Hi my name's Kevin Hicks, welcome to my YouTube channel the History Squad now today's video is
the Little Known Battles of the War of the Breton Succession. I’ve chosen three
battles, there are so many of these minor skirmishes I haven't even got to the sieges yet, so
we're going to have a look at these three battles uh Lunalonge, Mauron and Auray. Each
one is important because it shows how the French are trying their hardest to counter this English
system the bowmen on the flanks the men at arms in the centre and fighting on foot. Now the war of
the Breton succession bit complicated it's under the umbrella if you like of the hundred years war
now if you want to know more about it find my uh video my film on the battle of Morlaix,
it's in the playlist because that tells you all about who the different players were the causes of
this War of the Breton Succession, but now let's go on to these little-known battles shall we.
So the first battle I thought I’d tell you about is the battle of Lunalonge
it's just south west of the old battlefield of Poitiers right out in western France. Now
the commanders of the French Breton force was John de Lille and he's the seneschal of Poitou
um assists the nobleman like a mayor or a sheriff something like that he has 1500 men,
local they're all mounted and the enemy for them is going to be the Anglo-Breton force,
500 men under Thomas Coke. It's kind of an interesting battle because it reflects something
that I think the English have learnt from the Scots. Thank you Scotland and something the French
were trying out. But first of all the battle didn't just happen, what was going on it was there was
a Breton English garrison at Lusignan fortress and the French were going to attack it
and there was a relieving force from Bordeaux under Thomas Coke, only 500 men as I said, and these
were the men who were actually intercepted at Lunalonge and this is basically what happened. Now
it's quite difficult because I read about these and each time it says you know we don't know very
much about this and we're not sure about that, so this is what I’ve drawn from different resources
is the French approach the English retreat up a rise and put their baggage train behind them
with their horses behind the baggage train and the French watch them do it. And then the
master stroke. The French attack from the rear they burst through the baggage train meanwhile
they're capturing all of the English Breton horses and they're going to take them away. This
is going to weaken this English Anglo-Breton force so what do they do? They form a chiltron
using their lances spears anything they can as pikes to keep the cavalry away.
So what I like about this this small little battle here is the fact that the French are
changing tactics, or these French are changing tactics perhaps they've got the memory of what
happened at the battle of Crecy you know so they don't want to go a head-on charge into the English
but they've watched, they've taken out the horses, they've charged from the rear so the English
formed a chiltron, as I say thank you Scotland I’m sure that's where they learned it. Their second
division charge but they can't crack the chiltron the spears and lances and they're a bowman amongst
it as well so they're charging around and around just like some Hollywood film you remember when
you have the cowboys and Indians that nonsense of the Indians running around just being targets that
appears to be what the French are doing meanwhile the French third division are watching the whole
thing, not because they don't want to get involved they're looking for a weakness but this chiltron
is so tight this English position, this Anglo-Breton, let's get it right, position is so tight
that they simply can't crack it and it costs them three hundred dead plus prisoners of war
and Jean de Lille he's unhorsed and captured and another Frenchman he's captured actually
by the name of Boucicaut, he will come to provenance later on in one of my other films
he becomes the Marshal of France, he figures large at the battle of Agincourt, but that's another
story. What happens here is they fight on until it gets dark and what becomes of our gallant band,
they gather their prisoners, look after their wounded but they've got to push and pull their
own wagons and they manage to get to a nearby fortified position safely, but that's not the
end of the story, there's a little, I love this little twist at the end Coke the commander there
on his way back sends a detachment to reconoitre to have a look at the large castle Taillebourg
it controls the crossing over the river Charente. Well that little patrol catch the French napping
completely surprise them and by the end of June that castle is in English hands. This is a disaster
for the French it causes them to abandon their siege of Lusignan, it's got lots of repercussions.
But what this little battle shows is the French are learning these hundred years war this wars of
the Breton succession the French are changing and then we have the next battle the battle of Mauron.
So the battle of Mauron 14th of August 1352 a French army invades Brittany. They have had
some success now they're going for the castle of Ploermel this is garrison by Anglo Breton
Breton soldiers and English soldiers now the French force uh 5,000 men,
I’ve got to read these names because I’m trying to get them right the overall commander Guy II Nesle,
he was there one of his commanders Jean de Beaumanoir and Alain de Tinteniac it's important I
got those names in because these are knights from the Order of the Star and we're also at the Combat
of the 30, another one of my films that I’ve done on this subject now so Walter Bentley commands the
Anglo-Breton forces got a Breton with him now I’ve never said this name, Tanguy the first du Chastel.
