Mention the Third Crusade to any military historian and as likely as not they will be able to recall The Siege of Acre, which is regarded as one of the defining conflicts of the campaign.
Upon the release of his book chronicling events, The Siege of Acre: Saladin, Richard the Lionheart and the Battle that decided the Third Crusade, historian John D. Hosler provided the Hay audience with a detailed account of how the siege was enacted.
Hosler is a professor of military history at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and he described his method of educating officers not simply on modern military history but also through the lens of looking back at the history of war, when “shields and swords” were used rather than “guns and tanks”.
The siege was captured through the historian's in-depth descriptions of life on the battle front, from the weapons used by both sides to the experience of acute disease and death – “you either got sick or you died”. He described the crusaders’ ability to survive the harsh winters through resourcefulness and “reduced mouths to feed”, and the sense of faith that drove the conflict.
He also examined the significance both of King Philip Augustus of France and England’s Richard I in mobilising forces and establishing the groundwork for victory at Acre. On Philip, he remarked: “he was a man of action and he was all business when he showed up”, which set the scene for Richard I’s eventual victory, ushered in by an advancement in both mood and military strategy, and helped by a lack of successful action from Muslim leader Saladin.
Finally, he drew parallels with the way in which the military carries out conflict today – with both the Crusaders and the US Army pursuing “large-scale, multi-national ground combat”.
When asked what could be learned from the military conduct at The Crusades, Hosler replied that the military should have their sights set on achieving victory “with as few casualties as you can”.
If you missed this, you might enjoy Event 335, The Ancient Celts at 1pm on Friday, 1 June.