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Battle of Caen (1346)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Caen in 1346 was a running battle through the streets of the Norman city during the English invasion of Normandy
under King Edward III in July of that year. It was the first significant action of the campaign which would ultimately lead to the crushing French defeat at the battle of Crecy
and the subsequent siege of Calais, which had a significant effect on the remainder of the Hundred Years' War
.
large scale raid across French territory to reduce his opponent's morale and wealth. His soldiers responded by burning towns in their path and looting whatever they wished from the populace. The towns of Carentan
, Saint-Lô
and Torteval were razed as the army passed, along with many others. Caen, the cultural, political, religious and financial centre of North-West Normandy
was Edward's initial target; he hoped to recoup his expenditure on the expedition and terrorise the French government by taking this important position and destroying it.
Caen itself was an old city broken into two parts. It sat on the north bank of the River Orne and was further divided by a branch of the River Odon which split the town into old and new parts. The old part was a walled city with a very strong castle, but was vulnerable to an English attack at positions where the walls had crumbled. The new part of the city was a wealthy district of merchants and landowners who lived on the island formed between the Orne and its branch which divided the city. This district was more easily defended, as its perimeter was formed by the river and was connected by three fortified bridges to the neighbouring banks. It was possible, especially in summer, for a man to ford the branch of the river although such a crossing was inevitably risky. The town also possessed two large fortified abbeys, one on each side of the city, which could be used to form bastions against an attacking force.
had originally planned to defend the old town and castle, but pressure from wealthy citizens persuaded him to shift the defence to the island once the English had arrived. This hasty withdrawal proved disastrous, as important precautions, vital for the city's defence, were overlooked in the hurried relocation.
With their initial plan now unnecessary, the English changed the axis of their advance and prepared to assault the defended bridges onto northern bank, whilst a small force was dispatched to blockade the 300 soldiers remaining in the castle in the north of the town led by the Bishop of Bayeux. As Edward pushed his troops into position it seems that the English foot soldiers, eager for plunder preempted his orders and rushed the bridges before the assault team was fully in place. The attack was nominally led by the Earl of Warwick
, Earl of Northampton
and Richard Talbot, although these men had very little control over the men supposedly under their command. When Edward saw the assault go ahead before he was ready he ordered the retreat but was ignored by his men.
As hundreds of English soldiers flung themselves across the bridges and into a furious melee on the far side which had drawn in the entire French garrison, teams of English Longbow
men and Welsh lancers waded across the shrunken river and others found boats which had not been removed from the northern bank during the hasty relocation at the start of the action. The French force was stretched too thin defending the whole river bank and broke at several points and allowed the English to enter the city and attack the bridge defenders from the rear, prompting a collapse in the city's defence. The most senior French officers took to their horses and rode through the English to the castle's safety whilst a few others barricaded themselves in the tower overlooking the bridge, but the rest of their forces were cut down as they ran, only a handful of prisoners being taken.
Amongst the spoil from the city were several senior French noblemen who had not escaped and were later ransomed by their English captors including the Count of Eu who would remain a prisoner in England until 1350 when he returned voluntarily to France and was summarily executed by the king. Also discovered was a proclamation from the French king for Norman raiding parties to despoil the south coast of England, which was used by recruiting parties in England for some years to come to stir up anti-French feeling. The English army moved off on 1 August 1346, leaving behind the castle and devastated city and pushing southwards towards the River Seine and potentially Paris beyond. That goal would be denied to Edward, but in the subsequent victories at Blanchetaque
, Crecy
and Calais, he would establish an English presence in northern France for two hundred years to come.
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
under King Edward III in July of that year. It was the first significant action of the campaign which would ultimately lead to the crushing French defeat at the battle of Crecy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
and the subsequent siege of Calais, which had a significant effect on the remainder of the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
.
Landing in France
The campaign began on 11 July 1346 when Edward's fleet departed the South of England and landed the next day at St. Vaast la Hogue, 20 miles (32.2 km) from Cherbourg. The force was estimated to be between 12,000 and 15,000 strong and consisted of both English and Welsh soldiers combined with a number of German and Breton mercenaries and allies, including several local barons who were unhappy with the rule of King Philip VI of France. The English army marched southwards, Edward's aim being to conduct a chevauchéeChevauchée
A chevauchée was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, focusing mainly on wreaking havoc, burning and pillaging enemy territory, in order to reduce the productivity of a region; as opposed to siege warfare or wars of conquest...
large scale raid across French territory to reduce his opponent's morale and wealth. His soldiers responded by burning towns in their path and looting whatever they wished from the populace. The towns of Carentan
Carentan
Carentan is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France near the port city of Cherbourg-Octeville. Carentan has a population somewhat over 6,000 and is now administratively organized as a commune in the Manche department...
, Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
and Torteval were razed as the army passed, along with many others. Caen, the cultural, political, religious and financial centre of North-West Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
was Edward's initial target; he hoped to recoup his expenditure on the expedition and terrorise the French government by taking this important position and destroying it.
