Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle

The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle (or Pevelenberg) was fought on 18 August 1304 between the French and the Flemish. The French were led by their king, Philip IV.

Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle
Part of the Franco-Flemish War
The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle, by Charles Philippe Larivière (1839)
Date 18 August 1304 Location Mons-en-Pévèle, County of Flanders (modern France) Result French victory[1] Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge[1]
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	County of Flanders
Commanders and leaders
Philip IV Foulques du Merle	William of Jülich  † Philip of Chieti John I of Namur
Strength
3,000 knights[2] 10,000 infantry[2]	12,000–15,000 infantry[3]
Casualties and losses
1,800[4]–7,000[5]	1,500[4]–8,000[5]

Prelude

The French king wanted revenge for the defeat in Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302 after which the Flemish retook Douai and Lille. By early 1304, the French king was ready to attack the Flemish rebels. The French army, led by the king himself and by Foulques du Merle, marched north to attack William of Julich's force, and the French navy sailed to Zeeland to unite with the army of Hainault and Holland. It was the combined northern force in Zeeland that struck the first blow on 10–11 August, when it soundly defeated Guy of Namur's army and navy at the Battle of Zierikzee. Guy was captured, and the Flemish conquest of Holland was halted.^[6]

Philip of Chieti, son of Guy, Count of Flanders, had gathered a strong Flemish army to stop the French invasion and taken up positions on Mons-en-Pévèle.

Battle

After a day of fighting, the outcome was undecided and negotiations were opened between 17:00 and 18:30. When a French force, under Guy de Saint-Pol, tried to surround the Flemish, it was pushed back. The furious Flemish then decided to launch a frontal attack and surprised the French, who thought that the battle was over for the day.

The Flemish had reached the royal tent and attacked Philip IV. He escaped only because some knights around him covered his flight and paid with their lives for the act.^[7] Assisted with mounting his horse, Philip counterattacked but had his horse killed under him.^[8] By then, William of Jülich had been killed in a counterattack that Philip had managed to launch.^[9]

As only the Flemish right wing had attacked, and the left wing under John I, Marquis of Namur was already leaving the battlefield,^[7] the Flemish right wing also withdrew.

The French chose not to pursue the Flemish.

During the Flemish attack on Philip, the oriflamme, a hugely symbolic and significant flag, was lost.^[3]

Aftermath

Both sides claimed victory but the French had remained in possession of the battlefield, while the Flemish marched back to Lille.^[10] The French also captured Douai and Orchies and burned down Seclin.

After further minor engagements, the Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge was eventually signed on 23 June 1305 which recognized Flemish independence within the kingdom at the cost of the cities of Lille, Douai and Béthune,^[5] which were annexed by to the French royal domain, as well as the payment of exorbitant fines to King Philip IV.

Notes

1. Curveiller 1989, p. 34.
2. DeVries 2006, p. 34.
3. DeVries 2006, p. 35.
4. Verbruggen 1997, p. 203.
5. DeVries 2006, p. 33.
6. DeVries 2006, p. 32.
7. DeVries 2006, p. 40.
8. DeVries 2006, p. 41.
9. DeVries 2006, p. 44.
10. Verbruggen 1997, p. 202.

References

• Curveiller, Stephane (1989). Dunkerque, ville et port de Flandre à la fin du Moyen âge: à travers les comptes de bailliage de 1358 à 1407. Presses Univ. Septentrion.
• DeVries, Kelly (2006). Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century: Discipline, Tactics, and Technology. The Boydell Press.
• Six, Georges (1905). "La bataille de Mons-en-Pévèle (18 août 1304)". Annales de l'Est et du Nord. 1 (2).
• Verbruggen, J. F. (1952). "De slag bij de Pevelenberg". Bijdragen voor de geschiedenis der Nederlanden. 6: 169–98.
• Verbruggen, J. F. (1997). The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages: From the Eighth Century to 1340. The Boydell Press.
• Verbruggen, J. F. (2002) [1952]. The Battle of the Golden Spurs: Courtrai, 11 July 1302 (rev. ed.). Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-888-9.