Battle of Ivry

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Battle of Ivry
Part of the
Anglo–Spanish War

Henry IV at the battle of Ivry, by Charles de Steuben (1838–1842).
Date14 March 1590
Location
Result Royalist victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France French Crown
Supported by:
 England
Catholic League
Supported by:
 Spain
Commanders and leaders
Marshal de Biron
Duc de Mayenne
Duke of Aumale  (POW)
Spain Count of Egmont  
Strength
12,000 infantry,
3,000 cavalry
13,000 infantry,
4,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
500 6,000 killed or wounded
4,000 prisoners

The Battle of Ivry was fought on 14 March 1590, during the

Duc de Mayenne and Spanish forces under the Count of Egmont. Henry's forces were victorious and he went on to lay siege to Paris.[1]

The battle occurred on the plain of Épieds, Eure near Ivry (later renamed Ivry-la-Bataille), Normandy. Ivry-la-Bataille is located on the river Eure and about thirty miles west of Paris, at the boundary between the Île-de-France and the Beauce regions.

Prelude

Henry IV had moved rapidly to besiege

Queen Elizabeth I.[2]

The battle

At first light on 14 March 1590, the two armies engaged.[4]

Henry at Battle of Ivry

Before the battle, the king famously spurred his troops:

"Companions! If you today run at risk with me, I will also run at risk with you; I will be victorious or die. God is with us. Look at his and our enemies. Look at your king. Hold your ranks, I beg of you; and if the heat of battle makes you leave them, think also of rallying back: therein lies the key to victory. You will find it among those three trees that you can see over there on your right side. If you lose your ensigns, cornets or flags, do never lose sight of my panache; you will always find it on the road to honour and victory."

The action began with a few deadly cannon volleys from the six pieces of the royal artillery, which was under the command of the master,

Almaine
across the open field. The mercenaries, who were mostly sympathetic to the Protestant cause, fired in the air and put their spears in rest.

Mayenne charged with such a fury that after a terrible fusillade and a struggle of a full quarter of an hour which left the field covered with dead, following the defection of his mercenaries, the opposing left flank fled and the right was pierced and gave way.

Marshal de Biron, in command of the rear-guard with English and Swiss troops on both flanks, joined up with the king who, without stopping after his victory, had crossed the river Eure in pursuit of the enemy.[1]

However, the decisive event took place elsewhere on the battlefield: the King charged the League's lancers, who were unable to get far enough back to use their weapons.[5]

Mayenne was driven back, the Duke of Aumale forced to surrender, and the Count of Egmont killed. The Duke of Mayenne had lost the battle.[2] Henry pursued the losers, many of whom surrendered for fear of falling into worse hands, their horses being in no condition to get them away from danger. The countryside was full of Leaguers and Spaniards in flight, with the king's victorious army pursuing and scattering the remnants of the larger groups that dispersed and re-gathered.

Aftermath

Henry defeated Mayenne at Ivry so that he would become the only credible claimant to the throne of France. However, he was unsuccessful in his subsequent siege of Paris. He would not be accepted into the city until 1594, following his conversion to Roman Catholicism the previous year. Henry was advised that the Parisians, like much of the French people, would not accept a Protestant king.

Thomas Babbington Macaulay
wrote a famous poem about the battle, entitled "The Battle of Ivry." It begins:


Now glory to the Lord of Hosts, from whom all glories are!
And glory to our Sovereign Liege, King Henry of Navarre![6]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Motley, John Lothrop (1871). History of the United Netherlands: 1590–1600 Volume 3 From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Years' Truce–1609. Harvard University: Harper & brothers. pp. 51–57.
  2. ^ a b Morris p 342
  3. ^ History of France Volume I, by the author of English history. Oxford University. 1867. p. 447.
  4. ^ a b Guy p. 344
  5. ^ Black p 104
  6. ^ Poetry archive

Bibliography