Battle of Conquereuil
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The Battle of Conquereuil was fought on June 27, 992 AD between the
Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, ...
under
Conan I, Duke of Brittany Conan I (died 27 June 992) nicknamed ''Le Tort'' (The Crooked) was the Duke of Brittany from 990 to his death. Life Count to Duke Conan was the son of Judicael Berengar, succeeding his father as Count of Rennes in 970. Conan assumed the title ...
and the Angevins under Fulk the Black.


Siege of Nantes

Duke Conan had the Breton city of
Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
under siege, when he learned that Fulk was marching with an army to relieve the city. Conan raised the siege and began marching his troops back in the direction of
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...
to face Fulk. Once Conan realized that his army could not outrun Fulk, Conan halted at Conquereuil and prepared the battlefield, digging pits and ditches which were flooded by the water of nearby swamps and then hidden by covering them lightly with sod, and behind this prepared earthworks which had their flanks secured by the swamps.


Uncertain Outcomes

The Angevins attacked, and Breton troops lured the Angevin knights into the flooded pits by feigning flight. The Bretons then counterattacked and drove the Angevins back in disarray. The Bretons apparently considered the battle won, but this was premature. Fulk reorganized his army, attacked the Bretons again, and routed them, killing Conan in the process. Another version of the story suggests that the Breton counterattack was successful and drove the Angevins back in disarray. In the midst of a Breton pursuit, Conan removed his armour because it was hot, and some Angevin knights in a wood saw him, charged the unarmoured duke, and killed him, turning the battle decisively in the favor of the Angevins.


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conquereuil, Battle of 992 Battles involving France 10th century in France 990s conflicts Battles of the Middle Ages Battles in Pays de la Loire History of Loire-Atlantique Military history of Brittany