Conflict: French Religious Wars
Combatants: Catholic League vs. French Royal Forces
Location: France
Outcome: French Royal victory
In September of 1589, Henry of Navarre, the designated king of France, lured the forces of the Catholic League, who supported Charles of Bourbon, into an ambush at a prepared position along the Bethune River. Although outnumbering Henry's men by 3-to-1, the League and its Spanish allies, led by Charles de Lorraine the Duc de Mayenne, were badly defeated. The Catholics retreated toward Amiens while Henry marched for Paris.
Points of Interest:
Navarre took advantage of marshy terrain forcing the League into a battle where it could only commit its forces piecemeal.
Henry would return to Catholicism and re-unite most of France in 1593. In 1598, Henry granted religious freedom to Protestants and signed a peace treaty with Spain.
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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.
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