The Battle of Fontaine-Française occurred on 5 June 1595 between the French royal forces of King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

and troops of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the Catholic League commanded by Juan Fernández de Velasco and Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, during the eighth and final war (1585–1598) of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

Background

In response to Henry IV's forces, led by Charles de Biron, taking Beaunne,

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

, and besieging

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías, traversed the Alps with 2,000 horse and 8,000 foot soldiers in early June 1595. He joined the surviving members of the Catholic League including 400 horse and 1,000 foot soldiers, led by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne. They besieged and took Vesoul. Velasco and Mayenne then advanced toward Dijon intending to relieve the besieged city. Henry IV, hearing of their movements, quickly assembled 3,000 troops and hastened to Troyes.

The battle

On 5 June, Henry narrowly avoided death near Fontaine-Francaise when he ran into a large contingent of Spanish horsemen, while conducting reconnaissance with 1,200 cavalry and 600 mounted arquebusier. Henry charged right away and, after an intense struggle, was able make his escape. The king then gathered his soldiers and the local peasantry on a hill, arming them with scythes and any other metal object that would catch sunlight, thus attempting to make his opponents believe he had a larger army. Fernández de Velasco, seeing reconnaissance forces rejoining Henry's main force, became convinced that Henry's forces had superior numbers, and decided to retreat.

Aftermath

The French royal victory marked an end to the Catholic League, although the Wars of Religion would not come to a complete end until the signing of the Peace of Vervins on 2 May 1598, under which the Spanish ceded their remaining captured French towns.

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{coord missing, France Fontaine-Francaise Fontaine-Francaise Fontaine-Francaise Fontaine-Francaise 1595 in France Conflicts in 1595 History of Côte-d'Or