The Battle of Cocherel it fought on May 16, 1364 between the king of France and the forces of Charles II of Navarre, over the succession to the dukedom of Burgundy.
| Battle of Cocherel | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| France | Navarre | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Bertrand du Guesclin | Jean de Grailly | ||||||
The king's forces were led by Bertrand du Guesclin, though Jean, Count of Auxerre was the highest-ranking noble present. There were knights from Burgundy (f. e. Jean de Vienne), Breton, Picard, Parisian and Gascon people.
The forces of Navarre were commanded by the Gascon chief, Jean de Grailly, Captal de Buch and mainly consisted of 800 to 900 knights and 4000 to 5000 soldiers from Normandy, Gascony and England, including 300 English archers.[1]
The result of the battle was the French king's victory.
The Navarrese army was lined up in three battalions. It took up a defensive position, as was standard English tactics, forcing du Guesclin to be the aggressor. The French commander managed to break the defensive formation by attacking and then pretending to retreat, which tempted the enemy from their hill in pursuit. A flank attack by du Guesclin's reserve then won the day.
See also
References
- ^ André Castelot, Du Guesclin le vainqueur de Cocherel in Vivre au Moyen Âge, Historia Spécial 1996.
- Turnbull, Stephen. The Book of the Medieval Knight. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1985. ISBN 0-85368-715-3
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