Battle of Ascalon

On August 12, 1099, barely a month after the conquest of Jerusalem, the Crusader host marched at night from Ramla and rushed at dawn on the Al-Afdal camp in Ascalon. Despite their numerical inferiority, the Frankish contingents broke the Fatimid right wing, seized the banners and transformed the confrontation into a general rout, definitively ensuring the military success of the crusade.

The Fatimid vizier Al-Afdal assembled a considerable force of Sudanese, Bedouin and Armenian troops in the spring of 1099 to retake Jerusalem. Arab Christian scouts warn Godfrey of the enemy concentration at Ascalon, a fortified port remaining in Egyptian hands. After a quick deliberation, the Latin leaders left a small garrison in Jerusalem, gathered around 10,000 fighters, organized their march in cohorts and silently approached the Fatimid camp hidden by the coastal orchards.

The Frankish leaders deployed the army in three battles: Tancred and Robert of Normandy on the right wing, Godfrey and Robert of Flanders in the center, Raymond of Saint-Gilles on the left. The crusaders struck just as the Fatimids were leaving their tents in disorder; the heavy cavalry charges in a corner, supported by the Norman infantry who mow down the Sudanese archers. The capture of Al-Afdal's white camel and the vizier's tent completely disorganized the enemy, while Frankish detachments burned the camp to prevent any reformation.

The destruction of the Al-Afdal camp broke the Fatimid offensive and provided the Crusaders with immense booty of weapons, camels and treasures. The absence of pursuit of the city itself - due to rivalries between Godfrey, Raymond and Tancred over the possession of Ascalon - however left the Egyptian port active, forcing the young kingdom to remain on the defensive to the south. The West nevertheless considered the crusade accomplished, and some of the pilgrims returned to Europe.