Battle of Craon
Battle of Craon | |||||||
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Part of the French Wars of Religion | |||||||
Coat of arms of Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
French Royal Army England |
Catholic League of France Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Juan del Águila Duke of Mercœur Marquis de Sablé | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,500 dead[2] Hundreds of prisoners[2] All the artillery taken[2] | 24 dead or wounded[2] |
The Battle of Craon took place between 21–24 May 1592, between the
Background
The commander of the Catholic League of France in the region, the Duke of Mercœur, Governor of Brittany, ordered his chief lieutenant, Urbain de Laval Boisdauphin, to strengthen Craon. In 1590, Mercœur rebelled against the accession to the throne of France of Henry of Navarre and became the head of the Catholic League of Brittany, aiming to restore the autonomy of the former Duchy, and proclaimed protector of the Catholic Church in the region of Brittany.
The Duke of Mercœur had the support of the Catholic King, Philip II of Spain, who sent him 7,000 Spanish soldiers who landed at Blavet (Port Louis) under the command of Don Juan del Águila.[1][2][3]
On 8 February 1592,
Battle of Craon
The defense of the city of Craon by the Catholic troops against the French troops of Montpensier and Conti was fierce. On 22 May 1592 the Spanish-Catholic army reached Craon under Don Juan del Águila and the Duke of Mercœur. The Spanish-Catholic troops charged against the left flank, taking by surprise the Anglo-French besiegers. At the same time the besieged angrily attacked the right flank, finally achieving a brilliant victory.[2][5] Under cover of night, Montpensier retired to Laval and Rennes.[1]
The Spaniards captured all the artillery, ammunition carts, flags, equipment, and supplies from the enemy.[2][6] The English soldiers captured were given no quarter, and were all executed, in part in retaliation for the cruelty received from the English on the wrecks of the Spanish Armada.[2][7]
Aftermath
Jérôme d'Arradon, a French commander, who was entrusted with the command of Hennebont and Blavet by Mercœur, quickly realized that the Spaniards behaved as their conquerors and did not recognize any authority other than their King, Philip of Spain.[2]
Just a few days later,
See also
- Catholic League
- Brittany
- Duchy of Brittany
- Edict of Nantes
- War of the Three Henrys
- French Wars of Religion
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Pierre Miquel. Les Guerres de Religion p.382
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Abbé Angot. Un soldat catholique de la bataille de Craon (1592)
- ISBN 978-1350016996.
- ^ MacCaffrey p.155
- ISBN 978-1350016996.
- ISBN 978-1350016996.
- ^ Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1897). Armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Aragón y Castilla. Vol. III. Madrid. p. 84.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
References
- Pierre Miquel. Les Guerres de Religion. Club France Loisirs (1980) ISBN 2-7242-0785-8
- Abbé Angot. Un soldat catholique de la bataille de Craon (23 May 1592). 1896. [1]. (in French)
- Martínez Laínez, Fernando/Sánchez de Toca, José María. Tercios de España. La infantería legendaria. Editorial EDAF 2006. (in Spanish)
- Holt, Mack P. (2005). The French Wars of Religion (1562–1629). Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-83872-X.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Thompson, J. W. (1909). The Wars of Religion in France, 1559-1576. Chicago.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 0-582-28533-X.
- MacCaffrey, Wallace T (1994). Elizabeth I: War and Politics, 1588-1603. Princeton Paperbacks Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691036519.
- John S Nolan. Sir John Norreys and the Elizabethan Military World (University of Exeter. 1997) ISBN 0-85989-548-3
- Chisholm, Hugh. Edition (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.