The Battle of Cravant was fought on 31 July 1423, during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
between English and French forces at the village of Cravant in
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
, southeast of
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
. The battle ended in a victory for the English and their Burgundian allies.
Background
After the
Treaty of Troyes
The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of ...
in 1420, the English king was permitted to occupy all the country north of the
Loire
The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône.
It rises in the so ...
. In 1422, with
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
suddenly dead and an infant King
Henry VI of England
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...
assuming the throne, hostilities resumed.
In the early summer of 1423, the French Dauphin
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
assembled an army at
Bourges
Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...
intending to invade Burgundian territory. This French army contained a large number of Scots under John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, who was commanding the entire mixed force, as well as
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
and Lombard mercenaries. This army besieged the town of Cravant. The garrison of Cravant requested help from the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, who raised troops and in turn sought support from Burgundy's English allies, which was forthcoming. The two allied armies, one English, one Burgundian,
rendezvous
Rendezvous or rendez-vous may refer to:
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Film and television
* ''The Rendezvous'' (1923 film), a silent film adventure melodrama
* ''Rendezvous'' (1930 film), a German musical directed by Carl Boese
* ''Rendezvous ...
ed at
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
on 29 July.
Allied preparations
The allied commanders held a
council of war
A council of warAuxerre Cathedral on the evening of 29 July. This led to the drafting of an order of battle, covering a mixture of tactical and disciplinary matters. The army was clearly intending to fight a dismounted action, with horses taken to the rear, and archers were to prepare anti-cavalry stakes. That night the army was ordered to pray for victory. The march was to begin at 10 o'clock the following morning.
Lord Willoughby
Baron Willoughby of Parham was a title in the Peerage of England with two creations. The first creation was for Sir William Willoughby who was raised to the peerage under letters patent in 1547, with the remainder to his heirs male of body. An ...
as second in command. The Anglo-Burgundian army mustered about 4,000 men (2,000 Burgundians and 2,000 English), including 1,500
men-at-arms
A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a kni ...
(500 English and 1,000 Burgundian), 1,500 English archers, some Burgundian crossbowmen and pioneers and 40 ''veuglaires'' (light artillery), manned by the citizens of Auxerre.
French
The French army was commanded by Sir
John Stewart of Darnley
Sir John Stewart of Darnley, 1st Comte d'Évreux, 1st Seigneur de Concressault, 1st Seigneur d'Aubigny (1429) was a Scottish nobleman and famous military commander who served as Constable of the Scottish Army in France, supporting the French ag ...
with
Louis, Count of Vendôme
Louis de Bourbon (Louis I, Count of Vendôme) (1376 – December 21, 1446), younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was a French '' prince du sang'', as well as Count of Vendôme from 1393, and Count of Castres from ...
, as second in command. There were about 4,000 Scots. A sizeable French force was present with smaller forces of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
ese and Lombard mercenaries. The Dauphinist army was larger than the Anglo-Burgundian force perhaps by two to three times.
Battle
The allied army marched throughout 30 July and that evening, short of Cravant, sighted the enemy. The following day, having assessed the enemy position as too strong, they crossed the river Yonne and attempted to reach Cravant by another route. Approaching the town from across the river, the allies saw that the French army had changed position and was now waiting for them on the other bank. For three hours the forces watched each other, neither willing to attempt an opposed river crossing. Eventually, the Scots archers began shooting into the allied ranks. The allied artillery replied, supported by their own archers and crossbowmen.
Seeing the Dauphinists were suffering casualties and becoming disordered, Salisbury took the initiative and his army began to cross the waist-high river, some 50 metres wide, under a covering barrage of arrows from the English archers. Meanwhile, another force under Willoughby attacked the Scots across the narrow bridge and divided the Dauphin's army. The French began to withdraw, but the Scots refused to flee and fought on, to be cut down by the hundreds. Perhaps 1,200–3,000 of them fell at the bridgehead or along the riverbanks, and over 2,000 prisoners were taken, including Darnley (who also lost an eye) and the Comte de Vendôme. While the Anglo-Burgundians were fighting, the Burgundian knights in Cravant came out from the fortress following the lord of Chastellux and launched a devastating cavalry charge against the Dauphinist forces which completely broke their lines. Being crushed from two sides the Dauphinist army fled the battlefield.
The Dauphin's forces retreated to the Loire. On 2 August, the English and Burgundian armies withdrew separately from Cravant, the Burgundians marching to
The success at Cravant was the first for a joint English and Burgundian army. Despite this success, the allies would rarely fight together again, usually operating separately from one another.Smith & DeVries (2005), p. 93 The Dauphinists would suffer an even greater defeat the following year at the
Battle of Verneuil
The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy between an English army and a combined Franco-Scottish force, augmented by Milanese heavy cavalry. The battle was a si ...