I hope I got that right. So the French force is 5,000 men the Anglo force is two thousand.
This is what happened now when you look back at the film in the first part of this where the
French look and they try and out fox the English this is the total reverse. The English fall back
against the tree line, they formed their wedges, their hearse or some people call it of bowman
and then the men at arms in the center and what do the French do? They don't
hang back have a look, they charge full-on. The French charge in the old way. The
previous battle we talked about the French have reconnoitred the battlefield they're looking for
weak spots but here the English have been allowed to form up the bowmen on the flanks the men at
arms in the center. Now many of these knights on these horses were from the Order of the Star
this chivalric idea of charge and don't surrender, on they come and the bowmen decimate them,
they shoot into the sides of the horses, those poor beasts must have been in agony charging all
over the battlefield. Men are unhorsed, straight away the Anglo Britain men at arms come forward
and slaughter anybody who is standing. This is a nasty little fight now excuse my pronunciation but
Jean de Beaumanoir is killed, Alain de Tinteniac is killed and the commander himself Guy de Nesle
he is killed with 80 members, knights these are, of the Order of the Star. Many of the noble knights
of Brittany are killed in this nasty short sharp little known battle the battle of Mauron.
So the final battle in our trilogy of fights from the Breton war of succession.
Auray, 29th of September 1364, it's getting on a bit there so the French should be learning
and this is reflected in the battle. Now the commanders
on the French side, Charles of Blois, Bertrand de Guesclin and Count Auxerre,
they command 4,000 men and they look at the battle properly, and let's see what happens you see John
de Montfort and John Chandos of the Anglo Britain force have got 6,000 men they outnumber the French
and so the French they actually intercepted this Anglo-Breton force that were going to lay siege to
the castle nearby not wanting to be caught between the castle and the French they come out and John
Chandos they form their troops as such and what did the French do? They think about it at last,
and they send their crossbowmen in but there's not enough of them and they are outclassed and
out shot and sent to flight. So this is reflecting isn't it, this is quite interesting how the French
starting to look at the battle. How can we engage those longbowmen how can we deal with
them with their crossbowmen and it failed. So the archery duel having failed, the main body
now attack in three divisions. Obviously I haven't got enough soldiers to do thousands of
men so we're just giving you three divisions going head on towards the English man at arms Count Auxerre
who's on the right Charles Blois center and uh Guesclin is on the left side as they attack
the one thing the French haven't got, they've got no reserves, so it doesn't matter how hard they
hit the English and the Breton forces they've got reserves so whenever a man falls there's
another one takes his place and then the English actually bring their bowmen and their other men
at arms around on the flank and collapse the right flank of the French in on itself.
Then on the other side the English with their bowmen and their Breton men do exactly the
same and they hit the French, so the French army collapses in on itself. They're surrounded. They lose
in excess of a thousand dead the English and the Breton force there it's unknown but it said their
losses were light. This is terrible because Charles de Blois was killed, uh Count Auxerre
was killed and De Guesclin was taken prisoner. It's a disaster the French are soundly beaten.
It is an Anglo Breton victory yes, and it's the last battle of the Breton War of Succession,
however there's a twist in the tail. So the twist in the tail what a nasty little war
this Breton War of Succession was sieges, towns suffering, lots of killing and at the end of it
the Anglo-Breton force is successful, they defeat the French Breton force at the battle of Auray
and that should be the end of the whole thing except that King of France
recognizes John de Montfort as the Duke of Brittany and John de Montfort then pays homage
to the French king abandoning his ally Edward III of England. Ouch. The French lost the actual war
but they won the politics those crafty little devils, the French.
Well I hope you enjoyed our little film, a bit adventurous I'd say,
three battles in one film yeah. If you did please thumbs up like, share and subscribe
and don't forget to turn on the notification button so you know what's coming down the line
but to a special shout out now for my Patreon members Michael Swatten,
Stian Husborn and Peter Busch. Thanks guys, makes all the difference. See you soon.