Acre 1291: Bloody sunset of the Crusader states (Campaign) [Paperback]

David Nicolle (Author), Graham Turner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: August 10, 2005

Osprey's study of the battle at Acre, one of the last campaigns of the Crusages (1095-1291). In April 1291, a Mamluk army laid siege to Acre, the last great Crusader fortress in the Holy Land. For six weeks, the siege dragged on until the Mamluks took the outer wall, which had been breached in several places. The Military Orders drove back the Mamluks temporarily, but three days later the inner wall was breached. King Henry escaped, but the bulk of the defenders and most of the citizens perished in the fighting or were sold into slavery. The surviving knights fell back to their fortress, resisting for ten days, until the Mamluks broke through. This book depicts the dramatic collapse of this great fortress, whose demise marked the end of the Crusades in the Holy Land.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

David Nicolle worked for the BBC Arabic service for a number of years, before gaining an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and a doctorate from Edinburgh University. He later taught world and Islamic art and architectural history at Yarmuk University, Jordan. He has written many books and articles on medieval and Islamic warfare and many titles for Osprey. He lives in Leicestershire, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (August 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841768626
• ISBN-13: 978-1841768625
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Introductory book on the siege of Acre, October 1, 2005

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acre 1291: Bloody sunset of the Crusader states (Campaign) (Paperback)

I found David Nicolle's book on the siege of Acre to be pretty informative considering that there isn't much written about this siege and the fall of the major Crusader city which signaled the end of the Latin kingdom forever. In a typical Osprey Campaign series, the book basically summarized the entire war the Malmuk wages against the their neigbors during the last few years leading up to the fall of Acre. The primary sources were probably too few to provide a lot of details but it also prevent massive information overload as well.

I read the previous written review and thought the writer there expected too much from such a short book. But he does have certain points which Mr. Nicolle should have included, an order of battle, a good clear 3D map of Acre with scales in a single page instead of the map being compromised by a page divider. But that previous reviewer is wrong on one thing, Mr. Nicolle does give a clear reasons why the fortress city fell. Morale failure was key factor and despite of the questionable number of 15,000 defenders, there weren't too many real warriors among that questionable number. The city defense seem to be centered around the military orders and they don't seem to be in high numbers. Advanced mining and siege artillery did most of the damages. I think the lack of primary sources here is responsible for the lack of number tally.

While the book wasn't as totally detail or totally informative as I liked, it was still pretty good reading and gives any readers who are not total experts on this field a nice summarized account of the fall of Acre and the events that led up to it.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More Art History than Military History, September 30, 2005

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Acre 1291: Bloody sunset of the Crusader states (Campaign) (Paperback)

Dr. David Nicolle has proven in his numerous works that he is an expert on Medieval Mideastern history; however, his efforts in the Osprey Campaign series are written more from the cultural perspective than as military history. In Acre 1291, Campaign #154, Dr. Nicolle says a great deal about Muslim politics and culture in the 13th Century, but very little about the actual siege - less than 14 pages. I realize that Medieval sources limit the detail available, but Nicolle makes no effort to outline order of battle for either side and his tactical maps do not even have scale markers. The lead-up to the siege is particularly rambling and unfocused, including a pointless diversion to discuss Mamluke campaigns against the Nubians. Readers who enjoy art and cultural history may enjoy this volume, but readers looking for military history will be sadly disappointed.

Dr. Nicolle's opening introduction is actually quite good in summarizing this era, particularly in noting the impact of Mongol invasions on Islamic society (making it more inward-looking, less progressive) and the fact that Sunni leaders revived the concept of Jihad - not just against Western Crusaders, but Shia as well. Modern readers interested in the modern Mideast may note some interesting and incisive comments in this section. The section on opposing commanders provides no real insight on the leadership abilities of either and the section on Opposing armies is particularly weak. Dr. Nicolle provides very little information on the organization or tactics of the Mamluks and he makes only the most general estimates about the relative size of the opposing forces (about 15,000 Christian troops versus lots and lots of Muslims). Since Nicolle does note that the Mamluk Army was not particularly large, it is not clear to me after reading this account why they won at all. Dr. Nicolle's maps also do not support the narrative very well, with the 2-D maps `zoomed out' too far (sometimes hard to even spot Acre without a magnifying glass) and the 3-D BEV maps - while pretty - actually don't say very much. Most of the BEV legends depict dispositions, rather than actions and I found it amazing that these maps lacked scales. Looking at a modern 1:50,000-scale map of Acre, it is clear that the wall facing the landside was only about 800 meters long. Given that Christian naval superiority prevented any Muslim attack from seaward, this would mean that the Christians could have had up to ten men defending EACH METER of wall, while keeping a 30% reserve (assuming 20% of the troops were sick or non-operational). Even though these numbers are generalized, it seems clear that the Crusaders had plenty of troops to man the while - and Nicolle admits that they had enough left over to mount frequent raids on the Muslim army - so why did they lose? Given that both sides had similar weapons and the Mamluks probably had no more than 3-1 numerical superiority (which was balanced by the fortifications), it seems that this siege was far from a foregone conclusion. However, this author sheds very little light on the military aspects of the siege, other than noting the activities of several siege engines and a few sorties. Dr. Nicolle does note that a collapse in morale had a major impact upon the Crusaders, but this does not seem to follow from the relatively light losses described.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Story Despite The Chaos, April 26, 2006

By 

Mike Dillemuth (Virginia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Acre 1291: Bloody sunset of the Crusader states (Campaign) (Paperback)

For the most part, this book is written at the usual high standard that one expects from Osprey books. Unfortunately, there are a few exceptions. First, the maps are disappointing. The font is so small that the reader will need to break out a magnifying glass. This font size was probably selected so that a ton of information could be placed on the map. The sad part is that much of this information is unnecessary. The legends are so full of data as to make the map confusing and thus, practically useless. When Pope Nicholas IV dies in Rome, there is no need to put a marker on the map of Italy to show where the city is located. In addition, some maps contain a chaotic mixture of both troop movements and political movements. The publisher would have been better off to eliminate the irrelevant information and make the map easier to read.
The maps are not the only confusing aspect of this book. The siege of Acre contains several notable characters who are clearly relevant. Unfortunately, they are conspicuously absent in the chapter on Opposing Commanders. The confusion is made worse by the fact that their titles have only subtle differences. For example, the Commanders chapter describes the Grand Master of the Hospitallers. He is subsequently wounded and evacuated by sea. The text of the battle describes the valiant death of the Hospitaller Matthew de Clermont. Unless the reader is paying attention, there is confusion over whether this person died or was evacuated. Only by going back through the text can one clarify that de Clermont was a Marshal and not the Grand Master (i.e.: two different people). The text of the book is consistent. The problem is that there are numerous people of significance discussed in the text but not all of them are noted in the "Opposing Commanders" chapter at the beginning of the book.
Despite these two confusing traits, the rest of the book is clearly well done. The 3-D bird's eye view maps are excellent and the full color battle scenes are superb. The text not only describes the siege of Acre, but also the fall of Tripoli and other significant events during this time. It is a good overview of this battle. Unfortunately, the chaos that took hold of the city during its final moments appears to have traveled through time and influenced some of the writing. Despite the confusing maps and names, it is still a good little read.