Background[edit]

Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France (r. 1328–1350) and Edward III of

England (r. 1327–1377), on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the lands held
by Edward in France should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in
breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to
last 116 years. In 1340 Edward claimed the French Crown, proclaiming himself the rightful heir
through his mother, Isabella of France.[1][2][3]

France after the Treaty of Brétigny – French territory in green, English territory in pink

The English campaigned frequently on the continent, gaining a long run of military successes
against larger forces across France.[4][5] In 1356 a large French army was decisively defeated at
the Battle of Poitiers, in which King John II of France (r. 1350–1364), the son and successor of King
Philip, was captured.[6] This eventually led to peace being agreed, and the Treaty of Brétigny was
signed in 1360. It ceded large parts of south-west France to England as its sovereign territory, while
Edward renounced all claims to the French throne. The terms of Brétigny were meant to untangle
the feudal responsibilities that had caused so much conflict, and, as far as the English were
concerned, would concentrate their territory in an expanded version of Aquitaine. This had been part
of the English royal estate in France since the reign of Henry II (r. 1154–1189),[7] and by the treaty it
and Poitou became fiefdoms of Edward's oldest son, Edward the Black Prince. John was to pay
three million écus as his ransom.[note 1] The French were deeply unhappy with this arrangement. [9]
In 1369, on the pretext that Edward had failed to observe the terms of the treaty, Charles V (r. 1364–
1380), the son and heir of King John, declared war once again. In August a French offensive
attempted to recapture castles in Normandy.[10] Men who had fought[11] in earlier English campaigns
and had already won fortune and fame, were summoned from their retirements [12] and new, younger
men were given commands.[13] Events went poorly for England almost from the start: James
Audley and John Chandos, two important English commanders, were killed in the first six months;
[14]
 while the French made territorial gains in the west, re-occupying the strategic provincial capital
of Poitiers and capturing many castles.[12]

French strategy[edit]
This period of the Hundred Years' War, starting in 1369 and known as the Carolinian phase, was
significantly different from the previous one. The French were well prepared militarily, and
immediately went on the offensive.[15] Charles was well situated in terms of financial and human
resources.[16] Edward III was growing senile, his heir was crippled by illness, and once the turmoil of
the previous phase of the war had subsided Charles was able to benefit from France having three
times the population and wealth of England. [17] The French also benefited from technological
improvements, such as in barding, the armouring of horses.[18]
Fighting during this phase took place largely in Aquitaine, meaning the English had extremely long
borders to defend. These were easy for small French parties to penetrate, which they did to great
effect. They relied on Fabian tactics:[15] avoiding pitched battles and using attrition to wear down the
English[16] and only attacking dispersed or isolated English forces.[19] This was now an offensive war
for the French, and the English were ill-prepared for it. [15]

English strategy[edit]

The 1370 campaign was part of a multi-faceted offensive by

the English (in red), with Knolles marching west from Calais

(although been turned away from Normandy and Burgundy); and

the Black Prince and the Earl of Pembroke occupying Aquitaine

and attacking Poitou, further west. The French (in blue), led by

Guesclin, marched south to intercept Knolles. Knolles's

campaign route through northern France, August–September

1370, and his proximity to both Pontvallain and Derval.

Theatres of war in 1370: The English-controlled Duchy of

Aquitaine (in red), and the French counties of Anjou (in dark

blue) and Maine (in light blue). Show all

The English planned to use two armies. One would operate out of Aquitaine in south-west France
and be commanded by the experienced Black Prince. It would concentrate on reversing recent
French gains in Poitou. This force was hampered by the Black Prince being so ill that he had to be
transported in a litter. As a result, he was unable to lead the campaign personally and needed to
delegate the command.[12] The other English force would operate out of the English enclave
of Calais in north-east France.[20]
The north-eastern army was to be commanded by Robert Knolles, a veteran with considerable
experience of independent command in the previous phase of the war and in the Breton War of
Succession. Knolles contracted on 20 June to lead the King's army, although a week earlier he had
agreed to share the command with Sir Alan Buxhull, Sir Thomas Grandison and Sir John Bourchier.
On 1 July they were jointly appointed King's lieutenants. Both the King and his council were aware of
the problems that could be caused by giving the overall command to Knolles, whose social status
was lower than that of his peers. To prevent the English army from dividing and going separate
ways – and in what the historian Jonathan Sumption calls "a prescient precaution"[21] – the captains
were required to sign a contract before they left agreeing not only to serve the King faithfully, but
also not to allow any divisions to open up between them, and to make decisions collectively. [22]

