History Trivia - Battle of the Spurs - French flee the battlefield

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.

submitted by John Herrmann.