On 10 June 1177 from the eastern side of the coastal range, the Crusader's army saw Saladin's tents in the distance. Baldwin and his nobles decided to descend to the plain and attack at once. As the Frankish army moved downhill, the mounted troops soon outstripped the foot soldiers. After a few hour delay, the Latin army reassembled, then encountered the Saracen raiding forces, who were returning from their forays. The Crusaders easily defeated these Muslim soldiers.
Believing the battle won, the Franks let their guard down. Raymond's knights and Odo of St Amand's Templars moved onto some high ground between the Marj Ayyun and the Litani River. The Latin infantry rested from their hurried march earlier in the day.
Suddenly, Saladin's main army pounced on the Crusaders. Unprepared for battle, the Franks were badly beaten. Observers of the time blamed the defeat on Odo of St Amand, who was captured in the battle. King Baldwin barely escaped capture. Unable to mount a horse because of his crippling disease, he was carried to safety by a knight as his bodyguard cut a path through the Saracens. Many Frankish survivors of the struggle fled to shelter at Beaufort Castle about five miles southwest of the battlefield.
WI Saladin had captured Baldwin IV then? What impact does this have in the Kingdom of Jerusalem? Sibylla was recently widowed and pregnant and Isabella was still a minor... How possible is that a succession crisis erupts? Could Raymond III of Tripoli staged a coup d' etat and claim the throne for himself or his allies the d'Ibelin's? How is this altering History? Any thoughts?