Prelude[edit]
English movements[edit]
Knolles landed at Calais in August 1370 with an army of between 4,000[23] and 6,000 mounted men.
[24]
 There he awaited further orders from the King. None were forthcoming, so he proceeded on [24] a
"meandering"[25] plundering raid through northern France. According to the historian T. F. Tout, the
French allowed Knolles and his army "to wander where he would". [24][note 2] Knolles crossed north-
eastern France using what by now was a traditional English tactic, the chevauchée – a large-scale
mounted raid. This was intended not only to inflict as much destruction as possible on the
countryside they passed through, but, by doing so, draw out the French army into a pitched battle.
[15]
 Journeying through the Somme region, Knolles made a show of force outside Reims, marched
to Troyes, and then swung west to approach Paris from the direction of Nemours. As they marched,
Knolles's army captured many towns, which they would then raze if the French refused to pay the
ransoms the English demanded. [27][note 3] He reached Paris on 24 September, but the city was well
garrisoned and well defended. Knolles could not enter, and the French defenders would not leave
their positions. He tried to draw them out to fight them in the open, but the French would not take the
bait.[27] The contemporary Chronique des Règnes de Jean II et de Charles V describes how, even
though "the said English set fire to a great number of villages around Paris ... the King was advised,
for the better, that they should not then be fought with." [29]
By October Knolles had moved south and was marching towards Vendôme.[30] He captured and
garrisoned castles and monasteries between the Rivers Loir and Loire and positioned himself to be
able to march into either Poitou or southern Normandy. The former would enable him to support the
Black Prince; the latter might be necessary if Edward concluded an agreement with Charles of
Navarre, who was offering his lands in northern Normandy as a base for the English. Many of the
subordinate captains, who considered themselves better-born than Knolles, deplored his apparent
lack of martial spirit. They found a leader in Sir John Minsterworth, an ambitious but unstable knight
from the Welsh Marches, who mocked Knolles as "the old freebooter".[31] Much of Knolles's strategy
was based on that employed in the campaigns of the 1340s and 1350s; particularly the capturing of
enemy fortresses, to either garrison them with English troops or levy a ransom. [32][note 4] Meanwhile, the
English campaign in the west, which was nominally commanded by the Black Prince and actually
by John of Gaunt and the Earl of Pembroke,[34] captured Limoges after a five-day siege, taking many
prisoners whom they held for ransom and seizing much booty. [35][note 5]
Divisions among the English[edit]
And before the feast of Christmas, the chief men of the army, out of envy and self-importance, split into four parts, to
the great harm of England, and great comfort of the enemies: that is to say, the Lord of Grandson with his men in one
part, the Lord FitzWalter in another, and Sir John Minsterworth in the third part, and Sir Robert Knolles in the fourth.[38]

The Anonimalle Chronicle, 64–65.

The English system of shared leadership led to jealousies between their captains regarding how the
booty and the many ransoms they had collected should be distributed. [39][note 6] In November 1370
acrimony broke out among the English captains over the issue of where to spend the winter. Knolles
was aware that the French were closing in, and of the risk this posed. Not wishing to stay encamped
in an area where a surprise attack was possible, he proposed withdrawing westward into Brittany.
His captains, led by Sir Alan Buxhull, strongly disagreed, preferring to find winter quarters where
they were. This would enable them to be able to continue raiding the surrounding countryside. They
were confident they could defeat any French attack. [41] Their concern to keep pillaging the
countryside was in large part forced upon them: the government had only paid their and their army's
wages for thirteen weeks, and they were expected not just to live off the land, but pay themselves
from it.[27][note 7]
Knolles threatened to leave, and when the other English commanders refused to join him, did so,
taking the largest retinue from the army with him[41] – "doubtless with considerable booty", remarks
the medievalist Kenneth Fowler.[45] With Knolles gone, the remaining 4,000 men of the English
force[46] divided into three forces. One was under the dual command of Thomas Grandison and Hugh
Calveley, the other two were commanded by Walter Fitzwalter and John Minsterworth.[47] These three
forces, in turn, went separate ways, which maximised their opportunities to forage for supplies and to
loot.[41] Fowler suggests that Minsterworth was probably the first to leave. [46] On the evening of 3
December, Knolles was some way to the west, Grandison's force of between 600 and 1,200 was
spread out along a river between Pontvallain and Mayet, and Fitzwalter was several miles to the
south. The location of Minsterworth's force is no longer known. [41]

French movements[edit]

Bertrand du Guesclin is appointed constable of France by King Charles V in 1370; from a contemporary
manuscript.

Bertrand du Guesclin was appointed constable of France on 2 October, in direct response to

Knolles's campaign.[46] Charles considered that Du Guesclin had the necessary skills in leading small
forces and in irregular warfare to implement the Fabian approach he had decided on. [48] On 24
October, Guesclin sealed a "pact of brotherhood-in-arms" with Olivier de Clisson, an
experienced Breton commander, and by 6 November Du Guesclin was in Caen raising an army.
[49]
 Du Guesclin concentrated his forces at Caen during November, and was joined there by
reinforcements under the Marshals Mouton de Blainville and Arnoul d'Audrehem as well as a Breton
contingent under de Clisson. Du Guesclin thus concentrated about 4,000 men. [50]
A second force of about 1,200 men assembled at Châtellerault, under Marshal Sancerre. This then
moved towards the English from the east, while Du Guesclin began to move on him from the north.
[50]
 On 1 December Du Guesclin left Caen with his army – "One of those marches of which he had the
secret", said a contemporary chronicler,[51] – and marched south. One of the most important aspects
of the Pontvallain campaign was the speed with which the French moved: Du Guesclin and his
forces reached Le Mans, a journey of 100 miles (160 km), two days later.[49][52]