Today in History: The Battle of the Cravant

On this day (July 31) in 1423, England and its Burgundian allies defeated the Dauphin’s forces at the Battle of the Cravant. For all practical purposes, France was in the midst of a civil war caused by rival factions fighting for control over the government during the mental illness of Charles VI and aggravated when the Dauphin assassinated his Burgundian rival. Burgundy allied with England under Henry V and together they successfully dominated a significant amount of French territory including Paris. The Dauphin broke his peace treaty with England when Henry V died leaving an infant son as king, but the Burundians and English rallied together to defend the town of Cravant from the Dauphin’s siege. The Dauphin outnumbered the English forces by 2-3 times, but was outmaneuvered. He attempted to withdraw but 4000 Scottish troops serving under his command refused to retreat and the English smashed them, breaking the Dauphin’s army, and taking a couple of thousand prisoners. Things would continue to get worse for the Dauphin until a young peasant girl named Joan came to him bearing a message she insisted came from God.