Battle of Poitiers (1356)

Battle of Poitiers
Part of the Hundred Years' War
Battle of Poitiers (miniature of Froissart)
Date 19 September 1356 Location NearNouaillé-Maupertuis, Vienne, south of Poitiers, France Result Decisive English Victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of England Duchy of Gascony	Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
Edward, the Black Prince Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch	Jean II of France captured Dauphin Charles Prince Philip
Strength
2,000 archers 1,000 Gascon infantry 3,000 men-at-arms	8,000 men-at-arms 3,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
Minimal, a few hundred	2,500 killed or wounded 2,000 captured Including: John II 17 lords 13 counts 5 viscounts 100 + knights

The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt.

On 8 August 1356, the eldest son of King Edward III of England, known as Edward, the Black Prince, began a great chevauchée (modern term would be scorched earth raids) north from the English base in Aquitaine, in an effort to relieve allied garrisons in central France, as well as to raid and ravage the countryside. His sortie met little resistance, his Anglo-Gascon forces burning numerous towns to the ground and living off the land, until they reached the Loire River at Tours. His forces were unable to take the castle nor could they burn the town, due to a heavy downpour. His delay there allowed John II, King of France, to attempt to catch Edward's army and eliminate it. The King, who had been besieging Breteuil in Normandy, arranged the bulk of his army at Chartres to the north of the besieged Tours, dismissing around 15,000–20,000 of his lower-quality infantry to increase the speed of his forces.

Background

Upon receiving reports of the French army on the move, Edward decided a retreat was in order. He marched south pursued in earnest by John (Jean II). The French caught up to the English a few miles southwest of Poitiers. A veteran of the battle of Crécy, at which he had fought when he was only sixteen years old, the Black Prince decided on the same tactical scheme employed at that earlier battle. He positioned his troops in a strongly defensive position, in a plain surrounded by natural obstacles, such as a stream on the left and woods to his back. The luggage wagons, with a great amount of plunder, remained along the old Roman road, the main route from Poitiers to Bordeaux, to give protection to his weak right side. All his men dismounted and were organized in two, or perhaps three units, with longbowmen placed in a V-formation on both flanks and a small cavalry unit, commanded by Jean de Grailly, the Captal de Buch, hidden in woods at the rear.

The attacking French forces were divided in four parts. At the front were around 300 elite knights, commanded by general Clermont and accompanied by German mercenary pikemen. The purpose of this group was to charge the archers and eliminate the threat they posed. These were followed by three groups of infantry (dismounted cavalry) commanded by the Dauphin (later Charles V of France), the Duke of Orléans and King Jean.

Nobles and Men-at-Arms who fought with the Black Prince

Froissart states as follows: " Now will I name some of the principal lords and knights (men-at-arms) that were there with the prince: the earl of Warwick, the earl of Suffolk, the earl of Salisbury, the earl of Oxford, the lord Raynold Cobham, the lord Spencer, the lord James Audley, the lord Peter his brother, the lord Berkeley, the lord Basset, the lord Warin, the lord Delaware, the lord Manne, the lord illoughby, the lord Bartholomew de Burghersh, the lord of Felton, the lord Richard of Pembroke, the lord Stephen of Cosington, the lord Bradetane and other Englishmen; and of Gascon there was the lord of Pommiers, the lord of Languiran, the captal of Buch, the lord john of Caumont, the lord de Lesparre, the lord of Rauzan, the lord of Condon, the lord of Montferrand, the lord of Landiras, the lord Soudic of Latrau and other (men-at-arms) that I cannot name; and of Hainowes the lord Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, the lord John of Ghistelles, and two other strangers, the lord Daniel Pasele and the lord Denis of Amposta, a fortress in Catalonia". Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer also fought at Poitiers under The Black Prince. Sir Thomas Felton fought not only at Poitiers but also the Battle of Crécy. He was also a member of the Order of the Garter. One of the chief commanders at both Crecy and Poitiers was John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, mentioned above.

• Another account states that John of Ghistelles perished at the Battle of Crecy.

