Battle of Pontvallain[edit]

At Le Mans, Guesclin received intelligence that Grandison's force was nearby at Mayet, but was on
the move in an attempt to join with Knolles. Guesclin, however, outmanoeuvred him. [49] Despite his
army being near-exhausted, Guesclin commenced a night march, which brought him to Pontvallain
by the early morning of 4 December. The French were able to attack Grandison's army with no
warning,[53] which was a great psychological advantage to them. The English were taken by surprise
and Sumption speculates that Grandison may only have had time to form rough lines with his men
before fierce close-quarters fighting began.[52] In the earlier phase of the war, English
longbowmen had largely neutralised the French cavalry but in this encounter, the barding
(armouring) of the French horses rendered the English archery largely ineffective. [18] The English
attempted an escape through the woods,[49] but were unable to retreat northwards, where the slightly
higher ground may have provided them with a defensible position. Soon, with heavy losses on both
sides, Grandison's force was penned in and wiped out beneath the walls of the Château de la
Faigne.[52]
Among the French casualties was the Marshal of France, Arnoul d'Audrehem, who was mortally
wounded. The English army died almost to a man. Grandison and his captains, who included Philip
Courtenay and Hugh Despenser,[49] were among the few survivors, and were taken prisoner by
Guesclin. With Grandison's defeat, the largest remaining English force in the area was Fitzwalter's.
Sancerre, who was still "a few hours march away",[54] on receiving news of the battle at Pontvallain
turned south to confront Fitzwalter. Guesclin, meanwhile, organised his prisoners, sent a portion of
his army to chase Knolles, and moved towards Fitzwalter with the balance. Fitzwalter managed to
avoid being surprised in open ground as Grandison had been, and marched south, intending to take
refuge within the fortified Vaas Abbey.[54]

Battle of Vaas[edit]
The abbey at Vaas was garrisoned by Knolles's men, and Fitzwalter's men assumed it to be a
haven. However, the French forces led by Sancerre reached the abbey at nearly the same time as
the English. The garrison were unable to organise a proper defence before they had to attempt to
fend off an immediate assault from Sancerre. According to Sumption, it is likely that Fitzwalter's force
managed to enter the outer gate, but after bitter fighting Sancerre's troops forced their way into the
abbey. The English defence, such as it was, collapsed. The arrival of Guesclin effectively put an end
to the battle, which became a rout. What Sumption considers reliable estimates attested the English
losses to be over 300, exclusive of prisoners.[52] These included Fitzwalter himself, captured by the
seneschal of Toulouse, and most of his lieutenants. Guesclin held Fitzwalter as his personal
prisoner; possibly, Sumption adds, like the contemporary Pierre d'Orgemont when he related the
tale, Guesclin believed Fitzwalter to be the marshal of England. [52]

Aftermath[edit]

