Battle of Ponts-de-Cé
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| Battle of Ponts-de-Cé | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of France | Supporters of Marie de' Medici | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Louis XIII | Louis de Marillac | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8,600 | 4,500 | ||||||
The Battle of Ponts-de-Cé, also known as the Drollery of Ponts-de-Cé, took place on 7 August 1620 at Les Ponts-de-Cé, between the supporters of King Louis XIII and those of his mother, Marie de' Medici, who was trying to return to power after being dismissed as regent by her son three years earlier.
Background[edit]
- 1610: at the age of 9, Louis XIII is crowned in Reims on 17 October 1610. He is king under the regency of his mother, Marie de' Medici and under the domination of his Italian adviser Concino Concini.
- 1611: The Superintendent of Finances, Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully resigns on 26 January.
- 1613: Concini is named Marshal of France, on 19 November.
- 1614: revolt of the Grandees (the Prince of Condé, the Dukes of Vendôme, Mayenne, Retz) against Concini. May 15: Treaty of Sainte-Menehould. The regent promises the nobles the convocation of the states-general and covers them with gold.
- 1615: Marriage of King Louis XIII on 28 November 1615 to Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain (daughter of King Philip III of Spain).
- 1616: New revolt of the nobles. Treaty of Loudun (disastrous for the Court), between Marie de' Medici (the regent) and the Prince of Condé, 3 May 1616. Imprisonment of Condé by Concini, Marshal of Ancre, 1 September 1616. The Bishop of Luçon, the future Cardinal Richelieu is appointed secretary of State for War and Foreign Affairs, 25 November 1616.
- 1617: coup de force, on April 24, by Louis XIII who comes to power by ordering the assassination of his mother 's favourite, Concino Concini. He exiles Marie de Medici to Blois and finally takes her place as king. Louis XIII now had his own favourite, Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, from the lower nobility. Very quickly, Luynes accumulates titles and fortunes (he will become constable on 31 March 1621). His advancement creates discontent, especially since the king's favorite makes mistakes.
- 1619: the queen-mother escapes from the Château of Blois and raises an army against her son who chooses to reconcile with her, during the treaty of Angoulême on 30 April 1619, and cedes the cities of Angers and Chinon to her, but forbade him from returning to the council. In October, the king had Condé released, which was a provocation towards Marie de' Medici (who had had him imprisoned). It launches a new revolt.
Prelude[edit]
Marie de Médicis can still count on the Greats of the kingdom: César, Duke of Vendôme, first son of Henri IV and his favorite Gabrielle d'Estrées, and therefore half-brother of Louis XIII, takes the side of the Queen-mother and led with his brother, Alexandre de Vendôme, the Chevalier of Vendôme, the troops of the "Grands" (Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette, Henri de Gondi, duc de Retz, Henri I, Duke of Nemours, Henri II de Montmorency, Louis, Count of Soissons, Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville, Urbain de Laval Boisdauphin, Henri de La Trémoille).[1]
Thus, through them, Marie controlled Rouen and Le Havre (Longueville), Dreux, La Ferté-Bernard, Perche and part of Maine (Soissons), Château-Gontier and Sablé (Boisdauphin ), part of the Loire (Vendôme), Brittany (La Trémoille) and Poitou (Retz), and Saintonge (Épernon).[1] The strategic crossing of the Loire, between Anjou and Poitou, is at Ponts-de-Cé.
In Normandy, the Duke of Longueville officially dissents on 2 July[1]; Languedoc is also taking the path of disobedience. On the 7th, the royal army left in the direction of Rouen. It was led by the king and included, among others, his brother , the Prince of Condé (recently released), and three experienced soldiers: Marshals de Praslin, Charles de Créquy and the future Marshal Henri de Schomberg.[1] Rouen is taken on 10 July. Longueville, who did not expect such a rapid reaction, had to take refuge in Caen, in the company of the prior of Vendôme. The city and its castle submit to the arrival of King[1] on 17 July.
Forces present[edit]
French army[edit]
The French army is made up of 8,000 infantry and 600 cavalry commanded by the Prince of Condé assisted by Marshal de Praslin and field marshals Tresnel, Créquy, Nerestang and Bassompierre. They order:
- French Guards Regiment
- the Piedmont regiment
- the Picardy regiment
- the Champagne regiment
- the Navarre regiment
- the regiment of Rambures
- the regiment of Retz
- light horse companies
- rifle companies
Each infantry regiment has lost children.
Battle[edit]
Louis XIII then sent the Duke of Bellegarde, President Pierre Jeannin and the Archbishop of Sens to discuss peace at the Château d'Angers with Marie de' Medici and her supporters. But only Richelieu was receptive to these proposals, and the royal army continued to advance: on August 2, it was at Le Mans, and oblique towards Angers. The King left La Flèche on August 6 to dine at Durtal and sleep at the Château du Verger. On August 7, the royal troops gather in the plain of Trélazé, near the slate quarries of Angers. François de Bassompierre, having seen some guards of the Count of Soissons, sends a hundred men from the Piedmont regiment to the point. The opposing carabins withdraw then hide to observe.[1]
At this time, the army of the Queen-Mother is disposed in the delta formed by the confluence of the Maine in the Loire. It leans on its right at Ponts-de-Cé, with the castle as a redoubt and its left on the enclosure of Angers. Much more numerous than the royal army, it is also rich in commanders: Louis de Marillac, who officially has his command, must dispute this charge on the ground with the duke of Vendôme, the duke of Nemours, the count of Soissons and the Marshal de Boisdauphin. Contingents are no longer arriving in Anjou, and current troops are beginning to disperse. The Duke of Retz commands the infantry and the Count of Saint-Aignan the cavalry.[1]
Opposite are the royal troops, with the regiments of the Gardes-Françaises, Picardie and Champagne and 2 cannons. Commanded directly by the king, they received the order to occupy Sorges-sur-l'Authion to make a few skirmishes and reconnoitre the ground and the enemy entrenchment. Then they were ordered to charge the enemy infantry, which, still led by Retz, retreated on the third charge.[1]
The defection of the Duke of Retz and his 1,500 men, reducing the troops of the Grands by more than a third, prompted the Duke of Vendôme to give up the fight and take refuge in Angers, where the court of Marie de' Medici was located, leaving his army in disarray. It was then child's play for Marshal de Créquy to rout this army without a leader, dispersing making this battle a "joke". The "drollery of the Ponts-de-Cé " was the rout and the dispersion of the troops without the command of the queen-mother by the royal troops. The defeat is total for Marie de' Medici.
On 10 August the Peace of Angers was signed between Louis XIII and Marie de' Medici. For fear of seeing his mother pursue her plots, the king accepted her return to the court of France, and reconciled with her through Richelieu, then bishop of Luçon.
Citations[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Marie-Catherine Vignal Souleyreau, Richelieu ou la quête d'Europe, Paris, Pygmalion, 2008, 385 p.
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