August 16 1513 The Battle of Guinegate (near Saint-Omer in the Pas de
Calais, France)or Battle of the Spurs: As part of the Holy League under the
on-going Italian Wars, English and Imperial troops under Henry VIII and
Maximilian I surprised and routed a body of French cavalry under Jacques de La
Palice. The English army was provided by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and combined
several different types of martial forces, and included cavalry, artillery,
infantry and longbows using hardened steel arrows designed to penetrate armor
more effectively. The French forces were mostly companies of gendarmes and
pikemen, with some other mixed forces as well. The battle became known as the
"Battle of the Spurs" because of the haste of the French horsemen to
leave the battlefield.
No comments:
Post a Comment