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Battle of La Rochelle
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Battle of La Rochelle
The Battle of La Rochelle was fought on 22 and 23 June 1372 between a Castilian fleet commanded by the Castilian Almirant Ambrosio Boccanegra and an English fleet commanded by John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Castilian fleet had been sent to attack the English at La Rochelle, which was being besieged by Castile's French allies.
Pembroke had been dispatched to the town with a small force of fewer than 200 soldiers. His ships also carried £12,000 (equivalent to £10,000,000 in 2025) in silver and instructions to use the money to recruit an army of 3,000 soldiers in Aquitaine in south-west France. The strength of the English fleet is estimated as between the 12 galleys given by the Castilian chronicler and naval captain López de Ayala and the 40 sailing ships, of which three ships were warships and 13 barges mentioned by the French chronicler Jean Froissart. Probably it consisted of 22 ships, mainly galleys and some naos (carracks) three- or four-masted ocean sailing ships. The English fleet probably consisted of 32 ships and 17 small barges of about 50 tons.
The Castilian victory was complete, and the entire English fleet was captured or destroyed. On his return to the Iberian Peninsula, Boccanegra seized another four English ships off Bordeaux. This defeat undermined English seaborne trade and supplies through the English Channel and threatened their Gascon possessions, The battle of La Rochelle was the first important and most consequential English naval defeat of the Hundred Years' War, described by prominent historians as the worst defeat ever inflicted on the English Navy.
Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. By the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the only sizeable French possession still held by the English in France was Gascony, part of Aquitaine, in the south-west. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France and Edward III of England, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council agreed that the lands held by Edward III in France should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last 116 years. On 26 January 1340 Edward formally claimed the French throne. The extent to which Edward may have considered the claim more than a negotiating position is unclear.
The English campaigned frequently on the continent, gaining a long run of military successes against larger forces across France. In 1356 a large French army was decisively defeated at the Battle of Poitiers, in which King John II of France (r. 1350–1364), the son and successor of King Philip, was captured. This eventually led to peace being agreed, and the Treaty of Brétigny was signed in 1360. It ceded large parts of south-west France to England as its sovereign territory, while Edward renounced all claims to the French throne. The terms of Brétigny were meant to untangle the feudal responsibilities that had caused so much conflict, and, as far as the English were concerned, would concentrate their territory in an expanded version of Aquitaine. This had been part of the English royal estate in France since the reign of Henry II (r. 1154–1189), and by the treaty it and Poitou became fiefdoms of Edward's oldest son, Edward the Black Prince. The French were deeply unhappy with this arrangement.
In 1369, arguing that Edward had failed to observe the terms of the treaty, Charles V (r. 1364–1380), the son and heir of King John, declared war once again. France was newly resurgent; she had recently successfully intervened in the Castilian War of the Two Pedros and in 1368 concluded a treaty which emphasised Castilian naval support. This was to provide a key element in the French strategy for the next phase of the war with England. In August 1369 a French offensive attempted to recapture castles in Normandy. Men who had already won fortune and fame in earlier English campaigns were summoned from their retirements, and younger men were given commands. Events went poorly for England from the start: James Audley and John Chandos, two important English commanders, were killed in the first six months. The French, employing a Fabian strategy, made territorial gains in the south west, re-occupying the provincial capital of Poitiers and capturing many castles.
By 1372 invasion scares in England were common and English rule in the Duchy of Aquitaine was under threat. The duchy was particularly susceptible to attack due to its being adjacent to French territory, its difficult supply line to England, and its long and complex border. Beginning two years previously, large parts of the region had fallen under French rule; Agenais, Limousin and Beauzac had fallen in quick succession, and French incursions into Saintonge and Poitou forced England to respond. In 1372 the Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, laid siege to the town of La Rochelle and called on the King of Castile, Henry II, to honour his obligations under the 1368 treaty. Henry dispatched a fleet to Aquitaine under Ambrosio Boccanegra, assisted by Cabeza de Vaca, Fernando de Peón and Rui Díaz de Rojas.
In response Edward III planned a renewed campaign in Aquitaine under the duchy's new lieutenant, John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke. On 5 March Hastings indentured with the King to serve there a year with a retinue of 24 knights, 55 squires and 80 archers. He was to be accompanied by forces under Sir John Devereux and Sir Hugh Calveley, although in the event they appear not to have served. Pembroke was issued £12,000 (equivalent to £10,000,000 in 2025) in silver coin with instructions to recruit an army of 500 knights, 1,500 esquires and 1,500 archers in France; they were to serve for at least four months. A royal clerk, John Wilton, was appointed to accompany the Earl and administer the funds. Pembroke's expedition was funded almost entirely by lay and clerical subsidies, and was one of the few 14th-century English military campaigns not to require substantial borrowing.