Caen itself was an old city broken into two parts. It sat on the north bank of the River Orne and was further divided by a branch of the River Odon which split the town into old and new parts. The old part was a walled city with a very strong castle, but was vulnerable to an English attack at positions where the walls had crumbled. The new part of the city was a wealthy district of merchants and landowners who lived on the island formed between the Orne and its branch which divided the city. This district was more easily defended, as its perimeter was formed by the river and was connected by three fortified bridges to the neighbouring banks. It was possible, especially in summer, for a man to ford the branch of the river although such a crossing was inevitably risky. The town also possessed two large fortified abbeys, one on each side of the city, which could be used to form bastions against an attacking force.
The battle
The English army arrived outside the walls on 26 July 1346, and immediately seized the undefended abbeys, before forming up for a planned attack on the old town, Edward wasting no time with siege preparations as his army possessed no siege weaponry. The French defenders led by Raoul II of Brienne, Count of EuRaoul II of Brienne, Count of Eu
Raoul II of Brienne was the son of Raoul I of Brienne, Count of Eu and Guînes and Jeanne de Mello. He succeeded his father in 1344 as Count of Eu and Guînes, as well as in his post as Constable of France....
had originally planned to defend the old town and castle, but pressure from wealthy citizens persuaded him to shift the defence to the island once the English had arrived. This hasty withdrawal proved disastrous, as important precautions, vital for the city's defence, were overlooked in the hurried relocation.
With their initial plan now unnecessary, the English changed the axis of their advance and prepared to assault the defended bridges onto northern bank, whilst a small force was dispatched to blockade the 300 soldiers remaining in the castle in the north of the town led by the Bishop of Bayeux. As Edward pushed his troops into position it seems that the English foot soldiers, eager for plunder preempted his orders and rushed the bridges before the assault team was fully in place. The attack was nominally led by the Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War...
, Earl of Northampton
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, KG was an English nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:He was the fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. He had a twin brother, Edward...
and Richard Talbot, although these men had very little control over the men supposedly under their command. When Edward saw the assault go ahead before he was ready he ordered the retreat but was ignored by his men.
As hundreds of English soldiers flung themselves across the bridges and into a furious melee on the far side which had drawn in the entire French garrison, teams of English Longbow
English longbow
The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow about 6 ft long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare...
men and Welsh lancers waded across the shrunken river and others found boats which had not been removed from the northern bank during the hasty relocation at the start of the action. The French force was stretched too thin defending the whole river bank and broke at several points and allowed the English to enter the city and attack the bridge defenders from the rear, prompting a collapse in the city's defence. The most senior French officers took to their horses and rode through the English to the castle's safety whilst a few others barricaded themselves in the tower overlooking the bridge, but the rest of their forces were cut down as they ran, only a handful of prisoners being taken.
Aftermath
The victorious English began a furious sack of the town, burning most of it to the ground, seizing hundreds of pounds worth of valuables and gold as well as killing approximately half the town's population, with the remainder fleeing into the countryside, pursued by cavalry. At least 2,500 French bodies were later buried in mass graves outside the town, and total fatalities are said to have topped 5,000. English casualties were not recorded except that one man-at-arms was killed, although losses amongst the enlisted archers and lancers must have been heavy. The sack of the city continued for five days, during which Edward attempted and failed to capture the castle, and paid homage over the grave of his ancestor William the Conqueror who was buried in the town.Amongst the spoil from the city were several senior French noblemen who had not escaped and were later ransomed by their English captors including the Count of Eu who would remain a prisoner in England until 1350 when he returned voluntarily to France and was summarily executed by the king. Also discovered was a proclamation from the French king for Norman raiding parties to despoil the south coast of England, which was used by recruiting parties in England for some years to come to stir up anti-French feeling. The English army moved off on 1 August 1346, leaving behind the castle and devastated city and pushing southwards towards the River Seine and potentially Paris beyond. That goal would be denied to Edward, but in the subsequent victories at Blanchetaque
Battle of Blanchetaque
The Battle of Blanchetaque in 1346 was the second of the three battles which made up what became the Crecy campaign of King Edward III of England during the early stages of the Hundred Years War...
, Crecy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
and Calais, he would establish an English presence in northern France for two hundred years to come.
In other media
- Bernard CornwellBernard CornwellBernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
's novel Harlequin (UK)Harlequin (novel)Harlequin is the first novel in The Grail Quest series by Bernard Cornwell. It begins a series of stories set in the middle of the fourteenth century, an age when the four horsemen of the apocalypse seem to have been released over Europe.-Plot introduction:The narrative tells how Thomas of Hookton...
(Published as The Archer's Tale in the US) provides a dramatised yet substantially accurate portrayal of this action. - Ken FollettKen FollettKen Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, and World Without End.-Early...
's novel World without end has a scene in Caen in the aftermath of the battle.