Free A History of the Crusades-Vol 3 by Steven Runciman Page B

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the front line and behind them were the knights. The Templars were on the
right, at the southern end of the line. Next were the Bretons and the men of
Anjou, and next to them the troops of Guienne, under Guy and his brother,
Geoffrey of Lusignan. In the centre was the King himself, with his English and
Norman troops, then the Flemish and the native barons, under James of Avesnes,
and the French under Hugh of Burgundy, and on the extreme left the
Hospitallers. When all was arranged, Richard and the Duke of Burgundy rode
along the lines, giving words of encouragement.
    The Saracen attack began in the middle of
the morning. Wave after wave of lightly armed negro and Bedouin foot-soldiers
rushed on the Christians, hurling arrows and darts. They flung the first line
of infantry into disorder but could make no impression on the knights in their
heavy armour. Suddenly they divided their ranks and the Turkish horsemen
charged through, flashing sabres and axes. They drove their fiercest attacks
against the Hospitallers and the Flemings and native barons next to them,
hoping to turn the Christian left flank. The knights held their ground and
after each wave the bowmen reformed their line. Despite his soldiers’ pleading
Richard would not allow any part of his army to attack till all were ready and
the Turkish charges showed signs of weariness and till the main Saracen army
was closer. Several times the Grand Master of the Hospital sent to beg him to
give the signal. His knights, he said, would have to yield unless they could
take the offensive. When Richard still ordered patience, two of the knights,
the Marshal of the Order and Baldwin Carew, took matters into their own hands
and rode out into the enemy, and all their comrades galloped after them. At the
sight of the charge the knights all down the line spurred their horses on.
There was confusion at first, for the bowmen were unprepared and were in the
way. The King himself rode into the midst of the turmoil to restore some order,
and took command of the onslaught. Saladin’s secretary, watching from a nearby
hill, gasped at the splendour of the spectacle as the Christian cavalry
thundered towards him. It was too much for the Moslem soldiers. They broke
their ranks and fled. Saladin rallied them in time to defend his camp and even
to lead another charge against the enemy. But it was in vain. By evening the
Christian army was in command of the field and was continuing its southward
march.
    1191: Richard’s Victory
    The battle of Arsuf was not decisive, but
it was a great moral victory for the Christians. Their losses had been
surprisingly small, though among the dead was the great knight James of
Avesnes, who lay with fifteen Saracen corpses round him. But the Saracen losses
had been almost as small. No emir of note had fallen; and by next day Saladin
had gathered together all his men and was ready to try another encounter, which
Richard refused and which he was not quite strong enough to force. The value of
the victory lay in the confidence that it gave to the Christians. It was the
first great open battle since Hattin, and it showed that Saladin could be
defeated. Coming so soon after the capture of Acre, it seemed to indicate that
the tide had turned and that Jerusalem itself could be liberated once more.
Richard’s repute was at its height. The victorious charge had, it is true, been
launched against his orders, but only a few minutes before he was ready; and
his patient restraint beforehand and his direction of the charge when it came
had shown superb generalship. It promised well for the future of the Crusade.
    Saladin, on the other hand, had suffered a
personal and a public humiliation. His army had been ineffectual at Acre, and
now it had been defeated in open battle. Like his great predecessor Nur ed-Din,
Saladin as he grew older lost something of his energy and his command of men.
His health was poor; he suffered from recurrent malarial attacks. He was less
able than