![]() Contrary to the belief of Robert of Artois, there were no pro-Flemish supporters in the town and Robert's plan of simply marching up to the gates and being admitted in was thus impossible. Robert was still 15 miles away haggling with his own troops. On 13 July, Philip dispatched a force of several thousand men-at-arms to Saint-Omer under Eudes of Burgundy, who began the work of demolishing the suburbs. The French had not expected an attack on Saint-Omer but the lumbering progress of Edward III's preparations gave them plenty of warning of what was afoot. In addition, Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy, in his capacity as ruler of Artois maintained garrisons of his own in the western and coastal sector of the frontier Robert's campaign Along the marches of Flanders and Hainaut, strong garrisons were placed. By July, King Philip VI had an army of 24,000 men gathered in the region and formidable defensive arrangements were set up. The French were well aware of Edward's preparations and began strengthening their forts and positions in Northern France. Meanwhile, Edward remained in Flanders to raise another army in order to besiege Tournai. He ordered Robert III of Artois, an old pretender to the title of Count of Artois to take 1,000 English archers and 10,000 to 15,000 Flemish troops which had gathered in Artois to conduct a chevauchée in the region, attempting to provoke the French into action and perhaps to capture an important fortified town such as Saint-Omer. On Edward's passage he had won the great naval victory at Sluys and buoyed by this success was determined to press his advantage on land too. Thus when Edward demanded 150,000 Flemish troops to be awaiting his arrival in 1340, he was somewhat surprised to discover on arrival that barely a fraction of this number had gathered. Edward III, seeking allies for his war against France, made an alliance with Artevelde and promised to fund his government and supply the wool vital for the Flemish economy provided the Flemish supported his operations and allowed Flanders to be used as a staging point for an invasion of France.Īrtevelde agreed, but was secretly unwilling to commit all his resources to this war and also was not fully in control of the mercantile city states which emerged in the semi-independent region. Jacob van Artevelde gained control of this insurrection and became as captain general of Ghent, Flanders' semi-dictatorial ruler. In the late 1330s, Flanders again struck out for self-determination Louis I of Flanders, who had abandoned his father's anti-French policies, was overthrown in a bloody coup and fled to France. French border in 1340 īy 1340, Flanders had reluctantly been under French suzerainty for centuries and frequent uprisings and wars of independence between the two nations had studded the Middle Ages. It exposed southern Flanders to the wrath of Philip VI and enabled the French to concentrate their forces against the main army of the coalition in the siege of Tournai. The defeat had serious strategic consequences. On the bright side, the loss of several thousand men was bearable, as the survivors, which included most of the precious English longbowmen, eventually rejoined him at Tournai. Edward's campaign of 1340 had begun badly. The allies suffered heavy losses and the French captured their camp intact, taking many warhorses, draft animals and carts, all the tents, huge quantities of supplies and most of the Flemish standards. ![]() At Saint-Omer, the heavily-outnumbered French men-at-arms, tasked with defending the city and awaiting reinforcements, unexpectedly defeated the Anglo-Flemish forces on their own. The campaign was initiated in the aftermath of the English naval victory at the Battle of Sluys but was far less successful than Edward had hoped. The Battle of Saint-Omer, fought on 26 July 1340, was a major engagement in the early stages of the Hundred Years' War, during Edward III's 1340 summer campaign against France launched from Flanders.
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