Battle of Poitiers
Part of the Hundred Years' War
Date: September 19, 1356 Location: Near Maupertuis, south of Poitiers, France Result: Decisive English Victory
Combatants
Kingdom of England Gascony	France
Commanders
Edward, the Black Prince Captal de Buch	John II of France
Strength
9,000	12,000
Casualties
Minimal	2,500 killed or wounded

The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdom of England and France on September 19, 1356, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. Combatants England Burgundy Brittany Portugal France Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Aragon Navarre Flanders Hainault Aquitaine Luxembourg The Hundred Years War was a conflict between England and France, lasting 116 years from 1337 to 1453. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... Events January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders title as King of Scotland to Edward III of England April 16 — the King of the Serbian Kingdom of RaÅ¡ka Stefan DuÅ¡an is proclaimed Tsar (Emperor) of all Serbs, Arbanasses and Greeks in Skopje by the Serbian Orthodox Christian Patriarch of a... There are things that have the name Maupertuis in France: Maupertuis (postal code: 50410, INSEE code: 50295), a commune in the Manche département Pierre Louis Maupertuis Maupertuis (crater), a crater that is named after Pierre Louis Maupertuis See also Cherbourg Maurpetus, Cherbourg_Octevilles main airport Maupertus_sur_Mer, a commune in the... Location within France Poitiers (population 85,000) is a small city located in west central France. ... The Flag of England The Kingdom of England was a kingdom located in Western Europe, in the southern part of the island of Great Britain. ... Gascony (French: Gascogne, pronounced  ; Gascon: Gasconha, pronounced ) is an area of southwest France that constituted a royal province prior to the French Revolution. ... Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, KG (June 15, 1330 – June 8, 1376), popularly known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, and father to King Richard II of England. ... Captal de Buch (later Buché) was an archaic feudal title in Gascony, captal from Latin capitalis prime, chief in the formula capitales domini or principal lords. ... John II the Good (French: Jean II le Bon) (April 16, 1319 – April 8, 1364), was King of France 1350–1364, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou and Maine 1332–1350, Count of Poitiers 1344–1350, and Duke of Guienne 1345–1350. ... Image File history File links White_flag_icon. ... Combatants England Burgundy Brittany Portugal France Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Aragon Navarre Flanders Hainault Aquitaine Luxembourg The Hundred Years War was a conflict between England and France, lasting 116 years from 1337 to 1453. ... Combatants England France Commanders Edward III of England Hugues Quiéret, Nicolas Béhuchet Strength 250 ships 190 ships Casualties Unknown 20 000 (Europe A History by Norman Davies) The naval Battle of Sluys was fought on 24 June 1340. ... Combatants Kingdom of England France, Genoese Mercenaries, the Kingdoms of Navarre, Bohemia and the Balearic Islands Commanders Edward III of England Philip VI of France Strength about 12,000 30,000 to 40,000 Casualties estimated at fewer than 100 dead 1,542 men-at-arms and 15,000-20... Combatants England France Commanders Edward III of England Jean de Fosseux Strength 34,000 men:5300 knights, 6600 infantry, 20,000 archers, 2,000 Flemish soldiers 7,000 to 8,000 citizens Casualties  ?  ? The Siege of Calais in northern France began in 1346, towards the beginning of what would later... Combatants Bretons-England Bretons-France Commanders John de Montfort Charles of Blois Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Auray took place on September 29, 1364 at the French town of Auray. ... Battle of Najera from 15th century manuscript, the English and Pedro are on the left The Battle of Najera, also known as the Battle of Navarette, was fought in April 1367 between English and Franco-Castillian forces. ... Combatants Franco-Castilians Portugal, Jews, Granadines, Marinids Commanders Henry II of Castile Pedro I the Cruel The Battle of Montiel was fought in 1369 between Franco-Castilian forces, and an alliance of pro-England forces led by the Portuguese. ... The Battle of La Rochelle was a naval engagement fought in 1372 between a Franco-Castilian and an English fleet. ... Combatants Kingdom of England Kingdom of France Commanders Henry V of England Charles dAlbret Strength 5,900 troops: 900 men-at-arms 5,000 archers (Longbowmen) 36,000 troops: 11,200 mounted men-at-arms 18,000 dismounted men-at-arms 6,800 crossbowmen (few archers) Casualties 100-250Casualties... At the time of the Siege of Rouen (July 1418 - January 1419), the city had a population of 70,000, making it one of the leading cities in France, and its capture crucial to the Normandy campaign during the Hundred Years War. ... The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on March 21, 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was one of the first defeats for England during the Hundred Years War. ... The Siege of Meaux was fought in 1422 between the English and the French. ... The Battle of Cravant was an encounter fought on July 31, 1423, during the Hundred Years War between English and French forces, a victory for the English and their Burgundian allies. ... The Battle of Verneuil (occasionally Vernuil) was a battle of the Hundred Years War, fought on 17 August 1423 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory. ... Combatants England France Commanders Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Salisbury Duke of Suffolk Jean de Dunois Gilles de Rais Joan of Arc Strength 5,000 6,400 soldiers, 3,000 armed citizens Casualties 4,000+ 204+ The Siege of Orléans (1428 - 1429) marked a turning point in the Hundred... Combatants Kingdom of France Kingdom of England Commanders La Hire Poton de Xaintrailles Sir John Fastolf Strength 1,500 cavalry 5,000 Casualties About 100 2,500 dead, wounded, or captured The Battle of Patay (18 June 1429) was a major battle in the Hundred Years War between the French... Statue of Joan of Arc at Vaucouleurs. ... Combatants Kingdom of France England Commanders La Hire ? The Battle of Gerbevoy was fought in 1435 between French and English forces. ... Combatants England France Brittany Commanders Thomas Kyriell Comte de Clermont Comte de Richemont Strength 4,000 5,000 Casualties 2,500 300 The Battle of Formigny (April 15, 1450) was a clash of the Hundred Years War. ... Combatants England France Brittany Commanders John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury Charles VII of France Strength 4,000-6,000 8,000 - 13,000 Casualties 4,000 mainly wounded or captured 100 dead or wounded The Battle of Castillon was the last battle fought between the French, the Bretons and... The Flag of England The Kingdom of England was a kingdom located in Western Europe, in the southern part of the island of Great Britain. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... Events January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders title as King of Scotland to Edward III of England April 16 — the King of the Serbian Kingdom of RaÅ¡ka Stefan DuÅ¡an is proclaimed Tsar (Emperor) of all Serbs, Arbanasses and Greeks in Skopje by the Serbian Orthodox Christian Patriarch of a... Combatants England Burgundy Brittany Portugal France Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Aragon Navarre Flanders Hainault Aquitaine Luxembourg The Hundred Years War was a conflict between England and France, lasting 116 years from 1337 to 1453. ... Combatants Kingdom of England France, Genoese Mercenaries, the Kingdoms of Navarre, Bohemia and the Balearic Islands Commanders Edward III of England Philip VI of France Strength about 12,000 30,000 to 40,000 Casualties estimated at fewer than 100 dead 1,542 men-at-arms and 15,000-20... Combatants Kingdom of England Kingdom of France Commanders Henry V of England Charles dAlbret Strength 5,900 troops: 900 men-at-arms 5,000 archers (Longbowmen) 36,000 troops: 11,200 mounted men-at-arms 18,000 dismounted men-at-arms 6,800 crossbowmen (few archers) Casualties 100-250Casualties...

