noon
At daybreak , accordingly , the Crusaders were under arms ; and , in good time , Bibars Bendocdar appeared on the plain , setting his men in battle order . Placing his cavalry in the van , the infantry behind , and a strong reserve in the rear , the Mameluke chief extended his lines till his forces seemed to cover the plain . Nor was he sorry to observe that there was a prospect of a stern resistance ; for the difficulties of his situation increased his importance in the eyes of his soldiers , and every step he took in overcoming perils , from which others shrank , brought him nearer to the object on which his heart was set -- that object being neither more nor less than the throne of the sultans . And now , noon having come , with horns and kettle-drums sounding an onset , Bibars Bendocdar advanced on the Crusaders , and attacked the Count of Anjou , who was at the head of the camp on the side towards the Nile . At first , the French cavalry calmly abided the assault ; but they soon found themselves exposed to a kind of attack which they had not anticipated . In fact , the Saracen infantry , moving forward , overwhelmed the knights with Greek fire , and threw them into confusion . Surcoats and caparisons blazed , and the horses plunged , broke from the control of their riders , and galloped to and fro .