Battle of Poitiers.
The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19 September 1356 between a French army commanded by King John II and an Anglo-Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. The Anglo-Gascons had set out on a major campaign while John gathered a large and unusually mobile army and pursued. The 6,000 Anglo-Gascons stood on the defensive and were attacked by 14,000 to 16,000 Frenchmen. An initial assault was driven back after hard fighting. A second under John's son and heir was also repulsed. Many Frenchmen then left the field. Those remaining gathered around the King and launched another attack, while signalling that no prisoners were to be taken. The French got the better of this fight until a small Anglo-Gascon force appeared behind them. The French panicked and their force collapsed; John and his youngest son were taken prisoner. Negotiations to end the war and ransom John resulted in the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny, which temporarily ended the war with an English victory.
