Rather than attacking the Templars in the vanguard, Saladin’s men flanked the crusader army and concentrated on fighting the Hospitallers at the rear. Protected by a thick cascade of arrow shot, they hurtled into the Christian lines, swinging swords and jagged cudgels. Richard’s instructions were for the whole army to remain firm and withstand the waves of attack, waiting for a prearranged signal of six trumpet blasts to start their own cavalry surge.
