alternatehistory.com
1337-8: Gascony
1337-8: NO ONE FIGHTS LIKE GASCONS
"...Ingham's reply to the royal decree was a combination of hedging, bluster, and denial. He pointed out that he would have to refer back to England on this matter, a request that would have taken several weeks if it had been accepted, and demanded a hearing for his master before Parlement, which likewise would have eaten up time. More bothersome to the lieutenants was Ingham's noting the speciousness of many of the charges, most notably that Edward was harboring fugitives from France. While he certainly was, he was not doing so in Gascony, but in England under his authority as Great Steward[1]. To claim he possessed no independence in the latter role was to undermine the relations of France and England. In the end, however, all this was immaterial, for as the lieutenants explained to Ingham, the army to enforce the duchy's seizure was already on its way. Indeed, even as the Prince of Wales attempted to gather an army in England, Jean was gathering one with more success in the south of France[2]....
"Calling on the Langueduoc senseschals, aided by the Counts of Armagnac and Foix, the resulting army was well over ten thousand men[3]. While significantly short of the numbers previously estimated to take Gascony, considering the dilapidated state of the duchy's defenses, it would likely have sufficed in the hands of a decisive commander. Alas, that was not provided. While Jean of France had originally planned to lead the expedition, the ongoing worries of English invasion kept him in the north, and command was instead granted to the Constable of France, Raoul de Brienne, Count of Eu. While this posting was essentially guaranteed by his rank, it remained an unfortunate choice--the Constable was a mediocre commander at best...
"The campaign would begin with a circuitous attack on the English holdings in the Agenais, one where the Constable's choice of targets still leaves modern historians baffled as to what his object was. Already wasting valuable time, the Constable would then compound his error by splitting his forces. Bypassing the strongest English garrisons, the French army would take Puymirol, allowing Garcie Arnaud to receive his previously awarded judgement. As unimpressive as all this sounds, the local response was hardly any less lackluster--there is little evidence that Puymirol's garrison offered any resistance at all, while it is a certifiable fact that the town's inhabitants gleefully surrendered in return for the right to hold an annual fair...[4]
"Having largely wasted weeks of campaigning, the Constable's forces linked with the Count of Foix's, planning to begin campaigning in earnest. The combined army would besiege the city of Saint-Macaire--and then lift the siege in under two weeks and divide again[5]. One army, under the Constable, would head northeast and occupy various minor holdings, most notably Pommiers, one of the few citadels to avoid occupation during the war of Saint-Sardos[6]. The other, under the Count of Foix, headed south and spent its time harassing and raiding the holdings of the Count's local rivals. It was, on the whole, a singularly unimpressive campaign. It says something of the straits of the English forces that had even this desultorily campaign continued with any consistency, it might have still driven the English out in time--indeed, reinforcements would only arrive in late summer, and when they came, would number less than one thousand...
"It was to England's good fortune that the Constable would spend most of the ensuing months at La Reole, for reasons that remain obscure. It might have been a difficulty in paying his army, or might have been indolence. Whatever the case, the Constable had allowed the energy behind the invasion of Gascony to dissipate. It is tempting to wonder what Jean might have accomplished had he lead the campaign. While he had numerous flaws as a commander--indeed, grave ones--hesitation was seldom one of them. While preparations were made towards the end of the year for an invasion of Bordeaux, they were ultimately discarded, probably for the best. The Constable would return to the north, to help defend for an invasion that would not come, at least not this year. When he and his men left, the English issued forth and reoccupied all that had been taken from them. By the end of the year, it was almost as if they had not fought the proceeding year at all[7]..."
--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
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[1] IOTL, the fugitive they were arguing about was Robert of Artois, who Philip VI had a special hate-on for, but there were always plenty of French exiles hanging around England trying to cause trouble.
[2] This was also the case IOTL.
[3] The author is probably underestimating the size of the French army, though like most medieval armies, it probably varied quite a bit during the campaign.
[4] Yes, that is what they surrendered for IOTL.
[5] This is also what the Constable did IOTL. Are you starting to understand why TTL's author holds him in such low regard?
[6] Pommiers was likewise occupied IOTL. That there was very little strategic reason to do so was just part of Raoul de Brienne's... thing.
