Richard the Lionheart: A Life From Beginning to End by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2017-09-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

The Crusade Continues

“War is an episode, a crisis, a fever the purpose of which is to rid the body of fever. So the purpose of war is to end the war.”

—William Faulkner

The march southwards was difficult for Richard’s men. Two soldiers were reported to have been eaten by crocodiles, but numerous others succumbed to more mundane difficulties such as heat exhaustion. The soldiers marched along the coast, while the fleet moved alongside them, paralleling the journey on the sea. The trek continued into September, even as stores of supplies dwindled. Finally, Saladin decided to attempt to put a stop to the progress of Richard’s army. As Richard’s men crossed the plains near the city of Arsuf, it became apparent that an attack was imminent. Richard drew up his men into a strategic position for battle, but instead of attacking Saladin’s forces pre-emptively, Richard waited for Saladin to attack.

On the morning of September 7, Richard’s men were in place, waiting. Before mid-morning, the attack came. Infantrymen with bows and spears, Turks and Bedouin Arabs, rushed towards Richard’s soldiers. In places, the attack broke through the front lines of Richard’s foot soldiers, but could not push through the mounted knights behind them. Next, the enemy cavalry charged. They bore battle axes and swords—even more fearsome to the awaiting soldiers than the warriors who had come before. Their attack pressed primarily against the Knights Hospitaller, one of the premier fighting forces of the medieval European world. The Hospitallers wanted to break from their formation and return the attack, and three times asked Richard for permission to do so; the king continually told them to maintain their position. Richard rode through the ranks of the army, calling encouragement to his men as the defense held strong.

The king’s strategy was to hold out until Saladin’s forces had expended their energy in attacking, and then he would make a counter-attack. However, as the Hospitallers proved, it was hard for the knights to wait. Unexpectedly, two of the Hospitallers disobeyed Richard’s command, bursting forward into the fray. Other knights saw them and assumed Richard had at last given the order to attack. This disorderly charge into the enemy ranks might have spelled disaster as King Richard’s strategy fell by the wayside, but Richard, at his best in the chaos of the battlefield, rode straight into the fight to retake command. He pushed the charge toward a weak point in the enemy forces, forcing Saladin’s men back in their surprise. As Saladin’s soldiers regained their footing, Richard took a small, mobile band of knights with him and led an attack on another part of the field. The resulting confusion among Saladin’s men decided the battle as his forces were driven to retreat. Richard’s skill both as a strategist and as a commander, making decisions in the heat of battle, increased his renown. The victory at Arsuf was an impressive one and led many to hope that Jerusalem might be regained before long.

Soon after the battle, Richard moved his troops to Jaffa.

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