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Whatever his intention, battle was started by King John, who decided to assault the gap in the hedge, sending forward a small body of cavalry who were meant to break though the English archers, followed by the bulk of his forces on foot. This first 'battle; was also supported by 2,000 Genoese crossbowmen. Behind this first 'battle' followed three more, the second led by John's oldest son Charles, duke of Normandy, probably 4,000 strong, the third under Philip, duke of Orleans, king John's brother, with 3,000 men at arms, and finally, the largest battle, of 6,000 men, led by King John himself. Seeing Edward start his probable retreat, King John ordered the advance, and the first battle, began it's attack. Mostly mounted, this first battle pulled well ahead of the rest of the army, and the three hundred knights ahead of the rest were almost wiped out by the English archers, leaving the rest of the first battle to struggle up to the English line, and although a melee developed, this first attack was beaten off by the earl of Salisbury before the rest of the English army under the duke of Warwick and Prince Edward returned to the line. The French first battle was defeated, and the Marshal Clermont killed, before the bulk of the French army had even reached the battlefield. Now the first division of dismounted French men at arms, under the Dauphin, reached the English lines, and a fierce fight developed, only won by the English when Edward put all of his troops bar a 400 man reserve into the battle. Finally, the second French battle was driven off, and heavily mauled fell back.
At this point, the French suffered a huge self inflicted blow, when the third battle, under Philip of Orleans, seeing the rout of the Dauphin's battle, fled the field with the bulk of his troops, leaving only King John with the last, but largest, French battle, against Edward's battleweary troops. The two forces were now roughly equal in number, but King John's troops were fresh, while Edward's had been engaged in heavy fighting. Seeing that he now faced the final French reserves, Prince Edward decided to take the offensive, and sending the Captal de Buch, one of his most loyal Gascon vassals, with force of less than two hundred men, to outflank the French and attack them from the side, led his troops in a charge. The two main battles met with a monument clash, and the fiercest fighting of the day commenced. This melee was still very much in the balance, when the Captal de Buch with his small band, having reached King John's original position, charged the French in the rear, causing a panic quite unjustified by the size of his force. Many of the remaining French troops fled the field, leaving King John and a core of his allies alone on the field. After seven hours of fighting, the English finally had the victory. French losses were apparently 2,500, while English losses were much smaller, but are not known. However, the true significance of the battle was in the capture of King John, along with his young son Philip, along with many of the greatest lords of France. Prince Edward withdrew to Bordeaux with his booty and his prisoner. The capture of King John altered the balance of power in the war, and gave the English a vastly improved negotiating position.
In the Steps of the Black Prince - The Road to Poitiers, 1355-1356, Peter Hoskins. A fascinating attempt to trace the exact route of the Black Prince's raids through France in 1355 and 1356, based on a detailed exploration of the ground and the possible routes, and the linguistic changes in local names. This route evidence is then used to interpret the Prince's motives in both of these raids. [read full review]
How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (28 January 2001), Battle of Poitiers, 19 September 1356, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_poitiers.html