Second Battle of Ramla

Timeline

1. 1102Jaffa · PalestineAfter the defeat of 1101, Fatimid vizier al-Afdal sent his son Sharaf al-Maali with a large army north from Ascalon the following year. Baldwin was at Jaffa seeing off survivors of the 1101 crusade; upon hearing the news he gathered his forces, but due to faulty reconnaissance he believed the enemy was only a small raiding force and marched south with about 200 knights and no infantry support.
2. 1102Ramla · PalestineBy the time Baldwin discovered the enemy numbered several thousand, retreat was impossible. After the Egyptian charge, most of the Crusaders were killed; Baldwin and a few survivors withdrew into Ramla's sole tower to make a stand. Fulcher blamed the defeat on the king's rash advance. Rumors spread in Jerusalem that the king had been killed.
3. 1102Aruf · PalestineBaldwin slipped out of the tower at night with his chaplain and knights at Bruli, evaded pursuit for two days, and reached Aruf on May 19. The knights left behind launched a desperate sortie and were killed, including Stephen of Blois, redeeming the disgrace of abandoning the army during the Siege of Antioch. The Fatimid army then besieged Jaffa.