Battle of Nájera (Navarrete)

Battle of Nájera (Navarrete)
Part of Castilian Civil War
The Battle of Nájera from a fifteenth-century manuscript of Froissart's Chronicles. The English and Peter of Castile are on the left.
Date 3 April 1367 Location Nájera Result Tactical victory for Peter I
Belligerents
Crown of Castile Kingdom of England • Duchy of Aquitaine • Duchy of Gascony • County of Poitou Kingdom of Majorca Duchy of Brittany County of Foix and Viscounty of Béarn Kingdom of Navarre Other mercenaries: German mercenaries Hainaut mercenaries Norman mercenaries	Crown of Castile Other noblemen: Aragonese noblemen Mercenaries: French mercenaries
Commanders and leaders
Peter of Castile Edward, the Black Prince Jean de Grailly Febus, count of Foix and viscount of Béarn John of Gaunt John Chandos John I, Count of Armagnac James IV, King of Majorca	Count Henry of Trastámara Bertrand du Guesclin Alfonso of Aragon and Foix, Count of Ribagorza and Denia Tello of Castile
Strength
Total: more than 10,000. 6,000 elite European mercenaries 2,000 Aquitaine soldiers 1,000 English soldiers 800 Castilian soldiers 500 English Longbowmen 300 Navarrese soldiers Troops from Majorca Henry deserters and other Spanish followers of King Peter.	Total: more than 4,500 2,500 Castilian soldiers 1,000 elite French mercenaries 1,000 Aragonese soldiers Footsoldiers (escuderos de pie)
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy losses

The Battle of Nájera, also known as the Battle of Navarrete, was fought on 3 April 1367 near Nájera, in the province of La Rioja, Castile. It was an episode of the first Castilian Civil War which confronted King Peter of Castile with his half-brother Count Henry of Trastámara who aspired to the throne; the war involved Castile in the Hundred Years' War. Castilian naval power, far superior to that of France or England, encouraged the two polities to take sides in the civil war, to gain control over the Castilian fleet.

King Peter of Castile was supported by England, Aquitaine, Majorca, Navarra and the best European mercenaries hired by the Black Prince. His rival, Count Henry, was aided by a majority of the nobility and the Christian military organizations in Castile. While neither the Kingdom of France nor the Crown of Aragon gave him official assistance, he had on his side many Aragonese noblemen and the French free companies loyal to his lieutenant the Breton knight and French commander Bertrand du Guesclin. Although the battle ended with a resounding defeat for Henry, it had disastrous consequences for King Peter, the Prince of Wales and England.

After the Treaty of Brétigny favorable to England signed in 1360, ending the Hundred Years' War, France tried to avoid open conflict with England and tried to associate with Castile to gain an advantage. France had to find employment for the mercenaries of the great companies dedicated to pillage now that there was no war. In late 1365, Charles V of France, with the help of Pope Urban V, succeeded in diverting temporarily most of the great companies. Under the pretext of carrying on a crusade against the Moorish Kingdom of Granada, the Pope paid for an expedition to Spain. Later on, France and Aragon paid to recruit these troops for Henry's cause, removing the free companies from France and supporting the ascent to power in Castile of their favorite. The strength of the army of Henry rested primarily on these companies, groups of mercenaries that had participated in the Hundred Years' War, composed mainly by Bretons, Gascons, English and French.

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