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Battle of La Rochelle
The Battle of La Rochelle was fought on 22 and 23 June 1372 between a Castilian fleet commanded by the Castilian Almirant Ambrosio Boccanegra and an English fleet commanded by John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Castilian fleet had been sent to attack the English at La Rochelle, which was being besieged by Castile's French allies.
Pembroke had been dispatched to the town with a small force of fewer than 200 soldiers. His ships also carried £12,000 (equivalent to £10,000,000 in 2025) in silver and instructions to use the money to recruit an army of 3,000 soldiers in Aquitaine in south-west France. The strength of the English fleet is estimated as between the 12 galleys given by the Castilian chronicler and naval captain López de Ayala and the 40 sailing ships, of which three ships were warships and 13 barges mentioned by the French chronicler Jean Froissart. Probably it consisted of 22 ships, mainly galleys and some naos (carracks) three- or four-masted ocean sailing ships. The English fleet probably consisted of 32 ships and 17 small barges of about 50 tons.
The Castilian victory was complete, and the entire English fleet was captured or destroyed. On his return to the Iberian Peninsula, Boccanegra seized another four English ships off Bordeaux. This defeat undermined English seaborne trade and supplies through the English Channel and threatened their Gascon possessions, The battle of La Rochelle was the first important and most consequential English naval defeat of the Hundred Years' War, described by prominent historians as the worst defeat ever inflicted on the English Navy.
Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. By the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the only sizeable French possession still held by the English in France was Gascony, part of Aquitaine, in the south-west. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France and Edward III of England, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council agreed that the lands held by Edward III in France should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last 116 years. On 26 January 1340 Edward formally claimed the French throne. The extent to which Edward may have considered the claim more than a negotiating position is unclear.
The English campaigned frequently on the continent, gaining a long run of military successes against larger forces across France. In 1356 a large French army was decisively defeated at the Battle of Poitiers, in which King John II of France (r. 1350–1364), the son and successor of King Philip, was captured. This eventually led to peace being agreed, and the Treaty of Brétigny was signed in 1360. It ceded large parts of south-west France to England as its sovereign territory, while Edward renounced all claims to the French throne. The terms of Brétigny were meant to untangle the feudal responsibilities that had caused so much conflict, and, as far as the English were concerned, would concentrate their territory in an expanded version of Aquitaine. This had been part of the English royal estate in France since the reign of Henry II (r. 1154–1189), and by the treaty it and Poitou became fiefdoms of Edward's oldest son, Edward the Black Prince. The French were deeply unhappy with this arrangement.
In 1369, arguing that Edward had failed to observe the terms of the treaty, Charles V (r. 1364–1380), the son and heir of King John, declared war once again. France was newly resurgent; she had recently successfully intervened in the Castilian War of the Two Pedros and in 1368 concluded a treaty which emphasised Castilian naval support. This was to provide a key element in the French strategy for the next phase of the war with England. In August 1369 a French offensive attempted to recapture castles in Normandy. Men who had already won fortune and fame in earlier English campaigns were summoned from their retirements, and younger men were given commands. Events went poorly for England from the start: James Audley and John Chandos, two important English commanders, were killed in the first six months. The French, employing a Fabian strategy, made territorial gains in the south west, re-occupying the provincial capital of Poitiers and capturing many castles.
By 1372 invasion scares in England were common and English rule in the Duchy of Aquitaine was under threat. The duchy was particularly susceptible to attack due to its being adjacent to French territory, its difficult supply line to England, and its long and complex border. Beginning two years previously, large parts of the region had fallen under French rule; Agenais, Limousin and Beauzac had fallen in quick succession, and French incursions into Saintonge and Poitou forced England to respond. In 1372 the Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, laid siege to the town of La Rochelle and called on the King of Castile, Henry II, to honour his obligations under the 1368 treaty. Henry dispatched a fleet to Aquitaine under Ambrosio Boccanegra, assisted by Cabeza de Vaca, Fernando de Peón and Rui Díaz de Rojas.
In response Edward III planned a renewed campaign in Aquitaine under the duchy's new lieutenant, John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke. On 5 March Hastings indentured with the King to serve there a year with a retinue of 24 knights, 55 squires and 80 archers. He was to be accompanied by forces under Sir John Devereux and Sir Hugh Calveley, although in the event they appear not to have served. Pembroke was issued £12,000 (equivalent to £10,000,000 in 2025) in silver coin with instructions to recruit an army of 500 knights, 1,500 esquires and 1,500 archers in France; they were to serve for at least four months. A royal clerk, John Wilton, was appointed to accompany the Earl and administer the funds. Pembroke's expedition was funded almost entirely by lay and clerical subsidies, and was one of the few 14th-century English military campaigns not to require substantial borrowing.
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