Bressuire Castle in 2006; most of the English survivors of the Battle of Pontvallain died outside its walls.
The few English survivors of the battles still at large scattered in confusion. [55] John Minsterworth's
force, which had not been engaged at either battle, immediately removed itself to Brittany. Others
made their way to Saint-Sauveur, south of the Loire. Calveley returned to Poitou. Around 300 of the
English remnants joined together and overran Courcillon Castle, near Château-du-Loir, and then
marched to the Loire, closely pursued by Sancerre. [55] Many of Knolles's men abandoned their
positions garrisoning castles, including Rillé and Beaufort la Vallée, and also headed to the Loire.
[55]
 This group, which included many wounded men and pillagers, joined up with the other English
force,[56] making it "several hundred" in strength.[54]
Guesclin maintained his close pursuit, and his constant ambushes and raids depleted the English
numbers. They eventually reached the relative safe haven of the ford at Saint-Maur.[55] Calveley's
force, which had taken no part in either of the battles, [57] had already crossed. A little beyond the ford
was a strong English garrison at a fortified abbey, garrisoned by the English. Here, some of the
English went east, while the majority continued towards Bordeaux. This group continued to be
pursued by Guesclin, now joined again by Sancerre, deep into Poitou, where it was eventually run to
ground outside Bressuire Castle. This was also occupied by an English garrison, but, fearing that if
they opened the gates they would admit the French army alongside the English, they refused to do
so.[55] As a result, what remained of this remnant of the Pontvallain army was wiped out under the
walls.[56]
Sancerre proceeded to regain the castles previously captured by Knolles during his chevauchée.
Guesclin made his way back to Saint-Maur where he negotiated with the English inside the abbey –
led by Sir John Cresswell and Calveley – and arranged their release on payment of a ransom. The
price of freedom for the English is unknown. Soon after, Guesclin returned to Le Mans. [58]
There is uncertainty as to exactly where in Brittany Knolles retired to [59] with the booty he had
garnered.[45] Whether to Derval, to Concarneau, or to one and then to the other,[45] he was soon joined
by Minsterworth. They decided to return to England with most of their force early the following year.
They made their way to the port of Pointe Saint-Mathieu, repeatedly ambushed by the French en
route. When they arrived there were only two small ships available, inadequate for the several
hundred men with Knolles and Minsterworth. [60] Their numbers were swollen by English garrisons
which had abandoned their posts and independently made their way to the port. [45] Minsterworth was
one of the relative few who could buy a passage; most of those who remained, possibly amounting
to around 500 men,[45] were massacred by the French, who soon caught up with them. [60]

Little remained in 2011 of Knolles's castle at Derval.

The return of Minsterworth to England "began a long period of recrimination", politically. [29] Although
he was as culpable as Knolles or any of the other commanders, Minsterworth attempted to avoid
almost all the blame for the military disaster that had befallen them by putting the responsibility on to
Knolles.[61] In July 1372 the King's council effectively agreed with him, and condemned Knolles for the
defeat.[61][62] The English nobility also blamed Knolles, because of his lower social status. [62] Despite
this, Minsterworth was unable to exculpate himself completely, and the council later had him
arrested and charged with traducing Knolles.[63]
Sumption argues that the Pontvallain campaign and its aftermath should be seen as a "spectacular
demonstration of Du Guesclin's capacity to be everywhere at once" and an "extraordinary
demonstration of [his] unconventional skills as a commander". [64] Many knights were captured by the
French, including John Clanvowe, Edmund Daumarle and William Neville,[65] and were conveyed to
Paris in open carts and strictly imprisoned.[58] Others spent great sums evading capture, often
borrowing money from colleagues to do so.[66] Fitzwalter was held prisoner until he was able to raise
a ransom by mortgaging his Cumberland estates to Edward III's mistress Alice Perrers on ruinous
terms.[67]

Legacy[edit]
Knolles's campaign has been estimated to have cost Edward at least £66,667 (equivalent to
£34,000,000 in 2019), based on his known requests for loans. [68][note 8] The historian May
McKisack suggests that the chevauchée that preceded the battle yielded "plunder but little military
benefit".[72] Maurice Keen notes that even though Knolles had reached the gates of Paris, "he had
little to show for it when he reached Brittany",[73] which illustrated how much the Hundred Years' War
had changed in character. According to Christopher Allmand, "the days of Crécy and Poitiers were
over".[15] Pontvallain, argues Alexander Gillespie, "destroyed the reputation the English had for
invincibility on the battlefield". [74]
England continued losing territory in Aquitaine until 1374, and as they lost land, they lost the
allegiance of the local lords.[75] Pontvallain ended King Edward's short-lived strategy of promoting an
alliance with Charles, King of Navarre.[76] It also marked the last use of great companies – large
forces of mercenaries – by England in France; most of their original leaders had been killed.
Mercenaries were still considered useful, but they were increasingly absorbed into the main armies
of both sides.[77]
Five hundred years later, when the French lost Alsace-Lorraine to Germany, the Pontvallain
campaign was used jingoistically by the French as an example of a spectacular recovery of territory,
to keep alive hope of eventually similarly recovering Alsace-Lorraine. [78]