Battle of Arques: Flemish Infantry Defeats French Cavalry…Again!

Coat of Arms of County of Flanders

Today in Military History: April 4, 1303

Today's post involves the second major battle from the Franco-Flemish War of 1297-1305. It also demonstrated to European rulers that well-led and disciplined infantry could defeat armored horsemen under the right circumstances.

Background to the Battle

Philip IV "the Fair," King of France
(1268-1314; reigned 1285-1314)

The first major battle of the war, the battle of Courtrai in July of 1302, was covered by a previous post. [Please see, "Battle of Courtrai: Flemish Infantry Defeats French Knights in the ‘Battle of the Golden Spurs'" from July 14, 2010.] After that major French defeat and the death of its commander Count Robert of Artois, French King Philip IV (aka "the Fair" for his light hair and good looks) was appalled that his army was so thoroughly beaten by – what he regarded as – "peasants." Despite the heavy losses among the flower of French chivalry, he was even more determined to crush the Flemish uprising.

Philip then decided to form another army to conquer the recalcitrant Flemings. He appointed Gaucher de Châtillon, the Constable of France as the force's commander. [The Constable of France was second in command of the French army, subordinate only to the king.] This army marched into Flanders, then stopped at the down of Vitry. Apparently, after taking no offensive actions for five to six weeks, the French ran out of food and retreated to France (one chronicler calls the withdrawal "inglorious").

Flanders in early-mid 14th Century
(The village of Arques is a few miles northeast of St.-Omer)

Before the end of 1302, the Flemish rebels struck out seeking to conquer new territory. One army commanded by Guy of Namur marched north into the Dutch province of Zeeland. At the same time, a second force under the command of William of Jülich entered Hainault and besieged the city of Tournai, The Flemish siege of Tournai lasted three days, after which the Flemings left for easier pickings.

William of Hainault, son of the count and a loyal subject of France, decided to take matters into his own hands. Raising an army of his own, he marched north in early 1303 to attack Guy of Namur's army. With no other opponent to bother him, William of Jülich led his men southwest of Brussels, capturing the small town of Lessines. According to one chronicler, Lessines was garrisoned by German mercenaries; after a swift siege, the Germans were slaughtered and the entire town was set ablaze.

William of Hainault (1286-1337)

Shortly afterward, William of Jülich's army began moving toward the County of Artois, toward the town of St.-Omer, where a French garrison was located. Many historians are unsure why William wanted to attack this fortified town. The most logical explanation is that the garrison was the only French army capable of putting down the Flemish uprising, and William wanted it out of the way.

At this point, William of Jülich divided his army into three parts, an act which still confuses modern historians. In the vanguard of his force he placed the guildsmen and militias of the Ypres (EEP-rah), perhaps of force of no more than 1000-2000 men. They moved on the nearby village of Arques, attacked the small garrison and put most of them to the sword. It is thought that some of the defenders of the town escaped to warn the garrison of St.-Omer.

The second portion of his army – perhaps slightly smaller than the Yprois contingent – consisted of men from the town of St. Winoksbergen. They were given the job of protecting the Flemish supply train. Finally, the bulk of the Flemish army, comprised of men from Furnes and Cassel, were arranged in the rear, some chronicles saying the third division was over a league (3 miles) behind the second division.

Arriving on the outskirts of St.-Omer, William ordered his army to destroy granaries, barns, and other economic targets, seeking to draw the French out into the open. His strategy worked, as the French army prepared to sally out and destroy the Flemish invaders. The Flemings pulled back to the nearby village of Arques and prepared for the French onslaught.

The Armies

There are no definitive numbers on the size of either army involved in this battle from the various histories and chronicles. The Flemish force was cited as having anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 men. The majority of the Flemish soldiers wore no armor. Many were guild workers or city militiamen. They were armed with either long thrusting spears or pikes, or a deadly little weapon called a goedendag. The name translates from Dutch as either "good day" or "good dagger." The Flemings called it a spiked staff, or gepinde staf.

Goedendag, or gepinde staf

The weapon was a wooden shaft about five feet long, thicker at one end. In that same end, a metal spike was inserted. Contemporary records state that it was used as either a club, or like a boar spear. A wielder would set the one end of the goedendag to the ground, similar to a spear. Some descriptions say that the pike-armed men formed the first line of their formations, with the goedendag soldiers in the second rank. When the French cavalry would charge the Flemish line, the pikemen would take out the knights, with the second line soldiers given the task of killing any enemy knights or horses who may have survived the line of pikes.

In addition to the pikes and goedendags, the Flemings likely had a small number of crossbowmen. In addition, their noble leaders were probably accoutered as knights and mounted, more to denote their leadership role than to actually fight as knights. Later, when the battle began, most of these men dismounted and fought on foot with their fellows.

The French army is a bit more speculative. Philip the Fair was having some money troubles. He had also recently been warned by Pope Boniface VIII about using church funds for his own uses. Nevertheless, King Philip managed to raise more forces. Some chronicles refer to the French army at St.-Omer as "mercenaries." This would make sense as a way to quickly raise an army, but in the long run they would be very expensive to maintain.

The French army is cited by various histories as having anywhere from 1300 to 4000 to 20,000 men. Apparently the chroniclers were trying to indicate the disparity in numbers, despite the obvious exaggerations. It is also likely that there were a considerable number of French and mercenary knights in the French force, number at 800 by one of the chronicles. These were men experienced in war and jousting, gaining many honors in the lists and at tournaments, especially the highly prized golden spurs that marked them as "gentlemen." Wearing heavy armor and wielding lances and swords, these men were the flower of French chivalry. Accompanying them were probably some mounted men-at-arms (which the French referred to as "serjeants"), with lighter armor but every bit as well trained and equipped as the knights. Finally, the rest of the force was comprised of footmen, probably wearing lighter armor and carrying spears, axes, maces and the like. There were also many Flemish who had remained loyal to the French throne and had fled their native country. These emigrees joined the French force in hopes of recovering their land.

