A decisive Anglo-Gascon victory over a much larger French force that shifted the military balance in Aquitaine during the early Hundred Years' War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 21 October 1345
- Anglo-Gascon force size
- 1,200 men
- French force size
- 7,000 men
- Location
- Auberoche, near Périgueux, northern Aquitaine
- Conflict
- Gascon campaign of 1345, Hundred Years' War
- French outcome
- Heavy defeat; leaders killed or captured
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the early stages of the Hundred Years' War, Gascony remained a possession of the English Crown, generating persistent conflict with France. In 1345, Henry, Earl of Derby, launched a Gascon campaign to reassert English dominance in the region, culminating in a French attempt to hold Auberoche against Anglo-Gascon advances.
On 21 October 1345, an Anglo-Gascon army of 1,200 men under Henry, Earl of Derby, engaged a French force of approximately 7,000 commanded by Louis of Poitiers near the village of Auberoche, close to Périgueux in northern Aquitaine. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Anglo-Gascon force inflicted a decisive defeat on the French, killing or capturing their commanders.
The French suffered very high casualties and lost their senior leadership to death or capture. Combined with the earlier Battle of Bergerac in the same year, the defeat caused the French position in the region to collapse. The victories contributed to Henry of Lancaster's reputation as one of the foremost military commanders of his era.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Henry, Earl of Derby.
Side B
1 belligerent
Louis of Poitiers.