Battle of Cresson

May 1, 1187

A small Templar and Hospitaller force, refusing to retreat, charged a vastly larger Muslim reconnaissance party near Nazareth and was annihilated. Only Gerard de Ridefort of the Templars escaped. The reckless defeat stripped the Crusader kingdom of its most experienced military cadre weeks before Hattin. The disaster at Cresson removed the very knights whose tactical discipline might have prevented the catastrophic decisions that led to the kingdom's downfall.