The Battle of Poitiers took place on the 19th September 1356. It was a major victory for the English and Gascon forces. The English were led by the Black Prince, son and heir to Edward III of England, with English troops under Sir John Chandos and with Gascon troops under the Captal de Buch (Jean III de Grailly), together with approximately 7,000 men.
How The Battle Of Poitiers Was Fought
The Black Prince had been conducting a raid from Bordeaux into central France but was turning westward and southward from the lower Loire River valley hotly pursued by John II’s forces. The two armies joined battle to the east of Poitiers on September 17th 1356; but a truce for September 18, a Sunday, allowed the English to secure themselves on the Maupertuis (Le Passage), near Nouaillé south of Poitiers, where thickets and marshes surrounded the confluence of the Miosson and Clain rivers.
Having learned evidently little from the Battle of Crécy (1346), the French launched a series of attacks in which their knights, bogged down, became easy targets for the Black Prince’s archers. John II himself led the last French charge but was ultimately taken prisoner, along with thousands of his knights. The loss of the Battle of Poitiers meant that France was now left wide open to attack and soon after was to cause a massive peasant revolt.
Some photos taken at the Battle Of Poitiers site in 2014 (click to enlarge)
