15th April 1450
The Battle of Formigny
In March 1450, the English soldiers that had been waiting to depart England, to halt the French reconquest of Normandy, finally set sail under the command of Sir Thomas Kyriell. These soldiers were the same soldiers which set upon and murdered Bishop Moleyns on January 9th.
The army disembarked at Cherbourg on March 15th. Why Lyriell landed at Cherbourg and not nearer Caen, to join up with Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, is uncertain, but should he have done this the outcome of the conflict would probably been different.
Kyriell took most of the soldiers from the nearby garrisons and increased his army’s size to approximately 4,500 men, some of which came from Somerset. Matthew Gough, a seasoned veteran in the French wars, arrived with 800 men from Bayeux. On April 10th, after a siege which started on March 22nd, the town of Valognes surrendered.
The French, now aware of a new English force in Normandy, sent their own soldiers to contain them. Jean comte de Clermont and 3,000 French soldiers, closed in to the English force whilst they held siege to Valognes. Not far behind him was Arthur de Richemont with 1,200 soldiers who also made his way to intercept the English. However, searching for the English and finding them are two separate things.
Kyriell, after taking Valognes decided to now make towards Caen and to join Somerset. He took his men via a marshland area until he got near to the town of Carentan. A watchman in the church tower warns De Clermont, who was in the town, of the English passing on the causeway on April 14th. De Clermont refuses to engage the larger English force in fear of losing his cavalry, in the quick sands. The local towns people were so enraged they stormed out of the castle to attack the English. Matthew Gough, seeing this, charges at them and sweeps the way clear, reputedly saying “We have crossed in spite of the dogs.” De Clermont then comes out of Carentan and follows the English and advises Richemont of movements.
The English finally camped near the town of Formigny. Kyriell, now aware of the French army nearby, so they set up defences and sent Matthew Gough on towards Bayeux for reinforcements. Kyriell, must have been confident of his position, as he had dug ditches and placed stakes into the ground to counter the French Cavalry, so he stayed in camp all morning on April 15th. Gough, seeing the danger returned quickly. De Clermont arrived at the battlefield and faced the larger English force.
For three hours, after minor probing cavalry attacks by the French, the French brought up two culverins and begin to fire on the mass ranks of English archers. The archers in turn, attacked the culverins and managed to capture them. If Kyriell had followed the archers up with a full attack, it was likely that the French would have been beaten or fled, but he didn’t. The French regrouped and recaptured the culverins and attacked the beleaguered archers. Kyriell sent more troops into the melee and things were still looking good for the English, when Richemont arrives from the South with his 1,200 men.
Both armies disengage. De Claremont to prepare for a charge in conjunction with the newly arrived Richemont, Kyriell to withdraw to a his defensive position.
The combined charge of De Claremont from the West and Richemont from the South was decisive. Matthew Gough and about 800 men managed to fight their way to freedom and made their way to Bayeux, some of the others managed to escape to Caen. Thomas Kyriell and a few of his captains were captured, but most of his other men were slain.
The next morning, the heralds counted 3,774 English dead and buried them in 14 grave pits. The French had relatively light casualties, a reversal of the Agincourt battle. This was the worst defeat the English suffered in over 100 years. The myth of English invincibility on the battle field, had finally been broken.
With most of the local garrisons depleted the French systematically reconquered towns in the vicinity and it would not be long before England lost all of Normandy.