Bankrupt King Edward III invades France – Road to Crecy – Battles of Saint Omer & Tournai, 1340 AD

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📢 Narrated by David McCallion

🎼 Music:
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Filmstro
Instinct – Bensound
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📚 Sources:
Sumpton, Jonathan, Trial by Battle: the Hundred Years War Vol 1 (ISBN: 978-0-571-26658-6).
Hoskins, Peter, Siege Warfare During The Hundred Years War (ISBN: 978-1-47383-432-3).
Mortimer, Ian, The Perfect King: the Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation (ISBN: 9780224073011).

#medieval #history #documentary

It’s the summer of 1340 and the Hundred Years  War is about to heat up once more. Exultant at   the decisive naval victory at Sluys two Edwardian  armies seek to build upon this great success.   Besieging the town of Saint-Omer, an Anglo-Flemish  army under the command of Robert of Artois stands  

Poised to receive the charge of a hot-headed  French force, while to the east, the royal army of   King Edward III surrounds the heavy-garrisoned  and determined city of Tournai.   With the French king edging ever closer to  the besieging armies, two major clashes of the   Hundred Years War about to be decided.

The remarkable victory at Sluys now allowed King Edward III to disembark his army and fight his way deeper into enemy soil.   Having consulted with his leading  men, Edward could count on some   two thousand Englishmen – two thirds of whom  were archers. With some reinforcements arriving  

In the next few weeks this number may have  been bolstered, though the bulk of fighting   men would be provided by his Flemish allies. Even with the crushing naval victory, however,   French forces were once more mustering.  Having some four thousand men guard the  

Cambrésis and also engage southern Hainault,  the bulk of Philip’s army moved into Artois,   with the French monarch headquartering  himself at Arras on the 6th July.   In total, reinforcements bolstered Philip’s forces  to about twenty-four thousand throughout July;   the vast majority of this army were  mounted men-at-arms. Large garrisons  

Were placed along the border regions of  Flanders and to the west of Hainault.   King Edward resolved to split his own  army in two, the first force under   his own command would advance into the  Scheldt Valley and lay siege to Tournai;  

The second army would amass in southern Flanders  and assault Saint-Omer, the ultimate ambition – if   successful – for this army to take Calais. With Robert of Artois’s force committed to   Saint-Omer, Edward focused on his own prize.  Edward’s path to Tournai was not plain sailing,  

However. There was a muted response  to the proposed attack on Saint-Omer,   and the duke of Brabant – envious at the  closer relations between Edward and the   Flemish – disbanded his own army. The German  elements of the king’s coalition were unpaid,  

And Edward’s financial woes were dire indeed. Though a Parliamentary subsidy had been granted   and two instalments of one hundred thousand  pounds were expected, all of this was eventually   earmarked to be paid to both Edward’s principal  bankers and to the English commanders for debts  

Incurred in 1339. The result was that Edward was  effectively insolvent, unable even to properly pay   the daily expenses of his own household. Things were so bad that on July 24th three   English earls were seized in Brussels and  held in prison at Mechelen. In the event,  

Northampton, Derby, and Warwick were temporarily  released in exchange for giving up four knights   each as hostages and a pledge to return to  their captivity after Edward’s campaign.   Despite all of his financial difficulties,  Edward retained (or possibly feigned) optimism,   reassuring his allied princes in Ghent  that he believed that money would be found  

And sent to them from England very soon. The king departed Ghent on the 18th July and   marched through the Scheldt Valley; accompanying  Edward himself and ahead of the Flemings under   Jacob Van Artevelde were his men-at-arms. Reaching  the little village of Chin, just three miles short  

Of his target, Edward awaited the Germans  and Hainaulters, though by July 26th Edward   finally committed to the capture of Tournai. While not of huge strategic importance to Edward,   Tournai was a formidable target, worthy of his  talents. Housing some twenty thousand residents  

It was renowned for its manufacture of armour and  marble carvings. As one of the larger provincial   settlements in France it had appropriately large  walls; covered with seventy-four towers.   As well as it’s resident garrison, the constable  of France was present within with his following  

And, around the same time Edward came to Chin, the  count of Foix – whom King Philip had detached from   the main army near Arras – entered the city with  reinforcements of three thousand men. All told,   an army of some five thousand eight hundred men  now stood between King Edward and his prize;  

Worse still, two thirds of this  number were men-at-arms.   Edward positioned himself to the west with  the mostly English group covering the Lille   and Douai roads which was the most likely  avenue of attack from relieving forces;   Edward’s division consisted of his magnates  and their retinues and was later bolstered by  

English and Flemish arrivals from Saint-Omer. Jacob van Artevelde and his Flemings covered the   north, Artevelde himself headquartered in  a small convent church. The Hainaulters   deployed below them, while the blockade  was completed by the unenthusiastic   Germans and Brabanters to the south. With King Philip’s army also becoming a danger,  

The siege of Tournai was certainly shaping up to  be true test of this iconic English king.   Meanwhile, Robert of Artois proceeded  towards Saint-Omer. Alas for Edward,   his appointment of Robert of Artois was out of  proportion for his ambitions to take the town.  

