South From Acre
After capturing Acre in 1191, Richard fought many engagements with Saladin, whose main objective was to prevent the recapture of Jerusalem. Knowing he would need to control the port of Jaffa before making an attempt on Jerusalem, Richard began to march down the coast from Acre in August 1191. Richard organized the advance with attention to detail. Mindful of the lessons of the disaster at Hattin, he knew that his army's greatest need was water and heat exhaustion its greatest danger. Though pressed for time, he marched only in the morning before the heat of the day. He made 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 knights. The infantry marched on the landward flank, covering the flanks of the horsemen. Tormented by Saladin's archers and by tarantulas, which came out at night, Richard's generalship ensured that order and discipline were maintained under the most difficult of circumstances. Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, the Muslim chronicler, describes the march thus:
| “ | The Muslims were shooting arrows on their flanks, trying to incite them to break ranks, while they controlled themselves severely and covered the route in this way, travelling very steadily as their ships moved along at sea opposite them, until they completed each stage and camped. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Arsuf
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