Battle of Arsuf - Saladin's Response

Saladin's Response

As the Crusader army marched to the far side of the river at Caesarea, Saladin was making his own dispositions. He had planned to place his army by the old Roman roads further into the interior, allowing him to attack in any direction as the occasion presented itself. But the coastal advance of the Crusaders compelled him to follow on a parallel course. At the first light, harassing attacks failed to have the intended effect; these were stepped up in intensity, becoming mini-battles in the process. When Richard's army approached Caesarea on 30 August, the rear guard, commanded by Hugh III of Burgundy, came under serious onslaught, cutting it off from the rest of the army for a time. Richard managed to rally the troops, as the whole of the army cried Sanctum Sepulchrum adjuva ("Help us, Holy Sepulchre!").

Saladin, assessing the enemy line of advance, decided to make a stand at Arsuf near Jaffa, with his army facing west towards the Crusaders and the sea. His northern flank was protected by the Forest of Arsuf, with the marshy Rochetaillée river to the front. To the south, his left flank was secured by a series of wooded hills, going down to the ruins of the town of Arsuf itself. The plan was to draw the Crusaders out by a series of advances followed by feigned retreats, and destroy them by sustained attacks once their ranks were broken. Between the hills of Arsuf and the sea there was only a two-mile (3 km) gap, leaving Richard little room to maneuver, and restricting the possibility of a concentrated charge by the armoured knights. Saladin saw this as the perfect trap; but Richard was quick to turn it into an opportunity.