A new detailed account of the battle of Poitiers in 1356 which saw one of the most sensational episodes of the Hundred Years War: the capture of the French King Jean by the Black Prince. The capture of a king in the course of a battle was a relatively rare event. This, the climactic event of the Black Prince's first campaign as commander, came at the end of nearly a year of campaigning across the southwest of France. The battle of Poitiers in 1356 is less well known than more famous clashes such as Agincourt, however, Poitiers was no less dramatic, and equally important in terms of the course of the Hundred Years War. The capture of King Jean brought France to the brink of total defeat, and led to one of the most devastating and destructive periods in French history. It is not exaggeration to say that the battle of Poitiers changed the course of history for both France and England. In the summer of 1356 the Prince and his army drove northward towards the Loire, attacking once again deep into French territory. This time he met real opposition: the full French army led by King Jean and many of the leading nobility of France, some of them veterans of the defeat at Crecy ten years before. Outnumbered, the Prince fell back, but in September he turned near the city of Poitiers to make a stand. The battle that followed was a tense encounter. The French had learned much from the disastrous defeat at Crecy, and took time to organise and prepare before attacking. Their advance was deliberate and well-planned, yet the result was the same. Once again, English and Welsh archers wrought mayhem among the French ranks. The French formations disintegrated, and a violent counterattack by English men-at-arms caused it to dissolve entirely. King Jean and his eldest son made a final stand with some of their followers, but in the end they were forced to surrender and were taken back to England as prisoners. AUTHOR: Morgen Witzel is a historian and writer. He is the co-author, with Marilyn Livingstone, of The Road to Crecy: The English Invasion of France, 1346 (2004). He is a Fellow of the Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter Business School and a writer on the history of business and management. He is currently editor in chief of Corporate Finance Review. 16 pages of b/w photographs
