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Strategy and Doctrine

Encirclement and Denial of Water (Hattin)

Medieval

At the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Saladin's forces positioned themselves between the marching Frankish army and the Sea of Galilee, forcing the Crusaders to camp overnight on a waterless plateau, then surrounded the exhausted camp so tightly that, in a chronicler's words, a cat could not have escaped, before attacking a force already broken by thirst and encirclement. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Core Claim
Cut the enemy off from water and its line of march, encircle the resulting camp completely, and let heat, thirst and encirclement break its cohesion before delivering the final attack. 1
Origin Year
1187 1
Classification
Domain (Land, Sea, Air, Cyber)
Land 1
Connections

Associated With

Ayyubid Army, Armed Forces and Units
Source Wikipedia: Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin, Battles and Campaigns
Source Wikipedia: Battle of Hattin

Developed By

Saladin, Commanders
Source Wikipedia: Battle of Hattin

Practiced By

Ayyubid Army, Armed Forces and Units
Source Wikipedia: Battle of Hattin
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Battle of Hattin
Wikipedia
  • Article text
    The Muslims surrounded the camp so closely that "a cat could not have escaped".
  • A land battle tactic, per the entity's own sourced description.
  • Developed By: Saladin
  • Associated With: Battle of Hattin, Battle section, opening paragraph on the water blockade
    The Muslims positioned themselves between the Frankish army and the water so that the Franks were forced to pitch camp overnight on the arid plateau near the village of Meskenah.
  • Associated With: Ayyubid Army, Battle section
    The Muslims positioned themselves between the Frankish army and the water so that the Franks were forced to pitch camp overnight on the arid plateau near the village of Meskenah.
  • Practiced By: Ayyubid Army, Lead
    The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt, led by Sultan Saladin.
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