On the evening of the 14 April, the English
set up camp on the western bank of a brook that emptied into the L’Aure River. During the following night, Kyriell stationed
an outpost on a hillock near Trévières, to watch Richemont’s movements to the south. A blocking detachment was posted on the main
road, near the top of the slope that overlooked the stone bridge, to alert of Clermont’s
approach from the west. Before first light, Gough rode off to Bayeux
to ask for support in ambushing the French. Battle was upon them. With the war in France moving against them
in the 1440s, the English NEEDED a truce. King Henry VI's incompetent rule had weakened
the army and failed to address the worsening economic situation, leaving England unable
to afford to continue the war. Meanwhile, France was resurgent under the
leadership of King Charles VII. There was little hope of getting favorable
terms for the English. When the delegations met at Tours on the 28
May 1444, Henry agreed to relinquish the Duchy of Maine and betroth Margaret of Anjou, niece
of King Charles VII, in exchange for a two-year truce. But instead of taking advantage of the break
in the fighting to reorganize, the English did nothing. Charles, meanwhile, used the truce to strengthen
the French army : He did not disband French forces after the
signing of the Treaty of Tours. Instead, he purged the army of the poor-quality
units. The best performing units were retained as
a large standing force. To add to that, every village in France of
between 50 and 80 households were given certain tax exemptions in exchange for providing one
combatant at their own expense, usually a crossbowman. This created a nationwide body of trained
and well-equipped soldiers, ready to be called upon when needed. Development of modern gunpowder artillery
and extensive training of gun crews was undertaken. Most importantly, Charles began reforms to
improve cohesion between the infantry, cavalry, and artillery arms, creating a flexible fast-moving
force that could operate across vast distances. He then tested his reinvigorated army in other
theatres, supporting Frederick of Austria against the Swiss and leading a punitive expedition
against the city of Metz , in support of the Duke of Lorraine .
Charles would soon be ready for a final showdown with the dreaded English. But, across the Channel, no such measures
were taken in England. Some in parliament warned that the duchy of
Normandy must be rearmed, restocked, and kept in a state of readiness for the resumption
of the war. But there was a lack of political will and
financial resources to implement this. Worse, in Normandy the truce was seen as an
opportunity to pay less tax for defenses, and the magnates of Maine resisted the terms
of the Treaty of Tours, refusing to give up their land holdings and tax base. This went on for FOUR YEARS, the meek Henry
unable to force them to cede the county, as per the agreement with France. Charles had finally lost patience. In February 1448 he entrusted John , Count
of Dunois, with capturing Le Mans, the capital of the county. The speed with which Charles mobilized 6,000
troops shocked the English magnates. To pacify Henry and allow him to salvage some
pride, Charles compensated his nephew with a payment equal to ten-year revenue from the
ceded territory. Besieged in the capital of Maine and abandoned
by their king, by the end of March 1448 the English had no choice but to leave. But Henry, instead of demanding that the surrender
of Le Mans be a binding condition for peace, naively gave up the city as a gesture of goodwill
to induce Charles to make peace, who in turn embarrassed Henry by granting him a mere two-year
extension of the Truce of Tours, until the 1 April 1450. This debacle finally prompted the English
to act. Edmund Beaufort , Duke of Somerset, was sent
across the Channel as the new lieutenant-general and governor of Normandy, with two hundred
men-at-arms. For the past three years, the lack of governorship
in the duchy saw a steady deterioration of defenses and administration. Discipline was low. Unpaid soldiers left their garrisons and turned
to brigandry. Lawlessness was widespread. Upon arriving at Rouen in May 1448, Beaufort
took immediate action to address these problems. A duchy-wide muster was held to evaluate the
troops and steps were taken to strengthen the garrisons. An investigation against corruption of royal
officials was launched, with those found guilty of fraud and theft of tax money fined and
sacked. But Charles had no intention of letting the
English build-up pick up steam. Charles VII
Restorer of France Despite the new two-year extension of the
Treaty of Tours, both sides repeatedly breached the agreement. French raiding parties intercepting English
transports of provisions and weapons on the Seine, and English detachments plundering
French towns, were just some of the many violations. Such border clashes, however, were standard
for the time, serving to intimidate the enemy more than anything else. But Charles felt he was ready, and he needed
an excuse. He would soon get one, in the form of François
