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CHAPTER VIII INVASION AND STALEMATE The arrival of the German and Frisian crusaders in Acre in the spring of 1218 marked a new phase of the Fifth Crusade, with Egypt its objective. Oliver Scholasticus probably gives the most accurate account of this decision when he says that the plan had been decided at the Fourth Lateran Council.1 Wecan fill in the subsequent events from other sources. Soon after the new con­ tingents reached Acre, their leaders met with King John, the duke of Austria, the heads of the military orders, and the patriarch ofJe­ rusalem to decide on their next step. The Gesta Obsidionis Damiate gives the impression that only then was the decision made to attack Egypt.2 This account has misled some historians into believing that previously there had been uncertainty regarding the object of the crusade. Van Cleve, for example, has said that "the leaders soon de­ cided to employ the expedition against Egypt rather than in Pal­ estine."3 However, an analysis of the discussions reported by the so­called Chronicle of Ernoul suggests that attacking Egypt was never in doubt, but that there was a debate whether to make Alex­ andria or Damietta the specific target of the crusade.4 Moreover, a speech by King John reported in Ernoul suggests that the realrea­ son for holding this assemblywas not to decide between Palestine and Egypt, but to take stock of the troops available and to decide whether these were sufficient for the planned invasion. John sup­ ported the view that the number already present and thoseexpected soon made the invasion of Egypt feasible. Oliver Scholasticus"ve­ 138 Anatomy of a Crusade hemently" agreed.5 There was, therefore, never a real doubt about the plan to attack Egypt. It is more difficult to find reasons in the sources for the prefer­ ence for an attack on Damietta rather than Alexandria, but this de­ cision was not taken on the spur of the moment. The crusaders had long been gathering information about the Damietta region and had considerable knowledge of the terrain that lay between it and Cairo. In all likelihood, Damietta seemed to offer the best line of attack and the one that most safeguarded them in the event they would be forced to retreat. Not only was Damietta a smaller city than Alexandria, but it was somewhat closer to Cairo. It was also more accessible from the crusader ports in the Holy Land. Asearly as 1169, the Franks, supported by a Byzantine fleet, had laid siege to the city, but they were defeated by Saladin.6 In 1199, the pa­ triarch of Jerusalem had responded to Innocent Ill's request for in­ formation about conditions in the East and, inter alia, had stated that Damietta was "the head and key of all Egypt." He included a description of the fortifications of the city.7 Thus, the decision to invade Egypt via Damietta resulted from a long­maturing sense of its position in the defense of Egypt as well as its role in the mainte­ nance of Moslem power in Palestine. On May 24 the crusader fleet sailed southward from Acre to Chateau Pelerin in preparation for a landing at Damietta. Most of the ships moved on almost immediately, but the leaders of the army, who had remained in port longer, found themselves caught for a time by adverse winds. Therefore, when the crusaders arrived at the Damietta mouth of the Nile on May27,1218, and prepared to dis­ embark, they were without a commander. The matter was serious, since there were necessary decisions to be made, such as selecting a campsite and preparing fortifications. Prior to landing, they elected Count Simon of Saarbriicken, who had travelled to the East in the Rhenish contingent. Fortunately, they met with almost no resis­ tance, and they found a very suitable area for their camp on the west bank of the Nile, occupying the prayerhouse at Sat al­Birug north of Burah (Figure 8.1).8 Oliver even noted their good fortune in discovering that the Nile flowed with fresh water at this time, despite the fact that, as they soon discovered, the tides from the sea often made it salty as far as two miles south of Damietta. The region in which they found themselves has changed consid­ erably over the centuries, though the Damietta branch of the Nile flows in approximately the same course today as it did then.9 The [18.118.126.241] Project...

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