Background

Pre-battle maneuvers prior to the Battle of Poitiers

On August 8, 1356, Edward, the Black Prince began a great chevauchée (raid) 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 army was 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 confronting John of Gaunt 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 low-grade infantry to increase the speed of his forces. This made the two armies surprisingly similar in size, an unusual occurrence in the Hundred Years War. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (571x703, 28 KB) Summary Pre-battle maneuvers prior to the Battle of Poitiers (1356). ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (571x703, 28 KB) Summary Pre-battle maneuvers prior to the Battle of Poitiers (1356). ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... Events January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders title as King of Scotland to Edward III of England April 16 — the King of the Serbian Kingdom of RaÅ¡ka Stefan DuÅ¡an is proclaimed Tsar (Emperor) of all Serbs, Arbanasses and Greeks in Skopje by the Serbian Orthodox Christian Patriarch of a... Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, KG (June 15, 1330 – June 8, 1376), popularly known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, and father to King Richard II of England. ... Capital Bordeaux Land area¹ 41,309 km² Regional President Alain Rousset (PS) (since 1998) Population  - Jan. ... Loire is a département in the east-central part of France occupying the Loire Rivers upper reaches. ... Tours is a city in France, the préfecture (capital city) of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. ... John II the Good (French: Jean II le Bon) (April 16, 1319 – April 8, 1364), was King of France 1350–1364, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou and Maine 1332–1350, Count of Poitiers 1344–1350, and Duke of Guienne 1345–1350. ... John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (June 24, 1340 - February 3, 1399), the third surviving son of King Edward III of England, gained his name because he was born at Ghent in 1340. ... Cathedral of Chartres Cathedral of Chartres, western spires Chartres is a town and commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Eure-et-Loir département. ...

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. 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 creek on the left and a wood on the 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, perhaps three units, with the Welsh longbowmen placed in a V-formation on both flanks. The Black Prince kept a small cavalry unit, commanded by Jean de Grailly, the Captal de Buch, hidden in the woods at the rear. Location within France Poitiers (population 85,000) is a small city located in west central France. ... The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, was a powerful type of medieval longbow (a tall bow for archery) about 2. ... Captal de Buch (later Buché) was an archaic feudal title in Gascony, captal from Latin capitalis prime, chief in the formula capitales domini or principal lords. ...

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 English 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 John. Charles V the Wise (French: Charles V le Sage) (January 31, 1338 – September 16, 1380) was king of France from 1364 to 1380 and a member of the Valois Dynasty. ... Duke of Orléans is one of the most important titles in the French peerage, dating back at least to the 14th century. ...

The Battle

Map of 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, the English were expecting this and quickly attacked the enemy, especially the horses, with a shower of arrows. French chronicler Jean Froissart writes that the French armour was invulnerable to the English arrows, that the arrowheads either skidded off the armour or shattered on impact. The armour on the horses, however, was weak on the sides and back, so the English archers moved to the sides of the cavalry and shot the horses in the flanks. The results were devastating. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (856x1054, 124 KB) Summary Map of the Battle of Poitiers (1356). ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (856x1054, 124 KB) Summary Map of the Battle of Poitiers (1356). ... Jean Froissart (~1337 - ~1405) was one of the most important of the chroniclers of medieval France. ...

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 Welsh archers were out of arrows: the archers joined the infantry in the fight and some of both groups mounted horses to form an improvised cavalry. Combat was hard, but the Black Prince still had a mobile reserve hidden in the woods, which were 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.

Aftermath

The result was a decisive French defeat, not only in military terms, but also economically: France would be asked to pay a ransom equivalent to twice the country's yearly income to have her king back, an impossible sum, and he would eventually die a prisoner in England. In many ways, Poitiers was a repeat of the battle of Crécy showing once again that tactics and strategy can overcome a minor disadvantage in numbers. As the Black Prince wrote shortly afterward in a letter to the people of London: The term ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property extorted to secure their release, or to the sum of money involved. ... Combatants Kingdom of England France, Genoese Mercenaries, the Kingdoms of Navarre, Bohemia and the Balearic Islands Commanders Edward III of England Philip VI of France Strength about 12,000 30,000 to 40,000 Casualties estimated at fewer than 100 dead 1,542 men-at-arms and 15,000-20...

…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…^[1]

See also

• The Battle of Tours in 732 is sometimes called the "Battle of Poitiers" as well.

Combatants Carolingian Franks Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Charles Martel ‘Abd-al-Raḥmān al-Ghāfiqī† Strength Unknown, but probably around 33,000 [1] Unknown, but one modern source estimates around 20,000 to 30,000 [2] Some later Arab sources[3] mention a figure of 80,000. ... Events October 10 - Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, leader of the Franks Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Amt, Emilie; Ed. (2001). Medieval England 1000–1500: A Reader. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press. ISBN 1-55111-244-2. p. 335.

Further reading

• Green, David (2004). The Battle of Poitiers 1356. ISBN 0-7524-2557-9.
• 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

• On The Hundred Years War, a primary source written by Jean Froissart