de Surienne, a foreign mercenary captain serving the English, who seized the wealthy fortified
town of Fougères in the marches of Brittany. The indignant Francis I, Duke of Brittany,
demanded the city be returned and reparations paid. Ignored by the English, he appealed to Charles,
who took up his cause with enthusiasm, the incident playing straight into his hand. With several armies at the ready for months,
the King began the reconquest of Normandy in June 1449. The French quickly took the initiative. Two armies, led by duke Francis and his uncle
Arthur de Richemont, advanced from Brittany into lower Normandy. The force of Dunois, the Bastard of Orleans,
advanced from the south through the center, assisted by the army of the Duke of Alençon
from his base in Anjou. Another two armies, commanded by the Counts
of Eu and Saint-Pol, advanced from Picardy into upper Normandy. The relentless invasion overwhelmed the English
defenses, the French retaking much of Normandy by October. Strong fortified towns and cities remained
in English hands, but, making use of their modern artillery, the French captured Rouen
in October 1449, stunning the English. The fortress of Bellême and the supposedly
impregnable Château Gaillard capitulated in late November. The vital port of Harfleur held out until
Christmas before surrendering. Honfleur and Fresnoy were taken in January
of 1450. Many other strongholds fell by February. King Charles’ lightning operation in Normandy
signaled a new era in warfare. In a desperate bid to stay in the fight, the
English sent armaments and supplies to the ports of Caen and Cherbourg. Sir Thomas Kyriell embarked for France with
2500 troops, including 425 men-at-arms, and a large artillery train. Transporting so many cannons suggests that
his army was intended for recovering captured strongholds. The plan was likely to land at Caen and join
forces with Beaufort, and then begin a campaign of extending the English-controlled territory
beyond the Caen-Bayeux axis. But, inexplicably, Kyriell landed at Cherbourg,
an isolated port city on the northern tip of the Cotentin. He marched on Valognes, which endured a three-week
long siege before surrendering, but only after Matthew Gough brough reinforcements numbering
1800, from Caen, Bayeux, and Vire, increasing the English host to around 5,000 troops. To the south at Carentan, the 3000-strong
French army of Jean de Bourbon, the Count of Clermont, was blocking the English march. Kyriell garrisoned Valognes with around 1,000
men and broke camp with the remaining 4,000 men. Avoiding Carentan, he moved DIRECTLY across
the bay, using the low tide to cut across the shallow water, before proceeding towards
Bayeux, some 60 miles away. But the French guards in the church tower
at Carentan spotted the English. Clermont mobilized and went after them, sending
word to Arthur de Richemont at Saint-Lô to march his 2,000-strong force north to assist
in intercepting the English. Two days into the march, Kyriell encamped
near the village of Formigny, about 10 miles from Bayeux. On the evening of the 14 April, the English
set up camp on the western bank of a brook that emptied into the L’Aure River. During the following night, Kyriell stationed
an outpost on a hillock near Trévières, to watch Richemont’s movements to the south. A blocking detachment was posted on the main
road, near the top of the slope that overlooked the stone bridge, to alert of Clermont’s
approach from the west. Before first light, Gough rode off to Bayeux
to ask for support in ambushing the French. Fearing being surrounded, at dawn of the 15
April, the English constructed a small field fortification to the east of Formigny. To the west, they dug up trenches and set
up archer stakes to guard against a French cavalry attack. By 9:00 AM, Gough returned from Bayeux and
resumed command of his men. Sometime during the morning, Clermont’s
vanguard appeared on the main road to the west, preceded by French scouts, sent to reconnoiter
the English positions. The main body followed about half an hour
later. Learning of Clermont’s approach, Kyriell
deployed his army. His plan was to array his 4,000 troops along
the top of the slope, arching above the main road and bridge, behind a trench and a row
of stakes. The infantry divisions straddled the main
road, while the mounted contingents and archers were posted on the far left under the command
of Gough. Around 1:00 PM, some 2 miles to the south,
Richemont’s scouts and men of the vanguard began trickling in, ahead of the 2,000-strong
contingent. Richemont himself was yet to appear with the
main body. Back north, around 2:00 PM, Clermont’s force
of 3,000 men had by now deployed west of the stone bridge and advanced slowly to about
half a mile distance from the English line. Clermont ordered two light guns to be brought
forward to bombard Kyriell’s position, sending 200 dismounted archers and around 60 lancers
to defend the cannons. Observing the strong defensible position of
the English and realizing he is outnumbered, Clermont decided against a head-on assault. Instead, he gathered local peasants from the
