Invasion of Normandy 12 July 1346

On 12 July 1346 an English fleet of one thousand ships appeared on the coast of Normandy. The fleet carried thirty thousand men, horses, fodder, equipment and all of the associated materiel necessary for a full invasion of France. It was personally led by Edward III, king of England; his objective was to land at the harbor of St-Vaast-la-Hougue, capture Caen, and advance his claim to the throne of France. Edward was not seeking a direct confrontation; instead, he was launching a chevauchée, that is, a scorched earth raid into enemy territory where everything of value was to be confiscated and everything not taken was to be destroyed.

01a Invasion of Normandy 12 July 1346
Département: Manche
Region: Basse Normandy
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary: Edward landed his fleet in the undefended harbor at St-Vaast on 12 July 1346. By 18 July the troops and supplies were all unloaded and they began their march through Normandy. The main French army was occupied in the south fighting a second English army. A rearguard commanded by the experienced Robert Bertrand fought a delaying effort trying to gain time for the French king, Philippe VI, to gather his forces. Bertrand burned bridges at Carentan and Pont-Hébert; led the English to St-Lô and away from Caen; and proposed a defense of the massive chateau in Caen. Edward’s Army surrounded and quickly captured the city aided by local commander refusal to follow Bertrand’s advice.

Edward III and Philippe VI continued to play a ‘cat and mouse’ game of maneuver until the climactic encounter north of Crécy-en-Ponthieu. (See Battle of Crécy)


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Battle of Poitiers

In 1356, Edward III, the victor at the Battle of Crécy, sent his son, Edward the Black Prince, to lead a chevauchée through northern Bordeaux. This scorched earth warfare was designed to weaken the French populace’s support for their king. John II, king of France and known as ‘the Good’ assembled a force estimated at 16,000 – 20,000 men and forced an engagement south of the ancient city of Poitiers. Edward’s forces were considerably smaller than John’s and he had no wish for a battle. His interests were to escape to Bordeaux. He arrived at the Abbey de Nouaillé.

01b Battle of Poitiers: 19 September 1356
Département: Vienne
Region: Poitou-Charentes
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.] Unfortunately, the battlefield of Poitiers is not well served by Google Maps streetview. Few of the roadways near the battlefield have been photographed utilizing this process.

Summary:

Edward positioned his forces with their backs to the Bois de Nouaillé; Earl of Salisbury’s division to the north; himself in the center; and Ear of Warwick’s division to the south. The French ‘battles’ were in four rows with a small group led by Marshals de Clermont, d’Audrehem, and Brienne in front followed by the Dauphine, duc d’Orléans, and King John in the back. The main French body, led by the Dauphine, was unable to break the English line and fell back. Upon seeing this, the duc d’Orléans also withdrew, leaving the battle to King John’s division, which advanced upon the tiring English. Edward sent Captal de Buch in a sweeping arc to the east and north to come upon the French flank. Attacked on two sides, French resistance crumbled and John was captured.


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Battle of Formigny

Although the French king, Charles VII, did little to save the life of Jeanne d’Arc, he used the succeeding years to strengthen his position in France. In 1444, Charles and the then king of England, Henry VI signed the Treaty of Tours, which guaranteed a temporary truce between the two countries, the marriage of Margaret of Anjou to Henry, and the transfer of the province of Maine to Charles. As happened to so many of the truces of the Hundred Years War, it did not offer the prospect of a permanent settlement. Margaret was only a distant relation to the French throne and she was impoverished therefore coming without a dowry. When Henry attempted to renege on the transfer of territory, Charles threatened by collecting a large army and by 1448 Henry acquiesced.

03f Battle of Formigny 15 April 1450
Département: Calvados
Region: Basse-Normandie
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary: Hostilities recommenced in June 1449 with the reorganized French Army taking advantage of the weakened English by capturing major cities in Normandy including Rouen, Harfleur, Honfleur and Lisieux. Their next objective was Caen.

The English gathered a small army of about 3,000 men under the command of Sir Thomas Kyriell and left Portsmouth for Cherbourg landing there on 15 March 1450. Kyriell marched south to capture Valognes as the 5,000-man French Army, under Charles I de Bourbon, Comte de Clermont, marched towards Carentan. Kyriell circled around Carentan, refusing to offer battle, and was heading for Bayeux when he entered the village of Formigny on 14 April. The main French force under Charles followed from Carentan towards Bayeux along the later famous National Road 13 as a smaller, but French force of 1,200 fully mounted men under Arthur de Richemont was approaching from St-Lô.


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Jeanne d’Arc Birthplace, Domrémy-la-Pucelle

We complete our story of Jeanne d’Arc by ending at the beginning; in the remote villages of Lorraine where Jeanne was born, received her religious visions, and from which she left for the court of Charles VII.

03e Jeanne d’Arc Birthplace, Domrémy-la-Pucelle
Département: Vosges
Region: Lorraine
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary:  Domrémy dates from Celtic times, but the small village is noted as the birthplace of Jeanne d’Arc. In Jeanne’s youth the area was subject to conflicting forces as it lies between the lands of the Duke of Burgundy, a vassal of the king of England, and those of the Duke of Lorraine, a vassal to the emperor of Germany. Yet it remained loyal to the future Charles VII. As a youth, Jeanne tended livestock in pastures and wandered in forests atop the hills lining the Meuse River valley. During those lonely hours, she developed her strong religious beliefs and convictions that she was ordained to liberate France from English occupying forces.

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Execution of Jeanne d’Arc in Rouen

Jeanne d’Arc’s captors moved her about France. Eventually she was sold by the Duke of Burgundy to the English and they brought her to Rouen, the capital of the English controlled Duchy of Normandy.

Rouen was one of the most prosperous cities in medieval Europe and it is a fascinating city to visit. Although extensively bombed during the Second World War, the city center offers many half-timbered buildings of traditional Normandy design, medieval churches, and the actual location of Jeanne’s execution.

03d Execution of Jeanne d’Arc in Rouen
Département: Seine-Maritime
Region: Haute-Normandie
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary:  Jeanne d’Arc was bought from the Duke of Burgundy by the English ruler of occupied France, John Lancaster, Duke of Bedford. She was brought to Rouen on Christmas Day 1430 and imprisoned in the Château Bouvreuil built by Philip Augustus in 1205. After a lengthy trial, she was found guilty of heresy. On 30 May 1431 she was burned at the stake in the place du Vieux-Marché and her ashes were scattered in the Seine River.

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