The French force was led by Gaucher de Châtillon (mentioned earlier) and Jacques de Bayonne. Bayonne was likely a French noble or possibly mercenary leader from southern France. The garrison of St.-Omer had received reports of the size of the Flemish army threatening them. Remembering the Flemish victory the previous summer, many members of the garrison began receiving absolution from local priests. To counter these "negative waves," the soldiers were encouraged by a short speech given by Jacques de Bayonne promising them glory, honor, and victory. With trumpets sounding and banners flying, the French force marched out of St.-Omer early in the morning of April 4, 1303 to attack the approaching enemy.

The Battle

French cavalry attacking Flemish pikemen and clubmen

The French force marched straight for the village of Arques, where the Yprois were camped, reaching it probably near noon. Very quickly, the French formed up and attacked the Flemish contingent. Though caught by surprise, the Yprois formed up quickly and presented a solid line of pike (described by one chronicler as a "grosse bataille" or solid division) to the attacking French. Probably recognizing that this was not the main Flemish force, Jacques de Bayonne sent most of his infantry forward to contain the Yprois and prevent them from advancing on St.-Omer. He then took his cavalry and advanced on the remaining Flemish contingents.

Shortly afterward, the French horsemen came upon the men of St. Winoksbergen. Having received no warning, these Flemings were unorganized and milling about. They put up a good fight nonetheless, but were struck down and scattered by the Frenchmen. The French then began to tear into the Flemish supply wagons, looting and plundering and burning. [This would have been completely in character for mercenaries, who fought for two main objectives: pay and/or loot.]

After re-establishing order among his troops, Jacques de Bayonne led the French against the remaining portion of the invading Flemings. Having received word of the French onslaught, William of Jülich arranged his soldiers into a strong defensive formation. Several chroniclers describe it as either a "bowl" or "crown," probably meaning a huge circle. [Modern historians have speculated that the formation was more like a horseshoe, with the ends drawn closely together.] Flemish pikemen were placed in the front with goedendag-armed footmen behind them. William also dismounted any cavalry he had and ordered them to fight with the pike- and gipende staf-men.

After viewing the dauntingly solid formation of the Flemings, Jacques of Bayonne (who apparently was exercising command of the French force) gave orders to his cavalry. Two different chronicles now paint two different pictures of what occurred next.

Flemish infantry defending against enemy cavalry (notice shortened godendags)

According to the "Annales Gandenses" (the Annals of Ghent), the French cavalry began riding around the Flemish army in a huge circle. They sought to attack any perceived weakness in the Flemish formation (not unlike the classic American cinema presentation of Indians attacking a wagon train). French casualties occurred when a Frenchmen moved too close to the Flemish formation or when a Fleming decided to break rank to get at the French. The Flemish formation never broke, and with the arrival of survivors of the Yprois and the St. Winoksbergen divisions, the French cavalry retreated and the infantry pulled back to St. Omer. While retreating, the French suffered additional casualties.

A different story is contained in the other chronicles of this battle. According to them, Jacques de Bayonne consulted with his men on how to assault the Flemish position. Consequently, he divided his horsemen into four bodies. Two of these groups assaulted the enemy formation closest to the French force, while the other two attacked the "flanks." These assaults lasted throughout the day.

Finally, as sunset was approaching, Jacques de Bayonne ordered the attacks halted. Whether from sheer fatigue or mounting casualties, the French began an organized retreat back toward St.-Omer, leaving many of their dead and wounded on the battlefield. [Parenthetically, it should also be pointed out that April 5, 1303 was Good Friday.] Despite the long fight, the Flemings hotly pursued the French. At least five times during the retreat, the French formed up to offer battle to the Flemings; each time the Flemings drew up to receive the French attack which did not come. As night was falling (approximately 8:21 pm), the French reached the gates of St.-Omer.

Aftermath

The next day, Jacques de Bayonne sent one of his officers (cited as Aury the German, reinforcing to me the likelihood that most of the "French" army was composed of mercenaries) to arrange a truce with the Flemings to collect and bury their dead. Instead, they found a huge burial mound and the battleground empty. Aury reported that 15,000 men were buried there, but that number is surely speculative and misleading. Another chronicle claims the Flemings lost 3000 dead at the battle.

Although most historians give the victory to the Flemings, William of Jülich returned to Flanders. He had suffered significant casualties, but he wanted to besiege and capture St.-Omer. However, lacking siege machinery and considering the Flemings previous record, taking the fortified town seemed remote. William had not performed particularly well as a leader, dividing his men in the face of the enemy and failing to find "good ground" on which to meet the French (as he had done the previous year at Courtrai). Most of the chronicles criticized William's performance at Arques, weakening his position among his fellow rebels.

Footnote #1: within months of the battle Arques, Guy of Dampierre, the 77-year old imprisoned count of Flanders, was released from prison by the French in an attempt to negotiate terms with the victorious Flemings. His subjects, however, were unwilling to compromise. True to his chivalric code, Guy returned to his French imprisonment, and died there on March 7, 1305.

Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders (1226-1305) in his younger days

Footnote #2: One year later, another French army would invade Flanders, this time led by King Philip the Fair himself. The French would meet the Flemings – again commanded by William of Jülich – at the battle of Mons-en-Pévèle in August of 1304. [I will write on this battle at a future date.]

Footnote #3: I must admit a debt of gratitude to author Kelly DeVries for his book, "Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century: Discipline, Tactics, and Technology (1996). Much of my information for this post was gleaned from his book.