Acre I (Third Crusade ), 1189-1191

The crushing Christian defeat at Tiberias and subsequent loss of Jerussalem in 1187 left The Turkish General Saladdin master of the near east except for Frankish hold on Tyre. By luck, Conrad of Monferrat (in Italy) arrived at Tyre with a shipload of French Knights in the summer 1187, just in time to help repulse Saladdin on the city. For the next year Conrad built up his strength by recruiting armed pilgrims to his standard. Then in July 1188, Saladdin paroled Guy of Lusignan, the defeated king of Jerussalem. The two christian leaders immediately quarreled over supreme command. Finally, in august 1189, King Guy marched out to attack the Moslem garrison at Acre, 20 miles to the south. Conrad followed on september.
Acre, a powerful fortress built on peninsula, defied capture. The two rival christian leaders, with all about 30,000 men in all, prepared siege lines a mile to the east on The Hill of Turon. A mile still farther east saladdin built countersiege lines. A deadlock developed, in which both sides suffered more from disease and hunger than from combat, throughout 1190.
Meanwhile the three greatest kings of Europe were moving eastward in the third Crusade. First to start was the red bearded Frederic I, Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick led a strong contingent of Germans through the Balkans and Asia Minor but drowned in the Calycadnus River in Cicilia on June 10, 1190. His large army soon melted away and his son Frederick V of Swabia arrived in front of Acre in October with only 1,000 men-at-arms. The other two kings, -- colorless Philip II, Augustus, of France and flamboyant Richard I, Coer de Lion, of England -- set off in the summer of 1190, somewhat reluctant allies. They wintered in sicily. Philip then sailed directly to Acre, arriving there on April 20, 1191. Richard stopped over at Cyprus to wrest that island from Byzantine empire and did not land on the beach at Acre until June 8.
The christian host that assembled at Acre, quarreled among themselves to launch a unified assault on the fortress. But their piecemeal attacks, coupled with tight blockade instituted by their ships in the harbor, forced the moslem garrison to capitulate on July 12,  ending the two year siege. The victory brought new quarreling among the crusade commanders. Leopold, duke of Austria (who led the German contingent after the death of Frederick V of Swabia in the last year of siege), and King Philip sailed for Europe. Conrad sulk in Tyre. Richard, allied with King Guy, became the sole leader of the Crusade. When Saladdin refused to honor the surrender terms of the garrison, Richard executed all 2,700 Moslem captives. He then took the coast road south to Jerussalem.  

Acragas (Carthaginian Invasion of Sicily), 406 B.C.

The Carthaginian scourge of Sicily, which began 409, made Acragas (Agrigentum), on the southwest coast, the target three years later. Employing the same tactics he used successfully at Selinus and Himera, Hannibal (not to be confused with the famed general at the Punic Wars) laid siege on the city, which was commanded by Dexippus, a spartan. Although an epidemic swept through Carthaginian camp, killing Hannibal and many others, Himilco, a cousin, succeeded to the command and continue the siege.
As in the earlier battles, a force of Syracusans, this time 35,000 men commanded by Daphnaeus, marched to the relief of the city. Under the walls of Acragas a pitched battle took place, in which the Carthaginians were partially defeated. However, dissension broke out among Sicilians, and many mercenaries deserted. Finally, after eight months, the entire garrisons abandoned the city, which was then occupied by victorious Himilco. 

Aclea (Danish invasions of Britain), 851

The increasingly deep thrusts of Danish Vikings into Britain brought on the major battle of Aclea (Oakley), south of The Thames. King Ethelwulf, son of Egbert and father of Alfred, deployed his Wessex Army to meet the invaders. In a fierce struggle his men repelled the Danes. The successful defense helped establish Wessex as the premier state among the heptarcial kingdom of Britain. But it was the only major victory of the west saxons over the Danes during Ethelwulf's lifetime.

Abu Klea (War for the Sudan), 1885

Seven months after Gen. George Gordon was trapped in Khartoum by Sudanese Mahdists, a relief expedition left Cairo. Commanded by Gen. Sir Garnet Wolseley, the column pressed up the Nile toward Khartoum, 800 miles away. In northern Sudan, Wolseley sent 1,800-man camel corps under Gen. Sir Herbert Stewart directly accross country, where the Nile makes a great bend to east. At Abu Klea, a caravan stop 63 miles southwest of Ed Damer, Stewart's troops encountered almost 10,000 Mahdist followers of Muhammad Ahmed. In a desperate hand to hand on January 17, the Sudanese were repulsed with more than a thousand killed. Anglo-Egyptian casualties were 168.
Stewart's corps fought its way to the Nile two days later, but their commander mortally wounded. On January 24, the force, now under Lord Charles Beresford, began moving upriver to Khartoum, where they arrive four days later - and 48 hours too late to save Gordon.

Abukir (Wars of the French Revolution), 1979

While Napoleon Bonaparte was withdrawing to Egypt from his repulse at Acre in May 1799, a Turkish expeditionary force of 18,000 men under Mustafa IV landed at Abukir, east of Alexandria, on July 15. Napoleon hurriedly regrouped his Egyptian forces and moved against The Turkish positions on the Abukir peninsula with 7,700 men. On July 25 a fierce French assault cracked the first Turkish defense line in an hour, shattering the force of 8,000 enemy troops. Continuing their artillery-supported attack against the second line the French rolled up the position as well, killing or scattering another 6,000 Mustafha's men. Pressing on up the peninsula, Napoleon destroyed the entire enemy, except except for a few thousand that held out in Fort Abukir until august 2. In all, Turkis losses were 2,000 killed, 10-11,000 drowned trying to escape, and 3,000 captured. French casualties numbered 150 killed and 750 wounded.
Learning that the armies of the French directory had been suffering defeats in Italy and Germany, Napoleon embarked for France on august 22. He left Gen. Jean Kleber to command the army in Egypt.