Battle of Poitiers

The Battle of Poitiers from September 19, 1356 ( in German speaking countries is also the name battle of Maupertuis familiar ) was an event of the Hundred Years' War, in which the French King John II fell into British captivity. She was - according to the baneful for the French battle of Crécy ( 1346 ) - the second of the three great English victories in this war, and in a sense a repetition of Crécy, as was demonstrated here again that a better strategy and tactics a lower number may outweigh.

After Crécy, the British had firmly established itself in the Guyenne, from where they launched regular raids in the south of France. In 1355 it was already the French king for lack of reserves not been able to beat them. 1356 he summoned the Estates General ( États généraux ), which granted him the resources he needed to build an army ( 30,000 men to 5 years).

Operations before the battle

The raid, which the " Black Prince " Edward of Woodstock led, had led the British on Bourges and Orléans. In order to achieve a more effective pursuit of the enemy, Johann II had, inter alia, with the fighters made ​​the citizens half of his army back and was limited to the cavalry, with which he hoped to progress more quickly. When he had found the enemy, the French army was south of Poitiers, the English with booty loaded on the way back to Bordeaux. As they were not locked in the Guyenne the Way, the Englishman went after lengthy negotiations forced a battle. The battlefield at Nouaillé - Maupertuis was an uneven and interspersed with hedges terrain, so that John II decided to take up the fight on foot.

The Battle

In the early morning movements on the English side gave rise to the presumption, they tried to bring their prey over a ford on the other side of Miosson. On the assumption that they were on the run, the French pushed into a tree hedgerows ( ie poor Maupertuis passage) and were therefore easy prey for the English archers.

The two armies met each other then disordered, which was exacerbated by the prepared by the British case. The battle turned in favor of the Black Prince. John II, who had feared a defeat, had her brought his sons in Chauvigny in security: the heir to the throne Charles, Duke of Normandy, and the Duke of Anjou. When his army saw this, they evaluated it as a sign of defeat and turned to run.

John II refused to flee, and soon found himself with his 14 - year-old son Philip ( later Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy ) was isolated. The two were surrounded and taken prisoner. Two miles away was the new castle of Camboniac, the Château de Chambonneau, which had taken the Black Prince previously by a deception. The two prisoners were first brought here and then to Bordeaux.

Result

On September 23, 1357, a truce was concluded in Bordeaux, which was to expire on April 9, 1359. Johann was then taken to London and after five years, in 1361, released. They demanded a ransom of 4 million Écu (about two and a half times the income of the French royal household of 1355 ), but this was reduced after subsequent negotiations to 3 million Écu. Shortly after the battle were gathered together the Estates General. This decided the release of King Charles II of Navarre, cousin and son John, who was stuck in Château- Gaillard, in the hope that he would protect the country after the defeat. Karl, however, took only contact with the British in order to secure more fiefs.

With the peace of Brétigny, the 1360 John Chandos to English and Bonabes IV, Lord of Rougé and Derval, negotiated on the French side, France ceded the entire kingdom south of the Loire to the English from.

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