Battle of Baugé

Battle of Baugé
Part of the Hundred Years' War
Battle of Baugé
Date 22 March 1421 Location Baugé, France Result Franco-Scottish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France Kingdom of Scotland	Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan, Gilbert de Lafayette, Marshal of France	Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence † Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset
Strength
5,000	4,000 Only 1,500 deployed
Casualties and losses
light	1,000 dead, 500 captured

The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and a Franco-Scots army on 22 March 1421 at Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War. The English army was led by the king's brother Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, while the Franco-Scots were led by both John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan, and Gilbert de Lafayette, the Marshal of France. English strength was 4,000 men, although only 1,500 deployed, against 5,000 French and Scots.

Henry V, with the intention of resuming the war, sailed from England to France with a force of about 10,500. He then pursued a highly successful military campaign, including the decisive victory at the Battle of Agincourt, and regained from the French crown much of England's previously held lands in France.

The Scots had been in an alliance with France since 1295. In 1419 the situation in France was desperate. Normandy was lost to the English and Paris to the Burgundians. France was in a state of an ongoing civil war between the Royalist faction and the supporters of the dukes of Burgundy. In these deteriorating circumstances, the Dauphin appealed to the Scots for help. A Scottish army was assembled under the leadership of John, Earl of Buchan and Archibald, Earl of Wigtown and from late 1419 to 1421 the Scottish army became the mainstay of the Dauphin’s defence of the lower Loire valley.

When Henry returned to England in 1421, he left his heir presumptive, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, in charge of the remaining army. Following the King's instructions, Clarence led 4000 men in raids through the Anjou and Maine. This chevauchée met with little resistance, and by Good Friday, 21 March 1421, the English army had made camp near the little town of Vieil-Baugé. The Franco-Scots army of about 5000 also arrived in the Vieil-Baugé area to block the English army's progress. It was commanded by the Earl of Buchan and the new Marshal of France, the Sieur de Lafayette; however, the English forces were dispersed, and significantly many of the English archers had ridden off in search of plunder or forage. On Easter Saturday, one of these foraging groups captured a Scots man-at-arms who they brought before the Duke of Clarence. Clarence was keen to engage the enemy; however, he had a problem: the following day was Easter Sunday, one of the most holy days in the Christian calendar, when a battle would be unthinkable. A two-day delay was also deemed as out of the question. According to the chronicles of Walter Bower both commanders agreed to a short truce for Easter.

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