villages of Le Petit Hameau and Normanville, ordering them to head south and look for Richemont. Around 3:30 PM, Richemont reached Trévières,
and stopped his army after spotting the English outpost on the hill above the village. With the forest stretching along the L’Aure
River blocking his view towards the south, he had no way of knowing the position of the
enemy army, so he paused his movement to organize his troops and scout ahead. Back at the stone bridge, the two French guns,
now in position, opened fire on the English line. A few shots found their marks, the rate of
fire of the well-drilled French gun crews surprising the English. But as the cannon smoke piled up, Gough sent
600 archers to cross the bridge and drive off the French gunners. Meanwhile to the south, Richemont’s scouts
returned, reporting that the north bank of the L’Aure River was safe, with no enemy
in sight. Making way towards Formigny, Richemont turned
his host to cross the river at Pont de la Barre. It was around this time that the local peasants
located him, bringing news that Clermont was in trouble, urging Richemont to hurry north. Some 20 minutes later, Gough’s 600 archers
attacking the bridge showered the French on the other side. Clermont’s 200 archers could not match the
English volleys. The French gun crews fired off several more
shots at Gough’s bowmen but failed to disperse them. Hard-pressed by the English arrow volleys,
the French troops at the bridge pulled back towards the main line. Chasing after them, about 100 Englishmen stormed
the bridge, while the rest kept up the arrow volleys, capturing the two guns and beginning
to pull them back towards their own position. By now, the head of Richemont’s column appeared
on the plateau to the south, near the village of Le Petit Hameau. The French commander climbed up a windmill
to observe the ongoing battle near the stone bridge. The English spotted Richemont’s banners
to the south, initially mistaking them for English reinforcements that they were expecting
to arrive from Bayeux. But once Kyriell’s scouts brought back word
that troops on the plateau were in fact the enemy, the English commander ordered a complete
redeployment along a new line, where he could receive the attack from the two French forces. The infantry regrouping was done in good order,
but Gough’s withdrawal to the new position was disrupted by French archers, inflicting
losses on the English. Clermont ordered his vanguard and archers
forward against the English still at the bridge, who were guarding the captured guns. Meanwhile, Richemont arrived to see Clermont
in person to discuss the situation. They agreed not to focus their attack through
the bottleneck at the stone bridge. Instead, Richemont would attack first from
the south, where the undulating terrain permitted an easier approach to the English line. With that, Richemont rode off to retake command
of his main force on the plateau. Meanwhile at the bridge, the French men-at-arms
under Pierre de Brézé drove off the English detachment and retook the guns. Brézé, seeing that the English left wing
was still redeploying, remounted his men and attacked Gough’s dispersed ranks. Seeing the charge of Brézé’s men-at-arms,
Richemont ordered his force to advance northeast against the English left. Brézé and his lancers caught up with Gough’s
contingent, hacking their way through the disorganized enemy ranks. Amidst the fighting, Brézé spotted the English
field fortifications to the east, and decided to fight his way through to capture the fortifications
and block the enemy’s retreat. Meanwhile, Clermont ordered a general advance
over the bridge. With Richemont’s men now joining the fray,
the pressure on the English left became too great. Gough tried to rally his cavalry, but they
soon broke and fled towards Bayeux, pursued by Brézé and his mounted men-at-arms. Seeing Gough’s flight on the left, Kyriell
pulled his men back to organize a new line of defense in the village. The English withstood the ferocious attack
from the south, but gradually gave ground as they tried to solidify their line. As the gruesome battle raged at the village,
Brézé drove Gough and most of the English cavalry off the field, capturing their field
fortifications to the east of Formigny. Meanwhile, having crossed the stone bridge,
Clermont’s main force closed in on the English, disrupting their redeployment at Formigny. Attacked from both the west and south, and
unable to get his men back into formation, Kyriell realized the day was lost. Many of his men were slaughtered trying to
flee, while he and several other commanders were captured. The battle of Formigny ended what little hope
there had been that the reconquest of Normandy could be stopped, least of all reversed. Over the next four months the English were
driven out, with the final stronghold of Cherbourg surrendering on the 12 August 1450. The humiliation and anger felt in England
were matched only by the jubilation in France. Now, with northern France secure, Charles
VII turned his attention to Gascony.