The decision to appoint Robert to the command  was based on the erroneous assumption that the   aged noble enjoyed support in Artois that could  bolster allied efforts; however, in actuality   Robert had no support and though undoubtedly  courageous, he was a poor commander.  

Though not expecting an attack on Saint-Omer,  the slow English preparations and movement   gave the French ample time to send the  duke of Burgundy with a few thousand   men-at-arms to garrison the town, as well as later  reinforcements under the count of Armagnac.  

Robert of Artois meanwhile still tarried around  fifteen miles away at Cassel. The bulk of his men   were comprised of various Flemish townsmen; with  both low morale and little discipline they were   jittery at the prospect of the coming engagement.  With many of the rank-and-file hailing from towns  

In southern Flanders, they had little loyalty to  Ghent or Van Artevelde and were concerned at the   exposure of their own homes to attack. Robert assured them of the ease of their   enterprise. He had friends within the town and  written pledges of assistance from them. All that  

Was left to do was to simply march to the town and  its open gates would greet them. Alas events for   the Flemings would not unfold so simply. Initially razing the small village of Arques,   the Anglo-Flemish army were positioned to the east  of the town and remained there for several days.  

It soon became clear to all that a prolonged siege  was impossible. King Philip and his superior army   was swiftly marching up and behind them, while  Burgundy and Armagnac made no move to surrender or   attack. Facing probable destruction, if he tarried  much longer, Robert resolved to offer battle.  

In the front lines he placed his best troops –  the precious English longbowmen and men-at-arms,   along with the men of Bruges. Next, comprising the  second line and formed into three groups were the   men of Ypres (on the left-flank), a combined  force of men from Furnes and Berghes in the  

Centre and finally on the right, units made up  of the men of the peripheral lands of Bruges.   In addition, Robert had the remaining  Flemings act as a rearguard to watch   the open camp. Having formed up thus, it was  a full four hours before the enemy stirred  

From their positions. Remarkably, despite the  obvious advantages of simply waiting for their   king’s approach and the explicit orders  of both Burgundy and Armagnac, many men   of Saint-Omer clearly felt ready for a fight. Most of the duke of Burgundy’s men – as well as  

A large body of townsmen – sallied from the  south-east gate of the town. Falling on the   left flank defended by the Ypres battalion, the  assault was checked at the defences. Falling back   into the open ground, the men of Saint-Omer were  not alone in their desire for battle, as seeing  

Their foes fleeing from the men of Ypres leapt  over their defences and foolishly pursued.   With the men of Ypres now exposed themselves  and worse still followed enthusiastically by   the entire second line of the Anglo-Flemish  force the townsmen of Saint-Omer struck back,  

And a fierce mêlée developed in the open  country, which lasted for the next few hours.   Back in Saint-Omer, the duke of Burgundy could  see all of this from atop the walls and likely   conceding that the original plan was ruined  anyway, he decided to join the fray. With a  

Total force of around 850 men, both Burgundy and  the count of Armagnac sallied out of the town.   The first force under Burgundy moved down the  Arques road and straight towards the English   and the men of Bruges who still manned their  defences. At Burgundy’s approach, Robert and  

His men charged in overwhelming numbers, quickly  driving the attackers back towards the suburbs of   the town. Crammed into the tight streets and  panicked, Burgundy suffered loses as his men   slowly retreated towards the closed gates. Now facing the tricky situation of extracting  

His remaining men – while barring admittance  to the Anglo-Flemish – Burgundy was aided by   concentrated arrow volleys from the archers  on the walls. Finally inching into Saint-Omer   as night fell, the duke was welcomed with  fervour and torchlight, but had undoubtedly   suffered a heavy tactical defeat. Meanwhile, the larger engagement to the  

South was the polar opposite result for the  French. Having joined the fighting, Armagnac   and the main body broke the former second line of  the Anglo-Flemish army, driving them back to the   open camp and in turn facilitating the rout and  destruction of the remaining Flemish rearguard.  

