Battle of Damietta (1219)

Battle of Damietta (1219)
Part of the Fifth Crusade
Date 1219 Location Damietta Result Ayyubid victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Jerusalem Holy Roman Empire County of Holland Knights Templar Kingdom of France County of Flanders Electorate of Cologne Teutonic Knights Knights Hospitaller Papal States	Ayyubids
Commanders and leaders
John of Brienne Pelagio Galvani Oliver of Cologne	Al-Kamil
Casualties and losses
300 knights and 2,000 infantry	unknown

For Louis IX's siege, see Siege of Damietta (1249).

Frisian crusaders attack the tower of Damietta in a painting by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen.

The Battle of Damietta in 1219 was part of the Fifth Crusade. The crusader army was defeated.

Prelude

In 1219, the allied French-German-Dutch crusader army was besieging the port city of Damietta, to gain a supply base. The army was under John of Brienne who was King of Jerusalem , Papal legate Pelagio Galvani, and Oliver of Cologne. An Ayyubid army under Sultan Al-Kamil arived to drive off the crusaders.

Deployment

Galvani ignored John's advice and ordered an attack. John commanded his men on the right, plus a force of Templars. Oliver of Cologne commanded the Germans and Dutch in the center, and Galavini commanded the left.

Battle

The crusader infantry attacked against the Ayyubid center, in a short, stiff, chaotic fight. The Muslim center fell back, luring the crusaders forward, where it could be outflanked. At the same time, a small force of Muslim Bedouin light cavalry raced around the crusader right flank towards the Crusader camp. King John saw them and sent some of this knights to cut them off. Galvini saw this and thought John was retreating. He ordered his men to fall back, and the move soon became a disordered rout. The Germans in the center realized they were about to be outflanked and ran. John moved his men to block the Ayyubid advance, allowing the rest of the army to fall back to the camp safely.

Aftermath

Al-Kamil pulled back, and a few weeks later, Damietta surrendered to the crusaders. They did not gain any advantage however, and were defeated when attempting to march to Cairo.

References

• Madden, Thomas F. The New Concise History of the Crusades. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. ISBN: 0-7425-3823-0