Battle of Ivry

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Peter Paul Rubens , Henry IV at the battle of Ivry

The Battle of Ivry on March 14, 1590 was a skirmish as part of the Eighth Huguenot War between the troops of the new King Henry IV and those of the Holy League of 1576 under the Duke of Mayenne . Despite Mayenne's numerical superiority, the battle became the king's decisive victory.

prehistory

The Duke of Mayenne, appointed lieutenant-général by the League in Paris , commanded the city's garrison, which had been besieged by Henry IV for almost a year. Although the city was not completely cordoned off, Paris suffered from the siege as almost all of the surrounding area was in the hands of the king. Mayenne therefore tried to drive the king's troops out of these areas. In order to seal off access to Normandy, Heinrich also besieged Évreux , which was in the hands of the League, and Mayenne, with the support of Spanish contingents, rushed to the relief. When Heinrich was informed of the advance of the enemy, he decided to abandon the siege of Évreux and deployed his troops on the nearby plain of Saint-André between Nonancourt and Ivry . Mayenne arrived before the parade was complete but too late in the day to attack, so the decision was postponed until the following day.

The battle

On March 14, 1590 at daybreak, the armies faced each other. Heinrich IV. And his officers Montpensier , d'Aumont , Biron , Conti , La Trémoille , Rosny and Schomberg had only 8,000 infantry and 3,000 horsemen, while Mayenne and his officers Nemours , Aumale and Egmond had 12,000 infantrymen including German mercenaries and 4,000 horsemen, including 2,000 Spaniards, had arms.

The battle was opened with six shots from the king's cannons (the artillery was under the command of Philibert de La Guiche), followed by the attacks of the cavalry. The riders of the league managed to defeat the king's Chevaulegers , then Walloon soldiers destroyed the royal artillery; Aumont could not withstand the attack of three squadrons of the league either. However, the league's success was ended by the coordinated intervention of Montpensier and Biron, who came to Aumont's aid. At the other end of the lines, Henry IV succeeded in narrowing the league's lancers so that they had no room to use their weapons. Mayenne then decided to attack the royal squadron, which consisted of 600 horsemen.

The battle now turned into a general scuffle, several times the king was believed to have fallen or taken prisoner, so that the soldiers of the league were already sure of victory. In this situation, Heinrich was saved by Charles de Rambures.

The king withdrew, gathered his troops, and threw himself into battle again. This attack brought the decision.

When Egmond was killed on the side of the League, Nemours and Aumale fled. 11,000 of the League's 12,000 infantrymen were killed, including all German mercenaries in retaliation for the Battle of Arques in September 1589, in which they faked surrender and then opened fire. Only the Swiss Reisläufer did not surrender and Biron therefore had them withdrawn.

Result

The League's army was completely destroyed. Mayenne fled to Nantes , the other officers found refuge in Chartres . However, this victory did not mean an end to the fighting between the king and the league.

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literature