The Crown of the Hundred Years' War

Chapter 13 Turning Point

Le Mans had become a large military camp. British troops were constantly going in and out of the city gates, a large number of wagons were gathered in the square, and several cannons were wrapped in tarpaulins and placed aside.

A cavalry force of several dozen men galloped in from the south gate, and only when they reached the castle gate did the leading knight dismount with his second-in-command and walk inside.

Fastov was arranging the transport plan for the supply corps when he saw the newcomer. He paused for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Lord Talbot, didn't you already head south? Why are you back?"

Talbot looked around and, seeing no one else nearby, replied, "I was intercepted by French troops and suffered some losses. Where is Lord Salisbury?"

Fastov pointed towards the tower: "Lord Salisbury is in the command post on the roof. Lord Talbot, I had planned to send the supply train with your vanguard today. Given the current situation, is it still possible to do so?"

Talbot thought for a moment, "You come up with me too, and hear about the battle so Lord Salisbury can make his judgment."

Fastov nodded, instructed his adjutant to arrange the work, and went up to the tower with Talbot. Salisbury was studying a huge map, which was covered with charcoal drawings.

Hearing footsteps, Salisbury turned to Talbot: "So, what bad news have you brought me?"

Talbot looked ashamed and bowed. "Lord Salisbury, I was ordered to sweep south, but we encountered the French army just after crossing the Salt River and lost several hundred men. The troops are now stationed at Lasyres and need to rest."

Salisbury tapped the table, turned to face the map, his back to Talbot: "Sir Talbot, you are always honest. Tell me the whole story of the battle."

Talbot walked to the edge of the map and pointed to the thin line representing the Sarthe River: "We had just crossed the Sarthe when the garrison at Lasyze reported French troops nearby. I sent out scouts and found only a few hundred men, so I decided to probe them. We engaged in battle in the woods to the south. Their left flank was too weak, so I sent several squads of armored men along the creek to attack their flank. But then several hundred cavalrymen charged out along the creek and routed our ranks. I led my own cavalry in a counter-charge, which stopped them and allowed us to withdraw our troops."

Salisbury interrupted him: "Several hundred cavalrymen? How many exactly? And under whose banner are they flying?"

"Flying under the banner of the royal cavalry, it must be Atil himself, with at least five hundred riders," Talbot replied.

“Five hundred cavalry? Less than fifteen miles from Le Mans?” Salisbury drew a line on the map. Talbot was about to reply when he raised his hand to stop him. Salisbury then drew circles south of Le Mans on the map, more than a dozen in a row, before stopping and asking, “Talbot, you’ve been fighting in Maine for several years. Those fortresses south of Le Mans are still in French hands, aren’t they?”

Talbot stepped forward, examined them, and nodded. "Yes, sir. Although some may have been recently put into use by the French, they are indeed still under their control."

Salisbury actually laughed. Talbot and Fastov were both somewhat surprised and unsure, thinking that the setbacks at the beginning of the year had made him laugh in frustration. Talbot cautiously asked, "Sir, have I affected this year's advance? Then I will stop resting now and intercept Atil!"

Salisbury chuckled and shook his head, patting Talbot on the shoulder: "Attil is a shrewd strategist. He clearly used some tricks—he positioned those few hundred cavalry a mile or two away from the infantry, only charging when he was sure the fighting had started. What's so strange about you losing?" He stopped smiling and looked at the map. "I'm laughing because the French gave themselves away."

The two were even more bewildered. Before they could speak, Salisbury explained, "Although we've mostly suppressed the area around Le Mans, these dozen or so fortresses to the south, even with two hundred men each, would require three thousand. Attil's five hundred cavalry arrived before spring plowing; didn't they anticipate our attack on Angers?"

Talbot suddenly realized, but then asked with some doubt, "Sir, isn't this a bad thing?"

Salisbury grabbed a letter from the table and tossed it to Talbot: "The French anticipated our attack on Angers. But I sent troops from Paris south to probe, and they found that Dunois's forces were much the same as in previous years, and they hadn't deployed any new fortifications. Why don't we just attack Orléans directly?"

