Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
initially successful in retaking Jerusalem. But it was taken back in 1187 by Saladin (1138-93), the Kurd-
ish general who controlled much of North Africa and the Middle East. Known as a patron of the arts and
renowned for his chivalry, Saladin was nonetheless a Muslim and considered a heathen by the Europeans,
who wanted possession of the holy city of Jerusalem and the True Cross, purported to be a fragment of the
cross Christ was crucified on and Christianity's most sacred relic.
In 1189, the Third Crusade was called and, after a false start, was led by England's King Richard I (the
Lion-Hearted of Robin Hood fame; 1157-99), and France's Philip II, who happened to be at war between
themselves at the time! They set aside differences long enough to take the town of Acre (Akko), a port on
what is now Israel's northwestern coast. Holding some twenty-five hundred civilians hostage, Richard I
put these captives to the sword in an appalling murder of women and children, not at all in line with Hol-
lywood's sainted vision of “Good King Richard.”
Richard then marched south along the coast toward the port of Jaffa (Yafo), shadowed by Saladin's
troops, until the two armies reached Arsuf, a spot on the coast a few miles north of where Tel Aviv now
stands. In intense heat, the two armies faced off, Richard's crusaders with their backs to the sea. Maintain-
ing a disciplined defensive posture until he called for a counterattack, Richard was able to take control of
the battle quickly and drove Saladin's army from the field.
Unable to recapture Jerusalem, Richard settled for a treaty with Saladin allowing Christian pilgrims
free access to the city's shrines. The English king fared less well on the way home. He was captured by the
king of Austria, who held him for ransom, which was ultimately raised by his English subjects.
Saratoga
The early battles of the American Revolution in the state of Massachusetts at Lexington and
Concord—with the famous “shot heard 'round the world”—or that of Bunker (actually Breed's) Hill in
Boston may be more famous, but the series of battles fought between the rebellious Continental Army and
the British troops in Saratoga, New York, in the fall of 1777 were far more significant in the war's eventual
outcome.
Moving south from Canada, British troops were supposed to meet another force coming up the Hudson
River from New York. The plan was to cut off New England, the center of colonial revolt, from the rest of
the American colonies. But poor planning and communications doomed the British plan. The first of two
pitched battles took place on September 19, 1777, at Saratoga, about 25 miles (40 km) north of Albany,
New York, where about seven thousand Americans had dug in. Among them were five hundred sharp-
shooters from Pennsylvania under the command of Daniel Morgan, who had an easy time shooting from
concealed positions against British regulars who were employed in the traditional European battle square.
British officers in distinctive gold-braided uniforms also made easy targets for the American marksmen.
The first battle ended inconclusively with the British taking heavy casualties but setting up earthwork de-
fenses.
On October 7, the second battle of Saratoga commenced. Led by the flamboyant Benedict
Arnold—later to turn traitor to the colonial cause—the Americans overwhelmed the British. Ten days later,
British general Burgoyne surrendered, blunting a major British offensive against the colonial rebels and
removing an eight-thousand-man British force from the picture. The immediate strategic impact of the vic-
tory left the American rebels in control of the Hudson River. More significantly, almost immediately after
Saratoga, Americans and Englishmen began to feel for the first time that a rebel victory was possible. That
sentiment was also expressed in France, Great Britain's chief rival, which allied itself with the American
cause and ultimately turned the tide of war in favor of the rebellious colonists.
Trafalgar, Austerlitz, Borodino, and Waterloo
Following the American victory over the British, con-
tinental Europe descended into a maelstrom of conflict, beginning with the French Revolution of 1789,
which established the French Republic, only to be replaced quickly by the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
(1769-1821). After a series of victories over armies from Austria, Russia, and Prussia (later to become the
