Benedict and Walter turned from their ally
and looked across the Yonne; the Burgundian messenger was correct; for now, Charles’ army now moved towards them even
as the siege went on.
With the combined forces of Charles VII
and his Scottish allies, they were numerous enough to encompass the whole city
and still shelter the flank at the river. Now the English forces rallied at the
other side and the opposing armies insulted each other for hours. The French
dared their enemies to cross, knowing their numbers were superior and that the
water would slow this progress. As this happened, Walter and Benedict noticed
their friends had not come.
“No sign of Sir Fastolf or Montacute?”
asked Walter with concern. “Their plan was to arrive before the battle? I pray
nothing ill has happened to them.”
“Perhaps they still travel?” said Benedict
with hope as he scanned the horizon to the northwest where he excepted Fastolf
to come from. “But it is too late now to delay the battle any longer. We must
relieve the Burgundian Duchy in Cravant! Archers!”
But before the English could act, the
French shot a flurry of crossbow bolts across the river. Now, the English
longbowmen returned fire and spread chaos among the French archers.
“Continue the barrage!” Benedict ordered
his captain. “I will lead the army across the river! Keep the enemy’s heads
down; we must not let them trap us in the river’s water!”
“How do we cross without becoming
entrapped on the narrow bridge?” a nearby soldier asked.
“This river is not deep,” replied Philip’s
rider. “And neither does it possess a strong current. You will have to wade
through the waters on both sides of the bridge! But for now, I must leave and
return to my Lord Philip.”
“Inform Philip to come here if he can!”
said Walter.
“Then let us go!” Benedict yelled and
thrust his sword forward as he charged across the bridge.
His knights
and Walter followed after him. Seeing Benedict’s urgency, the soldiers were quick to
stampede across the bridge and slosh through the waters. They held aloft
shields for protection from the ongoing
French arrows. It was fifty meters from one end to the other, and many lost
their lives attempting to cross the river. But constant cover from the longbows
lessened the English casualties from what they could have been.
 |
| Battle of Cravant by Martial d'Auvergne |
Both armies met on the city’s side of the
bridge, as the French attempted to keep most of the English in the water. But
Benedict’s knights caused the Franks and Scots much distress when coming down
on them. The fight was bloody and cruel; many men were broken physically and
left to their anguish on the field even as others around them fought on. For a
while, the tide of battle favoured the
English as their longbows shot beyond the
front lines and thinned the ranks of the enemy’s reinforcements. And the
English knights brought death to many men loyal to King Charles VII.
Now Benedict unhorsed and fought with his
men in the mud and bloodied ground, wielding both sword and axe. Those around him were either encouraged or
fearful, and these feelings were dictated on whether they were friends or foes
with the knight. But for every enemy Benedict felled, two or three more took
his place. The French outnumbered their advisories on their own, but they were
also joined by the Scots and Aragonese and Lombard mercenaries.
When these additional men came to the fray, the
English were pushed back to the river. Still, Benedict and Walter urged their
men forward, even as they grew increasingly out-manned.
To be continued...
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