After reading the letter, Talbot handed it to Fastov, thought for a moment, and asked, "Sir, the previous meeting already concluded that, according to the Duke's orders, we should continue our attack on Angers, whose supply lines are even shorter, right?"

Salisbury started drawing on the map again, saying as he did so, "Talbot, think about it, how many men has Attil had at most over the years? If they could muster five hundred riders to intercept us, their preparation time probably wasn't any shorter than ours. That means our plan to raid Angers is doomed. Will we even see Angers this spring?"

Before Talbot could reply, he had already finished drawing and was pointing at the map with his finger: "Sir Talbot, Knight Fastoff—I hereby formally give you my orders."

Talbot and Fastov straightened up and stood at attention to receive orders.

"Talbot, you will lead your troops back to Le Mans. Withdraw the cavalry from the strongholds to support your attack along the Sarthe River, making Atil believe you are preparing to raid small outposts. Once reinforcements from home arrive and join you, take all the troops except the Le Mans garrison, along with all the cannons, and head east—I want you to capture Meun and Beaujantsie, and establish a defensive line to the north connecting to Bazoche Castle."

Talbot seemed to want to say something, but seeing Salisbury continue giving orders to Fastov, he swallowed his words.

"Fastov, your supply train will depart tomorrow as planned, but not south; head east to Chartres and wait for me. Take artillery and double the number of laborers, conscripted from the vicinity of Le Mans."

After issuing the orders, Talbot immediately asked, "My lord, both Moen and Boransiq are fortified strongholds, difficult to capture quickly. Moreover, I've taken all the garrison with me; what if Atil attacks the city?"

Salisbury pointed to the large circles on the map: "Talbot, what do you think I've been doing all these years? Why did I ignor Le Mans and Chartres last year and instead ram into Montargis? Just to make Dunois really think I wanted to take over the big cities first. These fortresses I let go are all old castles, without rammed earth walls or turrets. You could blast a breach in a day with ten cannons! And those five fortresses north of Orléans, especially Jeanville, I've never touched—I wanted to make Dunois think they were impregnable!"

His finger moved along the map, circling the large dot of Orléans, drawing a semicircle of the north bank fortresses from west to east: "You see, the main city of Orléans is on the north bank of the Loire River. As long as I capture the northern defenses, it's less than twenty miles from Jeanville to Orléans. Then you lock down the Moines ferry crossing and Beaugensis in the west, forming a defensive line, and let the Burgundians take Jarjo in the east—Orléans will be locked on the north bank, and the French will never be able to save it."

He then pointed to the thin line representing the Sarte River: "As for Le Mans, when you leave, just dismantle all the bridges over the Sarte River so that their cannons can't be transported over. The garrison in Le Mans can hold out."

Fastov listened silently until he finally couldn't help but speak up: "Sir, shouldn't we ask the Duke first? This is completely different from what we discussed in our previous meeting. I need the Duke's authorization. Chartres is seventy miles from Le Mans; that's already the Duke's war zone."

Salisbury had already turned around and tied his cloak, replying as he packed his things, "I'll go to Paris now to inform the Duke that I'll lead the troops south directly from there. You depart today, and I'll meet you in Chartres early next month. If you have any complaints, send a letter to the Duke—for now, execute the orders!"

He turned and walked out, taking only a few guards with him as he rode out of the city. Fastov and Talbot, left behind, exchanged bewildered glances. After a long while, Talbot finally spoke, "How about... you leave me two more cannons? I'll put them on the main tower of Le Mans."

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Duke of Anjou: "Salisbury is a ruthless killer who fights like he's tired of living. The other generals, on the other hand, are like hungry lions, pouncing on us like prey."

Alanson: "Our compatriot Fu Huasa wrote that during the reign of Edward III, England was full of warriors like Oliver and Rowland. Now that's even more true, because the men they sent out to fight were like Samson and Goliath; ten of them couldn't defeat one!"

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Henry VI, by William Shakespeare