July 31st, 1423 - The Battle of Cravant

Conflict: Hundred Years' War

Combatants: Anglo-Burgundian vs. French-Scot

Location: France

Outcome: Anglo-Burgundian victory

After coming to power in England, the Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI, set about defeating the enemy forces in the northern region of France. On July 31st of 1423, Bedford's army, with Burgundian support, clashed with an army of French and Scots led by the Earls of Douglas and Buchan. The French and Scots were defeated after suffering heavy casualties from the English longbowmen.

The Battle of Cravant by an unknown artist

Points of Interest:

• The Duke of Bedford would compete the conquest of northern France in 1428.

• Joan of Arc would emerge some six years after Cravant and help initiate a period in which the French were ascendant in the fortunes of the war.

John, Duke of Bedford by an unknown artist

John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Buchan by Merry-Joseph Blondel

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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.