Battle of Castillon

Battle of Castillon
Part of the Hundred Years' War
The death of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury at the battle of Castillon from Vigilles de Charles VII by Martial d'Auvergne
Date 17 July 1453 Location Castillon-la-Bataille, Gascony Result Decisive French victory End of Hundred Years War in France's favour
Belligerents
Kingdom of England	Kingdom of France Duchy of Brittany
Commanders and leaders
John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury †	Jean Bureau
Strength
c. est. 6,000-10,000	c. est. 7,000-10,000
Casualties and losses
4,000 dead, wounded, or captured	100 dead or wounded

Decisive French victory

The Battle of Castillon was a battle fought on 17 July 1453 in Gascony near the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne (later Castillon-la-Bataille). A decisive French victory, it is considered to mark the end of the Hundred Years' War. As a result of the battle, the English lost all landholdings in France, except Calais.

The term "Hundred Years' War" is misleading, as the fighting between the English and the French during the period of 1337 to 1453 was more a series of conflicts than a single prolonged war. Thus, the conflict(s) can be examined from the vantage point of various stages. The breakdown of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes began the final stage of the Hundred Years' War. This period from 1420 to 1453 is characterized by Anne Curry as the “wars of the Treaty of Troyes” for control of the crown of France.

After the 1451 French capture of Bordeaux by the armies of Charles VII, the Hundred Years' War appeared to be at an end. The English primarily focused on reinforcing their only remaining possession, Calais, and watching over the seas. However, after three hundred years of Plantagenet rule, the citizens of Bordeaux considered themselves subjects of the English monarch and sent messengers to Henry VI of England demanding that he recapture the province.

On 17 October 1452, John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury landed near Bordeaux with a force of 3,000 men. A feared and famous military leader, Talbot was rumored to be seventy-five or eighty years old, but it is more likely that he was around sixty-six at the time. With the cooperation of the townspeople, Talbot easily took the city on October 23. The English subsequently took control over most of Western Gascony by the end of the year. The French knew an expedition was coming, but had expected it to come through Normandy. After this surprise, Charles VII prepared his forces over the winter, and by the spring of 1453 he was ready to counter-attack.

Charles invaded Guyenne with three separate armies, all headed for Bordeaux. Talbot received 3,000 additional reinforcements from his fourth and favorite son, Viscount Lisle. The French laid siege to Castillon on July 8. Talbot acceded to the pleas of the town commanders, abandoning his original plan to wait for reinforcements at Bordeaux, and set out to relieve the garrison.

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Wikipedia