"On a winter's day in 1177 at Mont Gisard, the Templars launched a desperate charge that brought them within striking distance of Saladin himself. It was the closest the order ever came to killing their greatest enemy-and the consequences of that failed hit would echo through the next campaigns in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. November 25, 1177. A difficult winter's day in Palestine - one in which death and destruction were paramount."
"There was a sense of panic in the air. The enemy stretched out in front of the Frankish lines, largely lost in the dust and sand kicked up by the thousands of horses and baggage animals. They had the numbers. But something was not right. Men were shuffling across the field, trying to force a way into the ranks, and disordering their comrades."
On November 25, 1177 at Mont Gisard a desperate Templar charge brought the knights within striking distance of Saladin. Saladin had mobilized an army of over 20,000 men from Egypt, including about 8,000 household cavalry. The Frankish field force could muster approximately 375 knights supported by infantry and Turcopole light cavalry and had taken refuge in castles after earlier raids. Saladin's troops became overconfident and scattered in raiding parties, producing moments of disorder and hesitation on the battlefield. The Templars' failed attempt to kill Saladin left strategic consequences that affected subsequent campaigns in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Read at Medievalists.net
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