Nobles and Men-at-Arms who fought with King Jean II at, or just prior to the Battle

Froissart describes, with less specificity in this passage, some of the nobles that were assembled at, or just prior to the Battle: "... the Englishmen were coasted by certain expert knights of France, who always made report to the king what the Englishmen did. Then the king came to the Haye in Touraine and his men had passed the river of Loire, some at the bridge of Orléans and some at Meung, at Saumur, at Blois, and at Tours and whereas they might: they were in number a twenty thousand men of arms beside other; there were a twenty-six dukes and earls (Counts) and more than sixscore banners, and the four sons of the king, who were but young, the duke Charles of Normandy, the lord Louis, that was from thenceforth duke of Anjou, and the lord John duke of Berry, and the lord Philip, who was after duke of Burgoyne". The French army also comprised a contingent of Scots commanded by Sir William Douglas.

Others who were either killed or captured at the actual Battle were as follows: King Jean II; Prince Philip (youngest son and progenitor of the House of Valois-Burgundy), Geoffroi de Charny, carrier of the Oriflamme, Peter I, Duke of Bourbon, Walter VI, Count of Brienne and Constable of France, Jean de Clermont, Marshal of France, Arnoul d'Audrehem, the Count of Eu, the Count of Marche and Ponthieu Jacques de Bourbon taken prisoner at the Battle and died 1361, the Count of Étampes, the Count of Tancarville, the Count of Dammartin, the Count of Joinville, Guillaume de Melun, Archbishop of Sens.

The battle

The Battle of Poitiers

At the beginning of the battle, the English simulated flight on their left wing. This provoked a hasty charge by the French knights against the archers. However, according to Froissart, the English were expecting this and quickly attacked the enemy, especially the horses, with a shower of arrows. Froissart also writes that the French armour was invulnerable to the English arrows, that the arrowheads either skidded off the armor or shattered on impact. English history of the battle disputes this, as some claim that the narrow bodkin point arrows they used have been proven capable of penetrating most plate armour of that time period. While tests have been done to support this with fixed pieces of flat metal, the result is inconclusive with respect to the curved armour of the period.^{[citation needed]}Given the following actions of the archers, it seems likely Froissart was correct. The armour on the horses was weaker on the sides and back, so the archers moved to the sides of the cavalry and shot the horses in the flanks. This was a popular method of stopping a cavalry charge, as a falling horse often destroyed the cohesion of the enemy's line. The results were devastating. The Dauphin attacked Salisbury and pressed his advance in spite of heavy shot by the English archers and complications of running into the retreating vanguard of Clermont's force. Green suggests that the Dauphin had about 4000 troops with him in this phase of the attack. He advanced to the English lines but ultimately fell back. The French were unable to penetrate the protective hedge the English were using. This phase of the attack lasted about two hours. This attack was followed by the Dauphin's infantry, who engaged in heavy fighting, but withdrew to regroup. The next wave of infantry under Orléans, seeing that the Dauphin's men were not attacking, turned back and panicked. This stranded the forces led by the King himself. This was a formidable fighting force, and the English archers were running very low of arrows: the archers joined the infantry in the fight and some of both groups mounted horses to form an improvised cavalry. At about this time, King John hesitated and sent his sons from the battlefield. His youngest son, Philip, stayed with him and fought at his side in the final phase of the attack. When the Dauphin and other sons withdrew, the duke of Orléans also withdrew. Combat was hard, but the Black Prince still had a mobile reserve hidden in the woods, which was able to circle around and attack the French in the flank and rear. The French were fearful of encirclement and attempted to flee. King John was captured with his immediate entourage only after a memorable resistance.

Amongst the notable captured or killed according to Froissart were:

• King John II of France, captured.
• Prince Philip, the King's youngest son and progenitor of the House of Valois-Burgundy, captured
• Peter I, Duke of Bourbon, killed.
• Walter VI, Count of Brienne and Constable of France, killed.
• Jean de Clermont, Marshal of France, killed
• Arnoul d'Audrehem, Marshal of France, captured.
• The Count of Eu, wounded and captured.
• The Count of Marche and Ponthieu, captured.
• The Count of Étampes, captured.
• The Count of Tancarville, captured.
• The Count of Dammartin, captured.
• The Count of Joinville, captured.
• Guillaume de Melun, Archbishop of Sens, captured
• Geoffroi de Charny, carrier of the Oriflamme, killed.

