Battle of Arsuf The Battle of Arsuf was a battle of the Third Crusade in which Richard I of England defeated Saladin ( Ṣalāḥ al - Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb ) , founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and Sultan of Egypt and Syria , at Arsuf in Palestine . The forces of the Third Crusade had taken the city of Acre after a prolonged siege . The next strategic target for the Christian army was to secure the city of Jaffa , which would facilitate their ultimate goal , the recapture of the city of Jerusalem . Following a series of harassing attacks by Saladin ' s forces , battle was joined on the morning of 7 September 1191 . Richard ' s army successfully resisted attempts to disrupt its cohesion until the Hospitallers broke ranks and charged ; Richard then committed all his forces to the attack . He regrouped his army after its initial success , and led them to victory . The battle resulted in the coastal area of southern Palestine , including the port of Jaffa , returning to Christian control . This made the capture of Jerusalem feasible . South from Acre . Following the capturure of Acre in 1191 , Richard was aware that he needed to capture the port of Jaffa before making an attempt on Jerusalem , Richard began to march down the coast from Acre towards Jaffa in August 1191 . Saladin , whose main objective was to prevent the recapture of Jerusalem , mobilised his army to attempt to stop the Crusaders ' advance . Richard organized the advance with attention to detail . A large part of the Egyptian fleet had been captured at the fall of Acre , and with no threat from this quarter he could march south along the coast with the sea always protecting his right flank . Mindful of the lessons of the disaster at Hattin , Richard knew that his army ' s greatest need was water and heat exhaustion its greatest danger . Although pressed for time he proceeded at a relatively slow pace . He marched his army only in the morning before the heat of the day , making frequent rest stops , always beside sources of water . The fleet sailed down the coast in close support , a source of supplies and a refuge for the wounded . Aware of the ever - present danger of enemy raiders and the possibility of hit - and - run attacks , he kept the column in tight formation with a core of twelve mounted regiments , each with a hundred knight s . The infantry marched on the landward flank , covering the flanks of the horsemen and affording them some protection from missiles . The outermost ranks of the infantry were composed of crossbowmen . On the seaward side was the baggage and also units of infantry being rested from the continuous harassment inflicted by Saladin ' s forces . Richard wisely rotated his infantry units to keep them relatively fresh . Though tormented by the hit - and - run skirmish tactics of Saladin ' s archers , Richard ' s generalship ensured that order and discipline were maintained under the most difficult of circumstances . Baha al - Din ibn Shaddad , the Muslim chronicler and eyewitness , describes the march thus : Baha al - Din also described the difference in power between the Crusader crossbow and the bows of his own army . He saw Frankish infantrymen with from one to ten arrows sticking from their armoured backs marching along with no apparent hurt , whilst the crossbows struck down both horse and man amongst the Muslims . Saladin ' s strategy . The Crusade r army ' s pace was dictated by the infantry and baggage train ; the Ayyubid army , being largely mounted , had the advantage of superior mobility . Efforts to burn crops and deny the countryside to the Frankish army were largely ineffective as it could be continuously provisioned from the fleet , which moved south parallel with it . On 25 August the Crusader rearguard was crossing a defile when it was almost cut off . However , the Crusaders closed up so speedily that the Muslim soldiery was forced to flee . From 26 to 29 August Richard ' s army had a respite from attack because while it hugged the coast and had gone round the shoulder of Mount Carmel , Saladin ' s army had struck across country . Saladin arrived in the vicinity of Caesarea before the Crusaders , who were on a longer road . From 30 August to 7 September Saladin was always within striking distance , and waiting for an opportunity to attack if the Crusaders exposed themselves . By early September , Saladin had realised that harassing the Frankish army with a limited portion of his troops was not going to stop its advance . In order to do this he needed to commit his entire army to a serious attack . Fortuitously for Saladin , the Crusaders had to traverse one of the few forested regions of Palestine , the " Wood of Arsuf " , which ran parallel to the sea shore for more than . The woodland would mask the disposition of his army and allow a sudden attack to be launched . The Crusaders traversed half of the forest with little incident , and they rested on 6 September with their camp protected by the marsh lying inland of the mouth of the river Nahr - el - Falaik ( Rochetaillée ) . To the south of the camp , in the the Crusaders needed to march before gaining the ruins of Arsuf , the forest receded inland to create a narrow plain wide between wooded hills and the sea . This is where Saladin intended to make his decisive attack . While threatening and skirmishing along the whole length of the Crusader column , Saladin reserved his most sustained direct assault for its rear . His plan appears to have been to allow the Frankish van and centre to proceed , in the hope that a fatal gap might be created between them and the more heavily engaged rearmost units . Into such a gap Saladin would