The Battle of Formigny, fought on 15 April 1450, was a major battle of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) 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, ...

between the kingdom of England and the kingdom of France. The destruction of England's last army in Normandy in the battle and the decisive French victory paved the way for the capture of the remaining English strongholds in Normandy.

Background

The French, under Charles VII, had taken the time offered by the

Treaty of Tours The Treaty of Tours was an attempted peace agreement between Henry VI of England and Charles VII of France, concluded by their envoys on 28 May 1444 in the closing years of the Hundred Years' War. The terms stipulated the marriage of Charles ...

in 1444 to reorganize and reinvigorate their armies. The English, without clear leadership from the weak Henry VI, were scattered and dangerously weak. When the French broke the truce in June 1449 they were in a much improved position.

Pont-Audemer Pont-Audemer () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France.Pont-L'Evêque and

Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the l ...

fell in August and much of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

was retaken by October. Cutting north and east the

Bureau Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations * Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

brothers oversaw the capture of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

(October 1449),

Harfleur Harfleur () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western France for six centuries, until Le Havre was built about five kilometres (three miles) downstream i ...

(December 1449),

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

and

Fresnoy Fresnoy () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A tiny village situated some 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the D109 road. Population Places of interest * Ch ...

(January 1450), before moving on to invade

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

under the command of

Sir Thomas Kyriell Sir Thomas Kyriell (1396–18 February 1461) was an English soldier of the Hundred Years' War and the opening of the Wars of the Roses. He was executed after the Second Battle of St Albans. Background The de Criol, Kyriel or Kyriell family ...

. Upon landing on 15 March 1450, Kyriell's army was reinforced by Edmund Beaufort,

Duke of Somerset 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 rank ...

and lieutenant general of Normandy with forces drawn from Norman garrisons under Sir

Matthew Gough Sir Matthew Gough (died 5 July 1450) was a Welsh soldier that served in the Hundred Years' War. Biography Gough was a son of Owen Gough and Hawys Hanmer. He is known to have taken part in the battles of Cravant (1423) and Verneuil (1424). He ...

(

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

), Sir Robert de Vere (Caen) and Sir

Henry Norbury Henry Norbury (born 1415) of Hoddesdon and Little Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, was an English soldier and nobleman who served as a Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in 1454 and later again in 1454. Biography Henry was eldest son and heir o ...

(

Vire Vire () is a town and a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Vire Normandie. Geography The town is located on the river Vire. Much of i ...

Battle

Kyriell advanced south, laying siege to

Valognes Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Geography Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg. History ...

, which blocked Cherbourg from the rest of the

Cotentin peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

. Valognes fell on 27 March after a short siege and Kyriell continued his advance toward French-held

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was merg ...

When the English army circled Carentan on 12 April, the French declined to sally although there were a number of smaller skirmishes. Kyriell turned east towards

, reaching the village of

Formigny Formigny () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Formigny La Bataille. History *15 April 1450: Battle of Formigny. The battle of For ...

on 14 April. A French army of 3,000 men under Jean de Bourbon, who was also Comte de Clermont, advanced east from Carentan to intercept the English force. On the same day a force of 1,200–2,000

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 ...

cavalry, 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 ...

, had reached

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

from the south. On 15 April, Clermont's forces were sighted by the English. The armies faced each other on the Carentan-

road, near a small tributary of the Aure, the English with their backs to the stream. The English formation was 4,000–7,000 strong and gathered in a long line behind a thicket of stakes and low earthworks. In the afternoon, the French opened the engagement with a failed assault on the English position with their dismounted men-at-arms. French cavalry charges on the English flanks were also defeated. Clermont then deployed two

culverin A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but later was used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The term is derived from the French "''couleuvrine''" (from ''couleuvre'' "grass snake", following the La ...

s to open fire on the English defenders. Unable to withstand the fire, the English attacked and captured the guns. The French army was now in disarray. At this moment the Breton cavalry force under Richemont arrived from the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, having crossed the Aure and approached the English force from the flank. As his men were carrying off the French guns, Kyriell shifted forces to the left to face the new threat. Clermont responded by attacking again. Having abandoned their prepared position, the English force was charged upon by Richemont's Breton cavalry and massacred. Kyriell was captured and his army destroyed. A small force under Sir Matthew Gough was able to escape.

Aftermath

Kyriell's army had ceased to exist, with 2,000–3,754 killed and 900–1,400 taken prisoner, while French and Breton casualties were less than 1,000. With no other significant English forces in Normandy, the whole region quickly fell to the victorious French. Caen was captured on 12 June and Cherbourg, the last English-held fortress in Normandy, fell on 12 August. The battle is often cited as the first in which cannons played a pivotal role (the first ''decisive'' use of cannon is generally considered to have been the following battle, at Castillon). This is rather difficult to judge; contemporary accounts are dubious and it can be seen that the arrival of the Breton army of

, future duke of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, Arthur III, with his powerful force of cavalry on the flank of the English, forcing them to leave their prepared defensive position, was more significant, although the early artillery fire from the two French guns played a role in that as well. The cannon may have been decisive, not so much for the effect they had themselves, but in that they alerted Richemont to the fact that there was a battle going on, and so caused his appearance on the field. It was fortunate for Clermont that this was so because one of his captains wrote shortly afterwards that if the Constable (Richemont) had not come when he did, Clermont's army would have suffered "irreparable damage".

Images

File:1450 Formigny.jpg, ''Bataille de Formigny, 18 avril 1450'', oil on canvas by Prosper Lafaye, 1837,

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

File:1450 Bataille de Formigny 2.jpg, ''Bataille de Formigny'', oil on canvas by Rémy-Eugène Julien File:Formigny bataille02.png, Monument to the Battle of Formigny Image:Formigny_III.jpg, A Memorial marks the Battlefield Image:FormignyIV.jpg, The chapel that Clermont had constructed in 1486 to commemorate the victory

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1450 in England 1450s in France Formigny 1450 Calvados (department)