It was here that the casualty count stacked  up; many Flemings who were caught in the bend   of Aa river were mercilessly slain, with a few  escaping the wrath of the pursuing enemy.   With the gates firmly shut against them, Robert  and his largely intact group withdrew along the  

Arques road towards their camp. Yet in  a final bizarre chapter of the battle,   the exhausted men of both Armagnac and  Robert passed within striking distance   in the darkness. Yet apart from a few exchanges  of insults and limited sporadic fighting, both   forces diverged towards their destinations. If the presence of large numbers of hostiles  

On the road was not evidence enough of disaster,  Robert soon confronted the horrific sight of his   deserted and ravaged camp. It was only  as the sun rose the next day that the   true extent of the calamity was realised. The bulk of the Flemish infantry was destroyed,  

Prompting a general withdrawal towards  Ypres and Cassel, though fortunately   most of the men-at-arms and longbowmen would  supplement King Edward’s force at Tournai.   With the defeat of the Anglo-Flemish force  at Saint-Omer southern Flanders was now open   to the main French army under King Philip. The  defeat also undermined the united Flemish front,  

With representatives of Ypres, Bruges and  also the enemies of Jacob van Artevelde   in Ghent contacting the French court  to determine the terms for peace.   Back at Tournai – and contemplating a lengthy  siege – King Edward in a show of bravado and  

To demonstrate the justness of his cause issued  a personal challenge addressed to ‘Philip count   of Valois’. He demanded the throne of France and  suggested a one-on-one confrontation to resolve   the matter; failing this, he suggested a  larger battle between them and a hundred  

Picked champions; if this irked Philip, then  a pitched battle could also be arranged.   Philip merely retorted there was none who answered  to such a name as ‘Philip de Valois’. The French   king may have been justified in his confidence.  The well-garrisoned Tournai was certainly up for  

The fight, its burghers eagerly manning  the walls and even later leading parties   of raiders to harass Edward’s lines. Despite Edward’s bold words, it would be   four weeks before a dedicated effort was  made to storm the walls. Better to delay  

And hope the place was betrayed from within,  or more likely (given time) that starvation   did the killing for the besiegers. Edward’s army did have siege engines and   may have vainly hoped to batter enough of the  walls to rubble to enable an assault; however,  

This was a forlorn ambition given Tournai’s  walls were easily capable of withstanding   the barrage. Indeed, so ineffective were  these engines that just six defenders were   killed across the entire encounter. As the besiegers blockaded the city,   the surrounding lands were harried  in the time-honoured fashion of  

Provoking a battle. Everywhere within  a fifteen-mile orbit was destroyed.   In Tournai itself, the garrison and citizens were  eagerly resisting. Unlike those of the enemy,   the siege engines of the city did do  some damage. Though shot at random,  

One shot managed to destroy the bell tower of  the convent church where Jacob van Artevelde   was headquartered, while another destroyed a  Flemish siege engine just metres from his tent.   Despite these successes and the aforementioned  sorties, defeat was inevitable if famine were  

Not forestalled. Though so-called “useless mouths”  were turfed out, food was still in short supply;   though there to defend the citizens, the large  garrison – totalling about a quarter of the   population itself – was required to purchase those  provisions they needed, so that by early September  

Groups of men were forced to slip into and out of  the enemy encirclement to supply such funds.   Regardless of the situation, it seems the  city leaders did not attempt to curtail the   huge price rises that naturally ensue in such  circumstances until the tale-end of the siege,  

Making the situation worse. It was not until August 26th that   a determined assault on the walls was  mounted by around two thousand Flemish   and an unknown quantity of English in the  north-west; however, the assault was beaten   back with heavy Anglo-Flemish casualties. A week later, Edward ordered a second attack  

In the same sector. To weaken the gates, piles of  wood were stacked and burned against them, while   siege engines were used to batter them. Fierce  fighting then erupted in the area for several   hours. Even with the preparations and effort of  the besiegers, the defenders’ dogged defence won  

The day, their enemies even granting them a barrel  of wine in recognition of their courage.   Of course, the one definite weakness the  defenders had was that though well-garrisoned,   food supplies would inevitably run out unless  relieved; however, King Edward too could not  

Afford to play the waiting game. Dangerously short  of funds, splits began to fracture his army.   The German allies were grumbling at their lack  of pay and expressed this in a lack of enthusiasm   that the king in turn rebuked. The Brabanters  too had done nothing to affect Tournai’s  

Capture. The failure of both Anglo-Flemish  assaults only blackened moods further.   The overall advantage though was weighted  to the French. King Philip had moved slowly,   arriving too late to intervene  in the battle at Saint-Omer,   he reached the Flemish border by the 29th  July. Here he considered his options:  

