ValeOfShadows on Nostr: April 15, 1450, Formigny, France The Battle of Formigny was one of the last battles ...

April 15, 1450, Formigny, France

The Battle of Formigny was one of the last battles of the Hundred Years war and resulted in the French conquering Normandy from the English, as well as being the first battle where cannons were used in an open field battle. In the year 1449 the English conquered the town of Fogueres from the French. As a result King Charles VII of France used the capture of the town as an excuse to invade Normandy. By late 1449 the French had captured much of Normandy with the exception of the port cities of Caen and Cherbourg. In January of 1450 an English army led by Sir Thomas Kyriell left England and arrived at Cherbourg. Kyriell's army left Cherbourg and marched south, where the English recaptured the city of Valognes and continued advancing. The English switched the direction of their march and marched east towards the town of Formigny after learning of a large French garrison in the city of Carentan. Two French armies began shadowing the English led by Jean de Clermont and Arthur de Richemont.

On the night of April 14th the English arrived at Formigny and constructed an army camp, as well as defenses close to the town. On the morning of April 15th the English took up positions and French scouts were spotted sometime later. An hour later the French army under Clermont arrived. The French had around 3k men initially, while the English had around 4.5k men. Clermont observed that the English were dug in near the bridge leading to Formigny, so he decided to use cannons against them. The French had a new type of cannon known as a culverin invented by French brothers Jean and Gaspar Bureau. Culverins were mounted on a mobile carriage making them easier to move around vs the older bombard type cannons. The culverins began firing at the English postion. After significant bombardment by the French, English longbowmen advanced toward the bank of the river and began firing volleys of arrows at the French cannons. The French cannoneers were eventually forced to abandon their guns. The English then crossed the bridge and captured the cannons and took them back to their side of the bridge.

At this point in the battle the French army under Richemont arrived with 2k men. The English initially thought the French were English reinforcements, but when they saw the French banners they thought otherwise. Realizing that he was now in a bad position Kyriell ordered his men to abandon their position and fall back to a new battle line. While the English were withdrawing French cavalry crossed the bridge and recaptured the cannons. The French cavalry then attacked and routed the English cavalry as they were withdrawing. The army under Richemont then advanced on the English. The army under Clermont then crossed the bridge to attack the English. At this point Kyriell took up position around Formigny, but the English unable to form a proper battle line and were overwhelmed by the French attack. Kyriell was captured and most of the English army was captured, killed, or fled. By August of 1450 the French had completely reconquered Normandy.