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1057 Battle of Varaille

Norman horseman against two foot soldiers
Normandy
Henry the king of France ordered the dukedom of Normandy to be invaded. He and Geoffrey Martel of Anjou joined forces in Angers. Their army marched towards Caen.
To reach Caen, they had to cross the Dives marshlands, which was flooded.
So, while they made their way to the only possible route between Varaville and Périers, William was already waiting to ambush in the Bavent woods, with troops and peasants from the surrounding area.

Normans blocked a passageway and made the French only available passage was via the wooden bridge over the River Dives, which collapsed under the weight of them horses and carts all plummeted into the waters. They began to cross the river but when the tide came in, the process had only been half completed, leaving the army split in two parts. William the conqueror seized the opportunity and attacked the half of the invading army that had not yet crossed and won the battle.
It happened on the 22th of March. King Henrys men drowned and were defeated


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Location: Varaville, France

Comments

  1. joh6nn24 January 2022 at 11:58

    Do you know the source for the picture of the Norman horseman and the two foot soldiers? I'm trying to find its origins, and the only result I could find on google was this page. Any information you have about it would be appreciated. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. x26 January 2022 at 04:51

    I do not now the exact title, but it is a book about the development of weapons from the stone age to modern times.

    ReplyDelete

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