The Battle of Patay, fought on 18 June 1429 during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337â1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
, was the culmination of the
Loire Campaign
The Loire Campaign was a campaign launched by Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War. The Loire was cleared of all English and Burgundian troops.
Campaign
The English under John, Duke of Bedford ordered John, Lord Talbot to besiege Orl ...
between the French and English in north-central France. In this engagement, the horsemen of the French
vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
inflicted heavy casualties on an English army; most of them sustained by the longbowmen as the English cavalry fled. In addition, all but one of the senior English commanders were captured. A victory often credited to
, she was in fact not present for the battle as she had remained with the main body of the French army. The vanguard at Patay was led by
La Hire
Ătienne de Vignolles, Sieur de Montmorillon, Chatelain de Longueville (), also known as La Hire (; 1390 – 11 January 1443), was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
Nickname
One explanation for his nickname of La ...
and
Jean Poton de Xaintrailles
Jean Poton de Xaintrailles (, 1390? – 7 October 1461), a minor noble of Gascon origin, was one of the chief lieutenants of Joan of Arc. He served as master of the royal stables, as royal bailiff in Berry and as seneschal of Limousin. In ...
.
The battle was a disastrous blow to English aspirations in France. For the French, it cemented the turn of fortune which had begun at
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 ''*k ...
be crowned King of France. The Hundred Years' War, however, would continue until 1453.
. A month later, having gathered men and supplies for the forthcoming campaign, the French army, under the command of the
Duke of Alençon
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
, set out to capture these positions and the bridges they controlled. On June 12 they stormed Jargeau , captured the bridge at
, then marched on, without attacking the nearby castle, to besiege Beaugency on 15 June.
An English reinforcement army under Sir
John Fastolf
Sir John Fastolf (6 November 1380 â 5 November 1459) was a late medieval English landowner and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as the prototype, in some part, of Shakespeare's charact ...
, which had set off from
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 kmÂČ (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Talbot urged an immediate attack to relieve Beaugency, but was opposed by the more cautious Fastolf, who was reluctant to seek a
pitched battle
A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...
against the more numerous French. The garrison of Beaugency, unaware of the arrival of Fastolf's reinforcements and discouraged by the reinforcement of the French by a
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
contingent under
Arthur de Richemont
Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...
, surrendered on 18 June. Talbot then agreed to Fastolf's proposal to retreat towards Paris. Learning of this movement, the French set off in pursuit, and intercepted the English army near the village of Patay.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
, although his reputation was severely damaged.
Consequences
The virtual destruction of the English field army in central France and the loss of many of their principal veteran commanders (another, the
Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfe ...
, had been captured in the fall of Jargeau, while the
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history, and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury.
Background
The title was first created for Patrick de S ...
in November 1428), had devastating consequences for the English position in France, from which it would never recover. During the following weeks the French, facing negligible resistance, were able to swiftly regain swathes of territory to the south, east and north of Paris, and to march to Reims, where the Dauphin was crowned as King
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 â 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...