The Battle of Poitiers 1356
The Battle of Poitiers on September 19th 1356 is regarded as the last battle of the "Edwardian" phase of the Hundred Years War between England and France. The English army was led by Edward III's eldest son, Prince Edward "The Black Prince" who had won his spurs at Crecy some ten years earlier. The French army was led by King John himself, accompanied by most of the nobility of France as well as his 14 year old son and heir, Philip.
As is our rule in Battles For Wargamers, we do not list for particular rules, but rather a broad outline of forces and events that you can use to your own favourite ruleset.
Working on a scale of 1:50 men
ENGLISH ARMY
Left Flank
Earl of Warwick - Knight - sub-commander
Earl of Oxford - Knight - sub-commander
Dismounted Knights (500 men) 10 figures - elite, veteran. heavy armour, swords and shields
Medium Infantry (500 men) 10 figures - regular, steady, light/minimal armour, spear and shields
Longbowmen (1500 men) 30 figures - veteran, excellent shots, unarmoured, longbow and side arms
Centre Division
Edward the Black Prince - Knight - CinC
Sir John Chandos - Knight - sub-commander
Dismounted Knights (1000 men) 20 figures - elite, veteran, heavy armour, swords and shields
Dismounted Squires (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, veteran, heavy armour, swords and shields
Dismounted Men At Arms (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, steady, armoured, halberds/bills
Right Flank
Earl of Salisbury - Knight - sub-commander
Earl of Suffolk - Knight - sub-commander
Dismounted Knights (500 men) 10 figures - elite, veteran. heavy armour, swords and shields
Medium Infantry (500 men) 10 figures - regular, steady, light/minimal armour, spear and shields
Longbowmen (1500 men) 30 figures - veteran, excellent shots, unarmoured, longbow and side arms
A total of 160 wargames figures + commanders
FRENCH ARMY
Forlorn Hope
Jean de Clermont - Knight - sub-commander
Arnoul D'Audrehem - Knight - sub-commander
Mounted Knights (400 men) 8 figures - elite, impetuous, heavy armour, barded horses, lance & shield
Mounted Knights (400 men) 8 figures - elite, impetuous, heavy armour, barded horses, lance & shield
Vanguard
Gautier De Brienne - Knight - sub-commander
Men-At-Arms (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, steady, armoured, halberds/polearms
Militia (1000 men) 20 figures - trained, poor, light/minimal armour, swords & sidearms
Crossbowmen (1500 men) 30 figures - regular, steady, light armour, crossbow & sidearms
1st Division
Dauphin Charles - Knight - sub-commander
Men-At-Arms (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, steady, armoured, halberds/polearms
Light Infantry (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, steady, light/minimal armour, spear and shields
Militia (1000 men) 20 figures - trained, poor, light/minimal armour, swords & sidearms
2nd Division
Philippe D'Orleans - Knight - sub-commander
Men-At-Arms (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, steady, armoured, halberds/polearms
Light Infantry (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, steady, light/minimal armour, spear and shields
Militia (1000 men) 20 figures - trained, poor, light/minimal armour, swords & sidearms
3rd Division
King John of France - Knight - CinC
Geoffroi De Charny - Knight - sub-commander
Dismounted Knights (1000 men) 20 figures - elite, impetuous, heavy armour, swords and shields
Dismounted Squires (1000 men) 20 figures - regular, impetuous, heavy armour, swords and shields
Men-At-Arms (2000 men) 40 figures - regular, steady, armoured, halberds/polearms
Militia (1000 men) 20 figures - trained, poor, light/minimal armour, swords & sidearms
Crossbowmen (500 men) 10 figures - regular, steady, light armour, crossbow & sidearms
A total of 316 wargames figures + commanders
The battlefield should have a gentle, steadily increasing slope from one end to the other, with the French positioning at the lower end facing uphill and the English on the top of the slope facing downhill. There should also be some hedgerows along the upper slope that in reality the longbowmen positioned themselves behind.
THE BATTLE AS IT HAPPENED
The Black Prince positioned his men among the hedges and tress in a defensive formation, the longbowmen standing behind a particularly prominent thick hedge through which a road ran at right angles.
King John was advised by his Scottish commander, Sir William Douglas, that the French attack should be on foot, as horses were particularly vulnerable to English archers, the arrows fired with a high trajectory falling on the unprotected necks and backs of the mounts. King John took this advice, his army in the main leaving its horses with the baggage and forming up on foot.
The French attack began with a mounted charge by the forlorn hope of knights commanded by two Marshals of France; Barons Clermont and Audrehem. The force reached a gallop, closing in to charge down the road into the centre of the English position. The attack was a disaster, with those knights not shot down by the English archers dragged from their horses and killed or secured as prisoners for later ransom.
The English archers then began firing at the massed French infantry as they made their way forward in heavy armour up the slope. The 1st Division commanded by the Dauphin finally reached the English lines, having suffered a hail of arrows but with far fewer casualties and disorder than if they had been on horseback. Savage and brutal hand to hand fighting ensued and the opposing forces fought for over two hours before the French, exhausted, began to fall back in retreat. However their retreat was met by the 2nd Division's advance and the the two merging caused considerable confusion and disarray in the ranks, and soon both Divisions were retreating. King John decided to try and steady his army by advancing his 3rd Division, encouraging some retreating men to turn again and join his advancing men.
From the crest of the slope, the English too were getting a confused vision of events before them, seeing the 1st Division repulsed and then the 2nd Division retreat without even making contact with them, the Black Prince thought the entire French army was leaving the battlefield. Eager not to let them slip away, he ordered some of his knights to mount their horses and in an encircling move to the right, trap the retreating French while his main army charged forward down the slopes to give chase.
Mounted English knights appearing at the rear of the French army led King John's men to panic and run in any direction to avoid being trapped. King John and his son, Philip the Bold, found themselves encircled by English soldiers and surrendered. Fleeing French soldiers found the city of Poitiers gates locked and unable to escape many were killed or captured including a large number of French nobles. Reports after the battle quoted 3,000 French dead with only 40 English being killed, and French prisoners included the King and his son, 17 great lords, 13 Counts, 5 Viscounts, and over 100 Knights.
