Battle of Mauron, 14 August 1352 (Brittany)
Major battle of the Hundred Years War. The English, led by Sir Walter Bentley, formed up on a hilltop, protected by hedge and ditch, just as at Crecy, with the men-at-arms dismounted in the centre with archers on both flanks. The French were commanded by Guy de Nesle, the defeated commander at Taillebourg, who repeated his tactics from that battle of dismounting the main bulk of his forces while having cavalry attempt to outflank the English archers. The French attack on the English right was successful, and the archers fled, but the French cavalry failed to attack the main English force. Meanwhile, a French attack on foot on the left wing of the English army had been defeated, and the main French attack struggled up the steep hill, after which they were unable to dislodge the English line, and were thrown back by a counterattack. Once in retreat, the battle turned into a disaster for the French, with de Nesle himself killed along with a large number of his knights. The faction of Charles of Blois was crushed, and Brittany made safe for the English for a long period, while the French were still unable to find a way to defeat the new English tactics.
How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (3 October 2000), Battle of Mauron, 14 August 1352, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_mauron.html