Battle of Damietta (1219)



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.