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The Battle of Poitiers was fought between England and France on September 19, 1356, during the Hundred Years'
War. Edward, the Black Prince was laying
waste to the area north of the English holdings in Gascony, in the hope of depriving
the French of the ability to continue the war in that area. His forces, around 7,000 men, were attacked at the village of
Maupertuis, three kilometres south of Poitiers, by a superior French army numbering
15,000-20,000 and commanded by King John II of France himself.
The French were hoping to destroy the English army and prevent it from retreating to Bordeaux. After an attempt to withdraw, Edward was forced to abandon the siege of Tours.
A veteran of Crécy, at which he fought when he was only sixteen
years old, the Black Prince decided on the same tactical scheme. He adopted for his troops a strongly defensive position, in a
plane ground surrounded with natural obstacles, such as a creek on the left and a wood on the back. The luggage wagons were
placed along an old Roman road, to insure protection on his weak right side. All men dismounted and were organized in two,
perhaps three units, with the English longbowmen placed in a V-formation in both
flanks. The Black Prince kept a small cavalry unit, commanded by Captal de
Buch, hidden in the 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 mercenaries (pikemen). The purpose of this group was to charge on the English archers and
eliminate the threat they posed. These were followed by three groups of infantry (dismounted cavalry, in this case) commanded by
the Dauphin, the Duke of Orleans and King John II.
Right 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, they were expecting this and quickly attacked the enemy, especially the horses, with
a shower of arrows. Results were devastating and proved once more that the days of heavy cavalry charges were gone. This attack
was followed by the Dauphin's infantry, who engaged in heavy fighting, but withdrew to regroup. The next wave of infantry under
Orleans, seeing that the Dauphin's men were not attacking, turned back and panicked. This left the forces led by the King
himself. This was a formidable fighting force, and the English were out of arrows: the archers joined the infantry in the fight
and some of both groups picked up horses to form an improvised cavalry. Combat was hard but the Black Prince had still a mobile
reserve hidden in the woods, which were able to go around and attack the French in the flank and rear. The French were fearful of
this encirclement and attempted to flee. King John was captured with his immediate entourage.
The result was a decisive French defeat, not only in military terms, but also economical: France was forced to pay a ransom equivalent to twice the country's yearly income to have her king back.
Books
- The Battle of Poitiers 1356 by David Green ISBN 0752425579
Note: The Battle of Tours in 732 is sometimes called 'Battle of Poitiers' as well.
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