Fifth Crusade
Capture of Damietta
Conditions within Damietta were growing desperate. The city had been cut off since February and the food was nearly gone. Moreover, the Nile had not flooded that season, so all of Egypt was facing famine. Even so, al-Kamil made several attempts to break through in order to get supplies inside, but the Christians were able to thwart him. These attempts lasted through October.
On the night of November 4, four Christian sentries noticed that one of the towers of Damietta seemed to be abandoned. They climbed a ladder and found it empty. They returned to camp and reported what they had found, and a full force was dispatched immediately. A whole section of wall was occupied, then a gate was opened, and the Christian army rushed into the city.
Al-Kamil withdrew in the morning, for there was nothing left for him to do. There was no massacre of the defenders, largely because there was scarcely anyone left to massacre. Oliver of Paderborn, our main Christian source, says that out of 80,000 inhabitants, only 3,000 were left alive when the city fell, and of this only 100 were not sick. Bodies lay everywhere, fed upon by dogs. There was plenty of loot to be found in the empty houses, and much of this was taken away despite strict orders from the commanders.
The city itself was largely undamaged, so the Christians were secure behind its walls. They could keep supplied by ship, for the Italians ruled the sea. They began to conquer the surround lands almost immediately, capturing Tannis on November 23.
Victory managed to divide the army as defeat never had done. John of Brienne expected that Damietta would be his, belonging to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Pelagius declared that the city belonged to the West in general. It's not clear to whom he would have given it, but he adamantly opposed John. This managed to drive the Templars and Hospitallers into John's camp, so Pelagius was now supported mainly by the Italians. Tussles broke out in the streets between the factions, then the tussles degenerated into serious fighting. The Italians forced the French completely from the city, then the Templars and Hospitallers did the same to the Italians. The spoils of the city were redistributed and this managed to return some peace to the army by February 1220.
Peace came only with John's departure, however. He had some distant claim to the throne of Armenia and in February received papal permission to leave the Crusade and to see to his interests in the north. He was bitterly criticized for some, especially later, but even though John had played a key role in the capture of Damietta, he was the ultimate loser in the contest for he had been unable to win control of the Crusade away from Pelagius. Leaving for Armenia to tend to pressing family business was the best way to save face in an impossible situation.
These squabbles probably saved Cairo. Al-Kamil's army was demoralized after the loss of the city, and much of Egypt was starving. The Sultan spent the winter only a few miles up river, waiting for the Christians to advance, prepared for a final battle. But the Christians did not come, and slowly he was able to strengthen his hand.