Charles V of France, the so-called Wise, from the time he ascended the throne in 1364, he valiantly tried to resurrect the France that had been destroyed by the English, ravaged by the Hundred Years War, relying on the help of the excellent general Bernard de Gueslain.
Charles had, in the first instance, to face the threat of the King of Navarre, who had managed to advance as far as Paris, blocking Charles in his capital , on the occasion of the succession of the Duchy of Burgundy. The King of Navarre gathered forces in Normandy.
Berdran de Gueslain, known as the "Eagle of Brittany" and the "Black Dog of the Forest of Brosseliad", was of Breton descent and had fought for the house of Blois . He joined the French service, officially, in 1370, with the office of Steward. However, he was fighting for France long before his official appointment.
The Battle of Cosserel
Charles sent Gueslain to confront the King of Navarre's forces in Normandy. The forces of Navarre consisted of 800 – 900 knights, 4 – 5,000 Gascons and other foot mercenaries and 300 English archers, equipped with the famous Long Bow , was under the command of Viscount Jean de Greig.
The sources state that Gheslen's force ranged between 1,500 and 3,000 men, without its composition being known. The two armies met on 16 May 1364 at Cosserel, northeast of Paris. Although Navarre's forces were twice as large, they were decisively defeated by Gheslin, thanks to his clever tactic of feigned retreat. Jean de Greig himself was captured.
The Battle of Cosserel was a small-scale conflict. However, it was particularly important, being the first French victory after almost a decade of consecutive defeats. Taking advantage of his victory, Gheslain invaded Normandy and conquered the enemy fortresses one after the other.
The result of this development was that Charles the Bad of Navarre urgently asked for peace from Charles of France, handing over all his conquests in the wider area around Paris, simultaneously lifting the blockade of the city> . Already a rival of France, one of the most important, had actually been neutralized.
The military reform of France
Geslen also relieved his king of the problem of brigands ravaging the country by taking advantage of the war unrest. And he contributed the most to Charles's plan for the formation of a permanent regular army, whose men were paid directly from the state treasury, regularly, and therefore there was no reason for them to be diverted to robberies and plundering.
This army came to number about 7,000 men, composed of knights dependent on the crown and professional foot followers and crossbowmen. This army was simply organized, by companies, in strength, each of 100 men, under a captain. A number of companies constituted a fighting force under a senior or supreme officer. The entire force was commanded by the short-stable of France.
At the same time, Charles also implemented the measure of compulsory, elementary, military training for the French inhabitants of the cities . The aim of this measure was to enable the citizens to defend their fortified cities, without the disposition of large, regular, military forces.
Because of the deadly "fire" power of the English longbows, the French king imposed the tactic of scorched earth and rapid raids. Forbid generals to engage in line-of-sight battles with the English unless absolutely necessary , prioritizing the conduct of stealth warfare against the enemy.
Clashes with the English
In 1369 the English under the Black Prince Edward, son of King Edward III of England, again moved against the French from the area of Bordeaux they held. The French forces, however, moving on the basis of already prepared plans, occupied Abbeville and the county of Pontier, in northern France. At the same time they marched against the English possessions in Aquitaine.
Meanwhile Geslen carried out with incredible precision the orders he had received from his king. With cruiser-type operations, with night attacks, constant pressure, rapid killing raids, ambushes, destruction of supply convoys and cutting lines of communication, Gheslin destroyed the English war machine without risking the blood of his men.
He besieged cities and fortresses and captured them by trickery, bribing the garrison, or by brute force. He tried to rouse the French of Aquitaine. Those who did not follow him were labeled traitors and received what they deserved. A great success of this tactic was the accession of the inhabitants of the city of Limoges to the French king.
The Black Prince could not allow the loss of Limoges. Swearing to punish the inhabitants and the bishop of the city in an exemplary manner. The English forces immediately besieged the city and managed to take it by storm. By order of the Black Prince, who participated, on a stretcher, in the siege, a general massacre of the inhabitants was ordered and thousands of men, women and children were mercilessly slaughtered. The dead are estimated at more than 3,000 civilians.
Edward believed that the example of Limoges would curb the rebellious mood of his French subjects. It went horribly wrong. Also - the massacre of Limoges steeled the French who now swore revenge for the city's dead.
In early 1372 Gueslain liberated Poitiers, the city near which the French Army had suffered, in 1356, its most humiliating defeat up to that time. Poitiers was not taken by force of arms. It was the citizens who rose up and, neutralizing the English garrison, opened the gates to Gheslin and his men. Soon the whole province came under the control of the French.
In the meantime the Black Prince fell ill and withdrew leaving the continuation of the war to his son John of Lancaster. He carried out devastating raids burning villages and killing innocent villagers, without any strategic purpose.
The French victory
While John was burning French villages in central France, Gueslain was advancing on Aquitaine, unmolested. The province of Guien itself, that is to say the core of the English possessions, was now openly threatened. In December 1373, French forces crossed the southern bank of the Garouna River, which formed the natural border between the English-occupied and the French territories, creating an extensive bridgehead.
Soon after, the French advanced to the gates of Bordeaux, occupying the strategically important city of La Réole, which, not without reason, was described as the "gateway of Bordeaux". A consequence of the French advance was that all the French, common people and nobles, rose up against the English and united with their countrymen. English rule had already been limited, now, only around Bordeaux.
At the same time the French had launched a large-scale attack on Brittany, sweeping away the English and their Montfort allies. Soon the whole of Brittany, except for the port of Brest, was under the control of the French and the Anglophile duke of the region abdicated his throne and fled, gasping, to England. The English were now left with only Calais and a small territorial zone in Normandy.
Despite efforts for peace, the war continued. Gueslain and the Duke of Anjou again invaded the Bordeaux region and besieged the city of Bergerac. The English provincial commander Thomas Felton attempted to intercept them, lifting the siege of the city, but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Aimé in September 1377 , in which he himself was captured.
Three years later Geslen died (July 1380). Three months later, its king, Charles E.
, also died
De Gueslain and his men besiege the city. Representation from a medieval manuscript.
The coat of arms of de Gueslain.
Statue of de Gueslain.