Battle of Val-de-Saire

The Battle of Val-de-Saire in 1001, saw the victory of Neel I of Saint-Sauveur, Viscount of Cotentin, over the army of Anglo-Saxon king Æthelred II.

Early in the 11th century, the Vikings launched numerous looting raids into England, killing, burning and collecting a huge loot. Knowing that the Normans of France open their ports to longships to enter, Vikings can more easily raid England. The King of England, Æthelred wants to get rid of accomplices (easier to reach) by launching a major naval expedition in Normandy. The English military campaign has two objectives. First, to punish the Normans for assisting in and profiting from the Viking raids, the Anglo-Saxon troops plan to plunder the fields and villages and massacre many Norman villagers to reduce the resources the Norman elite have at their disposal. Second, the king wishes to progress to the capture Rouen, the capital of Normandy, and capture the young Duke Richard to add the Duchy of Normandy to his crown. Æthelred knows that the Duke of Normandy, Richard II is very young and probably unable to organize resistance. He believes the invasion of Normandy will be straightforward. Besides, the concept of a retribution campaign was popular with his nobles and commoners; to not prosecute an invasion of some sort would have decreased his popularity.

For the campaign, Æthelred recruited all the greatest warriors in England. This inevitably meant that the Normans knew an invasion would be imminent. The Anglo-Saxons were a very important and powerful army which could rely on the ability of the nobles to call upon the service of their men at arms. The Val de Saire is a coastal part of Normandy on the Cotentin Peninsula that was the least protected by sea because it was far from the home port of the Norman fleet. It was planned that the English conduct the landing of their troops on the gently sloping beach near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. Arriving in the Cotentin in 1001, Normandy (in present Lower Normandy), the English soldiers realized the first objective that was assigned to them, namely to massacre and pillage in retaliation for assistance to the Vikings. This first objective achieved, the Anglo-Saxon army began to move towards Rouen, preparing to reduce the Duchy and possibly capture the young Duke of Normandy.

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