Battle of Patay

Overview

The Battle of Patay, fought on 18 June 1429 during the Hundred Years' War, was the culmination of the Loire Campaign between the French and English in north-central France. In this engagement, the horsemen of the French vanguard inflicted heavy casualties on an English army, most of them sustained by longbowmen as the English cavalry fled. In addition, all but one of the senior English commanders were captured. A victory often credited to Joan of Arc, she was in fact not present for the battle as she had remained with the main body of the French army. The vanguard at Patay was led by La Hire and Jean Poton de Xaintrailles.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Patay on 18 June 1429 was the culminating engagement of the Loire Campaign during the Hundred Years' War. The French vanguard inflicted approximately 2,000 casualties on an English force of 5,000, with the heaviest losses falling on the English longbowmen as the English cavalry fled the field. Beyond the casualty toll, virtually all senior English commanders — including John Talbot, Thomas Baron Scales, and Thomas Rempston — were captured, decapitating English operational leadership in the region. The battle effectively reversed the terms under which the English had dominated open-field engagements in the preceding decades, with the French cavalry overwhelming an English force before it could establish the defensive formation that had proven decisive at earlier engagements. Though the victory has historically been credited to Joan of Arc, she was not present at Patay, having remained with the main body of the French army; command on the day rested with La Hire and Jean de Xaintrailles.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (7)