The Duke of Bourbon and the Counts of Étampes, Eu and Marche were members of junior branches of the House of Capet.

Pre-battle manoeuvres		Map of the Battle

The capture of the French King

Froissart again gives us a vivid description of the capture of King Jean II and his youngest son in this passage:

" ... So many Englishmen and Gascons came to that part, that perforce they opened the king's battle, so that the Frenchmen were so mingled among their enemies that sometime there was five men upon one gentleman. There was taken the lord of Pompadour and ^ the lord Bartholomew de Burghersh, and there was slain sir Geoffrey of Charny with the king's banner in his hands: also the lord Raynold Cobham slew the earl of Dammartin. Then there was a great press to take the king, and such as knew him cried, ' Sir, yield you, or else ye are but dead.' There was a knight of Saint Omer's, retained in wages with the king of England, called sir Denis Morbeke, who had served the Englishmen five year before, because in his youth he had forfeited the realm of France for a murder that he did at Saint-Omer's. It happened so well for him, that he was next to the king when they were about to take him: he stept forth into the press, and by strength of his body and arms he came to the French king and said in good F'rench, ' Sir, yield you.' The king beheld the knight and said: ' To whom shall I yield me ? Where is my cousin the prince of Wales ? If I might see him, I would speak with him.' Denis answered and said: ' Sir, he is not here; but yield you to me and I shall bring you to him. ' ' Who be you ? ' quoth the king. ' Sir,' quoth he, ' I am Denis of Morbeke, a knight of Artois; but I serve the king of England because I am banished from the realm of France and I have forfeited all that I had there.' Then the king gave him his right gauntlet, saying, ' I yield me to you.' ...

Aftermath of the Battle

Jean II, the Good, being captured.

The result was a decisive Plantagenet victory, and a catastrophe for the Valois. France was asked to pay a ransom equivalent to twice the country's yearly income to have the King returned. Jean, who was accorded royal privileges whilst being a prisoner, was permitted to return to France to try to raise the required funds. Dissatisfaction of the commons over this arrangement, and having to bear the burden of the ransom, shortly led to the Jacquerie Revolt. Following some time in France John subsequently handed himself back to the English, claiming to be unable to pay the ransom, and died a few months later. Finally, only one-fifth of the ransom was paid. In many ways, Poitiers was a repeat of the battle of Crécy showing once again that a good defensive tactic can overcome a disadvantage in numbers. As the Black Prince wrote shortly afterward in a letter to the people of London:

It was agreed that we should take our way, flanking them, in such a manner that if they wished for battle or to draw towards us, in a place not very much to our disadvantage, we should be the first ... the enemy was discomfited, and the king was taken, and his son; and a great number of other great people were both taken and slain[.]

Aftermath in France

Jean de Venette, a Carmelite friar and medieval chronicler vividly describes the chaos in France which he himself witnessed, after the time of this Battle. He states:"...From that time on all went wrong with the Kingdom and the state was undone. Thieves and robbers rose up everywhere in the land. The nobles despised and hated all others and took no thought for the mutual usefulness and profit of lord and men. They subject and despoiled the peasants and the men of the villages. In no wise did they defend their country from enemies. Rather did they trample it underfoot, robbing and pillaging the peasants' goods". He is referring, not only of the French Nobles, but the Companies also plundering the peasants and Churches.

Source

• Belloc, Hilaire (1913). Poitiers, London: H. Rees. Via Internet Archive.
• Green, David (2004). The Battle of Poitiers 1356. ISBN 0-7524-2557-9. 
• Hoskins, Peter (2011). In the Steps of the Black Prince, The Road to Poitiers, 1355–1356. Boydell&Brewer. ISBN 978-1843836117. 
• Nicolle, David (2004). Poitiers 1356: The Capture of a King. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-516-3. 
• Tuchman, Barbara (1978). A Distant Mirror. ISBN 0-345-34957-1. 

External links

• http://www.archive.org/stream/chronicleromance00froiuoft#page/n1/mode/2up
• On The Hundred Years War, a primary source written by Jean Froissart
• Great Battles: The Battle of Poitiers (myArmoury.com article)
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