Battle of La Brossinière
The Battle of La Brossinière or Battle of la Gravelle (French - la "besoigne" de la Brossinière) was a battle of the Hundred Years' War on 26 September 1423. It occurred at La Brossinière (commune of Bourgon, Mayenne), between the forces of England and France, shortly after hostilities had resumed.
Place
On the former "chemin gravelais" or "chemin du Roy" (mentioned in 1454), a famous ancient route, built to allow travel between Anjou and Normandy.[1]
Prelude
The battle of Agincourt (1415) was particularly damaging for the nobility of the region. After this battle, the English regent John of Lancaster, given the titles of duke of Anjou and count of Le Maine, ordered a systematic conquest, though this was not effected without resistance.
At the time of this battle, in September 1423, the English force commanded by William Pole, back in Normandy after a pillaging expedition to Anjou and Maine, suffered a crushing defeat.[2]
William Pole
In the month of September 1423, lord William Pole, brother of the earl of Suffolk, left Normandy with 2000 soldiers and 800 archers to go raiding in Maine and Anjou. He seized Segré, and there mustered a huge collection of loot and a flock of 1,200 bulls and cows, before setting off to return to Normandy, taking hostages.
To avenge the insult
Queen Yolande of Aragon, mother in law to Charles VII of France who was in her town of Angers, had the first thought of avenging the affront and the damage to her county, and gave orders for such a mission to the most valiant of the unlucky French king's partisans, Ambroise de Loré, who had been commander of Sainte-Suzanne since 1422. Knowing that John VIII of Harcourt, count of Aumale and governor of Touraine, Anjou and Maine, was then in Tours and preparing an expedition into Normandy, Amboise despatched a message to John by letter. The governor came in haste to Laval, bringing the troops he had already gathered "and summoning men from all the lands he passed through" ("et manda gens de toutes parts à ce qu'ils se rendissent vers lui ").
Preparations
The promptest and best-armed response came from the baron of Coulonges, whose services were accepted despite the disgrace he was in with the governor, only enjoining Coulonges not to present himself to him. This whole concentration of force was all gathered together very rapidly. D'Aumale had not yet arrived in Laval on Friday September 24, but set off again as early as the Saturday morning, on his way to take up a position on the road to follow the English, sending scouts to keep an eye on their march and to inform him of it exactly.[3]
D'Aumale then took counsel from the bastard duke of Alençon, the sire de Montjean, Louis of Trémigon and Ambroise of Loré. He appraised them that the English were three leagues off and that they would pass la Brossinière, following the main road from Brittany the following Sunday morning.[4]
Course of the battle
Victory
Notes
- ^ This route crossed Bourgon at the meadow of Le Pavement. It was in fact part of the Chemin de Cocaigne, a Gallo-Roman way voie gallo-romaine ancienne which linked the Cotentin to the Gascogne».
- ^ Cousinot reports that "there were great deeds of arms done" ("il y eut de grandes vaillances d'armes faites") and that the English "were beaten in the field and fourteen to fifteen hundred were killed" ("furent desconfits au champ et y en eut de quatorze à quinze cent de tuez...")
- ^ It was early at the Bourgneuf-la-Forêt, from which he sent to Vitré, towards Anne of Laval, "to pray her that she would send him the army of her sons, named André of Lohéac, then a young man aged 12; which she sent him very willingly, and sent to accompany it, master Guy XIV de Laval, lord of Mont-Jean, and all the people of the lordship of Laval, with several other of their vassals that she could recover and bring in promptyl from other parts" ("luy prier qu'elle luy voulust envoyer l'aisné de ses fils, nommé André de Lohéac, lors estant jeune d'âge de douze ans ; laquelle le fist très volontiers et luy bailla pour l'accompagner, mestre Guy XIV de Laval, seigneur de Mont-Jean, et tous les gens de la seigneurie de Laval, avec plusieurs autres ses vassaux qu'elle peut recouvrer et avoir promptement d'autre part").
- ^ Each gave his opinion; it was concluded that the governor, the bastard of Alençon and Guy de Laval, would proceed on foot and put their troops in line of battle at la Brossinière; while Loré, Trémigon, those that were allowed to join baron of Coulonges, with their two hundred lances, would go on horseback "besongner sur iceux Anglois ainsi qu'ils verroient à faire".
References
- Template:Fr icon Cousinot : "Chroniques de la pucelle". Paris, 1859.
- Template:Fr icon "Bataille de la Brossinière", dans Alphonse-Victor Angot, Ferdinand Gaugain, Dictionnaire historique, topographique et biographique de la Mayenne, Goupil, 1900-1910
- Template:Fr icon La Mayenne des origines à nos jours . Éditions Bordessoules. 1984.