After the Battle of Ascalon (modern-day Ashkelon, Hebrew: אשקלון) in August 1099, in which the Crusaders took the mighty coastal city and ousted the Muslims from Palestine, much of the Crusader Army had perished, and many more had begun to return to their homes in Europe. Of the forces remaining, a large portion had left the city to deal with an approaching Arab force in the south, near the Sinai. The battle was fierce, and both sides took heavy casualties, but the Saracens ultimately penetrated the Christian lines, and only a small section of the Crusader force escaped, and they did so while constantly harassed by swift mounted archers all the way back to Ascalon.
With few men left to defend its glory, the remaining Crusaders guarding its walls will have to put up a fierce fight lest the remainders of the Muslim army that defeated the Christians in the Sinai should re-conquer Ascalon and threaten the integrity of Jerusalem. Man the walls, sharpen your sword, and ready your shield; you are in for a tough fight. Should you be vanquished, all the gains made during the Crusade could be lost. Should you vanquish the enemy, you will consolidate Christian power and safeguard Christian rule in the Holy Land for the time being.