August 15th, 1513 - The Battle of Guinegate

Conflict: War of the League of Cambrai

Combatants: Anglo-Imperial vs. French

Location: France

Outcome: Anglo-Imperial victory

Henry VIII, in support of his ally Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, invaded France in June of 1513. His army of 28,000 Englishmen and German mercenaries lay siege to Therouanne. A French relief force of cavalry commanded by Jacque de Chabannes, the Marshal of La Palice, was intercepted and quickly routed by the English forces. La Palice himself was captured. Henry VIII invested both Therouanne and Tournai.

The Battle of the Spurs by unknown artist

Points of Interest:

• The Battle of Guinegate is also known as the Battle of the Spurs because the French cavalry retreating so rapidly that many knights lost their spurs.

• The famous French knight Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, was also captured by the English at Guinegate.

• The Battle of Guinegate fought in 1513 should not be confused with the Battle of Guinegate fought in 1479 between the Burgundians and the French.

Portrait of Henry VIII of England by Hans Holbein the Younger

Jacques de Chabannes seigneur de La Palice by an unknown artist

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.