, who began
to gather his vassals again and who came down with part of his army from
Beaufort, leaving a smaller detachment to finish the reduction of the castle.
His attack on Guy’s camp on 15 September failed, but his nephew Taki was able
to break round the Frankish lines and establish contact with the north gate of
the city. He himself established his camp a little to the east of the Christians.
Soon the Franks felt able to take the offensive. Louis of Thuringia, as he
passed through Tyre, was able to persuade Conrad of Montferrat to join the
Frankish army, so long as he did not have to serve under Guy’s command. On 4
October, after having fortified their camp, which was left under the command of
Guy’s brother Geoffrey, the Franks launched a great attack on Saladin’s lines.
It was a bitter battle. Taki, on the Saracen right, retired to lure on the
Templars, who were opposite to him; but Saladin himself was deceived by the
manoeuvre and weakened his centre to rescue him. As a result both his right and
his centre were put to flight with heavy losses, some of his troops never
reining their horses till they reached Tiberias. The Count of Brienne even
penetrated to the Sultan’s own tent. But the Saracen left was intact; and when
the Christians broke their ranks to pursue the fugitives Saladin charged with
it and drove them back in disorder to their camp, which was at the same time
assailed by a sortie from the garrison of Acre. Geoffrey of Lusignan held firm
there; and soon the greater part of the Christian army was safe behind its
defences, where Saladin did not venture to attack them. Many Frankish knights
fell on the field, including Andrew of Brienne. The German troops panicked and
suffered severely; and losses were high amongst the Templars. Their Grand
Master, Gerard of Ridfort, who had been King Guy’s evil genius in the days
before Hattin, was captured and paid for his follies with his death. Conrad
himself only escaped capture by the gallant intervention of his rival, King
Guy.
    1190: Stalemate
    The victory had been with the Moslems; but
it was not a complete victory. The Christians had not been dislodged; and
during the autumn more help came from the West. The Londoners’ fleet arrived in
November, heartened by their success in Portugal. The chroniclers tell of many
other Crusaders drawn from the nobility of France, Flanders and Italy and even
from Hungary and Denmark. Many Western knights had refused to wait for their
dilatory sovereigns. Thanks to this added strength the Franks were able to
complete the blockade of Acre by land. But Saladin too was receiving
reinforcements. The news of the Emperor Frederick’s journey, while it
encouraged the Christians, induced him to summon his vassals from all over
Asia; and he even wrote to the Moslems of Morocco and Spain to say that if
Western Christendom was sending its knights to fight for the Holy Land Western
Islam should do likewise. They answered him with sympathy but very little
positive help. Nevertheless his army soon was large enough for