have thrown his reserves in order to defeat the Crusaders . Day of battle . At dawn on 7 September 1191 , as Richard ' s forces began moving out of camp enemy scouts were visible in all directions , hinting that Saladin ' s whole army lay hidden in the woodland . King Richard took especial pains over the disposition of his army . The probable posts of greatest danger , at the front and especially the rear of the column , were given to the military orders . They had the most experience of fighting in the East , were arguably the most disciplined , and were the only formations which included Turcopole cavalry who fought like the Turkish horse archers of the Ayyubid army . The van of the Crusader army consisted of the Knights Templar under Robert de Sablé . They were followed by three units composed of Richard ' s own subjects , the Angevins and Bretons , then the Poitevins including Guy of Lusignan , titular King of Jerusalem , and lastly the English and Normans who had charge of the great standard mounted on its waggon . The next seven corps were made up of the French , the barons of Outremer and small contingents of crusaders from other lands . Forming the rearguard were the Knights Hospitaller led by Fra ' Garnier de Nablus . The twelve corps were organised into five larger formations , though their precise distribution is unknown . Additionally , a small troop , under the leadership of Henry II of Champagne , was detached to scout towards the hills , and a squadron of picked knights under King Richard and Hugh of Burgundy , the leader of the French contingent , was detailed to ride up and down the column checking on Saladin ' s movements and ensuring that their own ranks were kept in order . The first Saracen attack did not come until all the crusaders had left their camp and were moving towards Arsuf . The Ayyubid army then burst out of the woodland . The front of the army was composed of dense swarms of skirmishers , both horse and foot , Bedouin , Sudanese archers and the lighter types of Turkish horse archers . Behind these were the ordered squadrons of armoured heavy cavalry , Saladin ' s mamluks ( also termed ghulams ) , Kurdish troops , and the contingents of the emirs and princes of Egypt , Syria and Mesopotamia . The army was divided into three parts , left and right wings and centre . In an attempt to destroy the cohesion of the enemy and unsettle their resolve , the onslaught was accompanied by the clashing of cymbals and gongs , trumpets blowing and men screaming . The " Itinerarium Regis Ricardi " records : " So the unspeakable Turks fell on our army from all sides , from the direction of the sea and from dry land . There was not a space for around , not even a fistful , which was not covered with the hostile Turkish race . " These incursions followed the same pattern : the Bedouins and Nubians launched arrows and javelin s into the enemy lines , before parting to allow the mounted archers to advance , attack and wheel off , a well - practised technique . Crusader crossbowmen responded , when this was possible , although the chief task among the Crusaders was simply to preserve their ranks in the face of sustained provocation . When the incessant attacks of skirmishers failed to have the desired effect , the weight of the attack was switched to the rear of the Crusader column , with the Hospitallers coming under the greatest pressure . Here the right wing of the Ayyubid army made a desperate attack on the squadron of Hospitaller knights and the infantry corps covering them . The Hospitallers could be attacked from both their rear and flank . Many of the Hospitaller infantry had to walk backwards in order to keep their faces , and shields , to the enemy . Saladin , eager to urge his soldiers into closer combat , personally entered the fray , accompanied by two pages leading spare horses . Sayf al - Din ( Saphadin ) , Saladin ' s brother , was also engaged in actively encouraging the troops ; both brothers were thus exposing themselves to considerable danger from crossbow fire . Hospitallers break ranks . All Saladin ' s best efforts could not dislocate the Crusader column , or halt its advance in the direction of Arsuf . Richard was determined to hold his army together , forcing the enemy to exhaust themselves in repeated charges , with the intention of holding his knights for a concentrated counter - attack at just the right moment . There were risks in this , because the army was not only marching under severe enemy provocation , but the troops were suffering from heat and thirst . Just as serious , the Saracens were killing so many horses that some of Richard ' s own knights began to wonder if a counter - strike would be possible . Many of the unhorsed knights joined the infantry . Just as the vanguard entered Arsuf in the middle of the afternoon , the Hospitaller crossbowmen to the rear were having to load and fire walking backwards . Inevitably they lost cohesion , and the enemy was quick to take advantage of this opportunity , moving into any gap wielding their swords and maces . For the Crusaders , the Battle of Arsuf had now entered a critical stage . Garnier de Nablus repeatedly pleaded with Richard to be allowed to attack . He was refused , the Master was ordered to maintain position and await the signal for a general assault , six clear trumpet blasts . Richard knew that the charge of his knights needed to be reserved until the Ayyubid army was fully committed , closely engaged , and the soldiers ' horses had begun to tire . Goaded beyond endurance , the Master and another knight , Baldwin de Carron , thrust their way through their own infantry and charged into the Saracen ranks with a cry of " St . George ! " ; they were then followed by the rest of the Hospitaller knights . Moved by this example , the French knights of the corps immediately preceding the Hospitallers also charged . Crusader counterattack . The precipitate action of the Hospitallers could have caused Richard ' s whole strategy to unravel . However , he recognised that the counterattack , once started , had to be supported by all his army and ordered the signal for a general charge to be sounded . Unsupported , the Hospitallers and the other rear units involved in the initial breakout would have been overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the enemy . The Frankish infantry opened gaps in their ranks for the knights to pass through and the attack naturally developed in echelon from the rear to the van . To the soldiers of Saladin ' s army , as Baha al - Din noted , the sudden change from passivity to ferocious activity on the part of the Crusaders was disconcerting , and appeared to be the result of a preconceived plan . Having already been engaged in close combat with the rear of the Crusader column , the right wing of the Ayyubid army was in compact formation and too close to their enemy to avoid the full impact of the charge . Indeed some of the cavalry of this wing had dismounted in order to fire their bows more effectively . As a result they suffered great numbers of casualties , the knights taking a bloody revenge for all they had had to endure earlier in the battle . Baha al - Din noted that " the rout was complete . " He had been in the centre division of Saladin ' s army , when it turned in flight he looked to join the left wing , but found that it also was in rapid flight . Noting the disintegration of the right wing he finally sought Saladin ' s personal banners , but found only seventeen members of the bodyguard and a lone drummer still with them . Being aware that an over - rash pursuit was the greatest danger when fighting armies trained in the fluid tactics of the Turks , Richard halted the charge after about had been covered . The right flank Crusader units , which had formed the van of the column , including the English and Normans had not yet been heavily engaged in close combat and they formed a reserve on which the rest regrouped . Freed from the pressure of being actively pursued , many of the Ayyubid troops turned to cut down those of the knights who had unwisely drawn ahead of the rest . James d ' Avesnes , the commander of one of the French units , was the most prominent of those killed in this episode . Amongst the Ayyubid leaders who rallied quickly and returned to the fight was Taqi al - Din , Saladin ' s nephew . He led 700 men of the Sultan ' s own bodyguard against Richard ' s left flank . Once their squadrons were back in order , Richard led his knights in a second charge and the forces of Saladin broke once again . Leading by example , Richard was in the heart of the fighting , as the " Itinerarium " describes : Alert to the danger presented to his scattered ranks , Richard , prudent as ever , halted and regrouped his forces once more after a further pursuit . The Ayyubid cavalry turned once again , showing they still had stomach to renew the fight . However , a third and final charge caused them to scatter into the woodland where they dispersed into the hills in all directions , showing no inclination to continue the conflict . Richard led his cavalry back to Arsuf where the infantry had pitched camp . During the night the Saracen dead were looted . Aftermath . As always with Medieval battles , losses are difficult to assess with any precision . The Christian chroniclers claim the Muslims lost 32 emir s and 7 , 000 men , but it is possible that the true number may have been less . Richard ' s own dead are said to have numbered no more than 700 , which included James d ' Avesnes . Arsuf was an important victory . The Muslim army was not destroyed , despite the considerable casualties it suffered , but it did rout ; this was considered shameful by the Muslims and boosted the morale of the Crusaders . Had Richard been able to choose the moment to unleash his knights , rather than having to react to the actions of an insubordinate unit commander , the Crusader victory might have been crushingly decisive . After the rout Saladin was able to regroup and attempted to resume his skirmishing method of warfare but to little effect ; shaken by the Crusaders ' sudden and devastatingly effective counterattack at Arsuf , he was no longer willing to risk a further full - scale attack . Arsuf had dented Saladin ' s reputation as an invincible warrior , and proved Richard ' s courage as a soldier and his skill as a commander . Richard was able to take , defend and hold Jaffa – a strategically crucial move toward securing Jerusalem . Also Saladin had to evacuate and demolish most of the fortresses of southern Palestine : Ascalon , Gaza , Blanche - Garde , Lydda and Ramleh , as he realised he could not hold them . Richard took the fortress of Darum , the sole fortress that Saladin had garrisoned , with only his own household troops , so low had Saracen morale been reduced . By depriving Saladin of the coast , Richard seriously threatened Saladin ' s hold on Jerusalem . In fiction and film . The Battle of Arsuf is featured in the climax of the videogame Assassin ' s Creed . Primary sources . There are descriptions of the battle in the " Itinerarium Regis Ricardi " , the Old French continuation of " William of Tyre " called " Estoire d ' Eracles " and , from the Kurdish and Arab side , in Baha al - Din ibn Shaddad ' s " Rare and Excellent History of Saladin " – also called " Saladin Or What Befell Sultan Yusuf " , Abu Shama and Ibn al - Athir .