Battle of Morlaix

Battle of Morlaix
Part of the Breton Civil War
Charles of Blois, the French commander, as envisaged in 1621
Date 30 September 1342 Location Lanmeur, Brittany, France 48°34′42″N 3°49′36″W / 48.5783°N 3.8267°W / 48.5783; -3.8267 Result English victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of England House of Montfort	Kingdom of France House of Blois
Commanders and leaders
William, Earl of Northampton	• Charles of Blois  • Geoffrey of Charny
Strength
3,000–5,000	10,000–15,000
Casualties and losses
Light	Heavy
Battle of Morlaix class=notpageimage| Location of the battle within modern France

The battle of Morlaix was fought near the village of Lanmeur in Brittany on 30 September 1342 between an Anglo-Breton army and a far larger Franco-Breton force. England, at war with France since 1337 in the Hundred Years' War, had sided with John of Montfort's faction in the Breton Civil War shortly after it broke out in 1341. The French were supporting Charles of Blois, a nephew of the French king.

A small Anglo-Breton army under William, Earl of Northampton, besieged the Breton port of Morlaix. Charles led a force several times larger than Northampton's from the town of Guingamp to relieve Morlaix. Warned of this, the English carried out a night march and prepared a defensive position just outside Lanmeur. When they sighted the English position, the French deployed into three divisions, one behind the other. The first of these, probably made up of Breton levies, advanced and was shot to pieces by the English archers using longbows; it then broke without making contact. The second division, of French and Breton men-at-arms, attacked but their charge was halted when they fell into a camouflaged ditch in front of the English position. Presented with a large, close-range target the English archers inflicted many casualties. About 200 French cavalry made their way over the ditch and came to grips with the English men-at-arms, who were fighting on foot. This band was cut off by the English and all were killed or captured.

Northampton was concerned that the English archers were running out of arrows and that the ditch was so full of dead and wounded men and horses as to be ineffective as an obstacle. Therefore, when the third French division was seen to be preparing to attack the English withdrew into a wood to their rear. The French were unable to force their way in, so they surrounded it and besieged the English, possibly for several days. Northampton broke out with a night attack and returned to Morlaix. Charles gave up his attempt to relieve the town and retreated. This was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years' War and the tactics used foreshadowed those of both the French and the English for the rest of the 1340s.