He could invade and ruin Flanders or  march to the relief of Tournai.   Louis, Count of Flanders, naturally  opposed any destruction of his lands   since such deprivations would severely reduce  his chances of reconciling with his subjects  

If van Artevelde’s government fell. Philip thus  ordered his army to march towards Tournai.   Though news soon reached the defenders that  the king would come, it would in fact take   Philip five weeks to march to its relief. The  delay was largely down to peace talks en route,  

With Philip remaining at Douai for almost  two weeks from the third week of August.   The final arrival of Philip’s substantial army  to the west at Bouvines naturally bolstered the   resolve of the defenders at Tournai, however,  despite all indications pointing to an imminent  

And climactic battle, none would materialise. In truth, Edward’s position was weak, elements   within the Flemish cities were already negotiating  with Philip, and the rank-and-file within the   Brabanter group of Edward’s army grumbled loudly  at their lack of pay and threatened to withdraw  

From the field. Similar prominent voices echoed  the discontent in the Hainault division.   Papal emissaries had already been active  behind the scenes and with the intervention   of Joan of Valois – both the sister of Philip  and Edward’s own mother-in-law – the indebted   English monarch had a face-saving way  to honourably suspend hostilities.  

Tournai was relieved and a truce was agreed  three days after Joan’s visit. On the upside,   though superficially it appeared  Edward gained little from it,   he remained unbeaten in battle and could be  relieved of a growing financial burden that would  

Have only worsened if he had taken Tournai. The truce stipulated a cessation of hostilities   for nine months in all domains pertaining to  the conflict between Edward and Philip. All   were to retain those territories  they had gained in the meantime,  

And all captives were to be released on parole,  pending a resumption of hostilities. The allied   princes were satisfied with the temporary halt to  any retribution Philip had in store for them, and   could now hope to reach a more permanent peace. Edward did enjoy his own relief from attacks in  

Scotland and Gascony, nominally retained the  allegiance of his allies in the Low Countries,   and importantly had not revoked  his claim to the French crown.   A darker take on the outcome of the campaign is  that Edward unambiguously failed; Saint-Omer was  

A crushing defeat and whatever way it was spun  the city of Tournai had resisted capture. Edward   may have consoled himself with the excuse that  it was money – or rather the lack of it – that   had really been his undoing, but the black  reality was frustrating, nonetheless.  

In any event, the earlier years of the  decade would see the war shift into   Brittany. Following the siege of Tournai,  the duke of Brittany John III breathed   his last in Caen on his way back home. Unfortunately for the people of Brittany,  

John had no clear male successors; however, he  did have two clear candidates that were placed to   succeed him. The first was his half-brother John,  the Count of Montfort; as a younger son of the   previous duke by his second wife, John insisted  as per France’s inheritance laws that he was the  

Closest male relative and should thus succeed. However, the other candidate was Joan   of Penthièvre, duke John’s niece. An added  complication was that Joan was married to Charles,   the count of Blois, and King Philip’s nephew. Though technically closer to the deceased John  

III, the count of Montfort’s supporters pointed  out that given France’s Salic laws of succession,   no claim to a powerful title could be passed  to or through a female. Indeed, Edward III   himself had been passed over despite his closer  descent from Philip IV through his mother.  

Philip begged to differ, ignoring the irony  of his own succession through the exclusion   of Edward’s claim through the female line. John  seized the initiative, taking the city of Nantes,   then the ducal treasury at Limoges. However,  despite controlling nearly all of Brittany he  

Had no support from any major French magnate  or bishops, as well as King Philip himself. He   did enjoy the support of the minor clergy, lesser  nobility, and the ordinary folk of his duchy.   Naturally, given Philip’s support for  his nephew’s claim through his wife,  

John of Montfort was drawn into the English  orbit and the so-called War of the Breton   Succession evolved into a proxy conflict within  the larger struggle of the Hundred Years War.   Thus despite the aforementioned Truce of  Espléchin still being in place, Edward agreed  

To back John’s claim. John himself was cornered  and captured in Nantes in late 1341. It was then   that his cause was taken up by his wife Joanna  of Flanders; successive English interventions   succeeded in staving off French control so that  by 1345 Edward gained control of the duchy.  

The war in Brittany would endure for decades  with Edward ultimately victorious in placing   his man as duke; meanwhile, in the wider conflict,  the next years would soon prove a golden era of   English triumphs as both Edward and Philip would  finally join battle near a place called Crécy.