[7] Sometimes the opening stages of the Hundred Years War seem like both sides are trying to figure out fascinating ways to fail.
"...Ingham's reply to the royal decree was a combination of hedging, bluster, and denial. He pointed out that he would have to refer back to England on this matter, a request that would have taken several weeks if it had been accepted, and demanded a hearing for his master before Parlement, which likewise would have eaten up time. More bothersome to the lieutenants was Ingham's noting the speciousness of many of the charges, most notably that Edward was harboring fugitives from France. While he certainly was, he was not doing so in Gascony, but in England under his authority as Great Steward[1]. To claim he possessed no independence in the latter role was to undermine the relations of France and England. In the end, however, all this was immaterial, for as the lieutenants explained to Ingham, the army to enforce the duchy's seizure was already on its way. Indeed, even as the Prince of Wales attempted to gather an army in England, Jean was gathering one with more success in the south of France[2]....
"Calling on the Langueduoc senseschals, aided by the Counts of Armagnac and Foix, the resulting army was well over ten thousand men[3]. While significantly short of the numbers previously estimated to take Gascony, considering the dilapidated state of the duchy's defenses, it would likely have sufficed in the hands of a decisive commander. Alas, that was not provided. While Jean of France had originally planned to lead the expedition, the ongoing worries of English invasion kept him in the north, and command was instead granted to the Constable of France, Raoul de Brienne, Count of Eu. While this posting was essentially guaranteed by his rank, it remained an unfortunate choice--the Constable was a mediocre commander at best...
"The campaign would begin with a circuitous attack on the English holdings in the Agenais, one where the Constable's choice of targets still leaves modern historians baffled as to what his object was. Already wasting valuable time, the Constable would then compound his error by splitting his forces. Bypassing the strongest English garrisons, the French army would take Puymirol, allowing Garcie Arnaud to receive his previously awarded judgement. As unimpressive as all this sounds, the local response was hardly any less lackluster--there is little evidence that Puymirol's garrison offered any resistance at all, while it is a certifiable fact that the town's inhabitants gleefully surrendered in return for the right to hold an annual fair...[4]
"Having largely wasted weeks of campaigning, the Constable's forces linked with the Count of Foix's, planning to begin campaigning in earnest. The combined army would besiege the city of Saint-Macaire--and then lift the siege in under two weeks and divide again[5]. One army, under the Constable, would head northeast and occupy various minor holdings, most notably Pommiers, one of the few citadels to avoid occupation during the war of Saint-Sardos[6]. The other, under the Count of Foix, headed south and spent its time harassing and raiding the holdings of the Count's local rivals. It was, on the whole, a singularly unimpressive campaign. It says something of the straits of the English forces that had even this desultorily campaign continued with any consistency, it might have still driven the English out in time--indeed, reinforcements would only arrive in late summer, and when they came, would number less than one thousand...
"It was to England's good fortune that the Constable would spend most of the ensuing months at La Reole, for reasons that remain obscure. It might have been a difficulty in paying his army, or might have been indolence. Whatever the case, the Constable had allowed the energy behind the invasion of Gascony to dissipate. It is tempting to wonder what Jean might have accomplished had he lead the campaign. While he had numerous flaws as a commander--indeed, grave ones--hesitation was seldom one of them. While preparations were made towards the end of the year for an invasion of Bordeaux, they were ultimately discarded, probably for the best. The Constable would return to the north, to help defend for an invasion that would not come, at least not this year. When he and his men left, the English issued forth and reoccupied all that had been taken from them. By the end of the year, it was almost as if they had not fought the proceeding year at all[7]..."
--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] IOTL, the fugitive they were arguing about was Robert of Artois, who Philip VI had a special hate-on for, but there were always plenty of French exiles hanging around England trying to cause trouble.
[2] This was also the case IOTL.
[3] The author is probably underestimating the size of the French army, though like most medieval armies, it probably varied quite a bit during the campaign.
[4] Yes, that is what they surrendered for IOTL.
[5] This is also what the Constable did IOTL. Are you starting to understand why TTL's author holds him in such low regard?
[6] Pommiers was likewise occupied IOTL. That there was very little strategic reason to do so was just part of Raoul de Brienne's... thing.
[7] Sometimes the opening stages of the Hundred Years War seem like both sides are trying to figure out fascinating ways to fail.
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