Battle of Vergt 1562
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1562 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| Coordinates | 45.0207, 0.6956 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Vergt took place on 9 October 1562 during the first French War of Religion, between a Royalist army led by Blaise de Montluc and Huguenot rebels under Symphorien de Duras. The battle was a decisive Royalist victory, which destroyed Duras' army, and prevented him reinforcing Protestant forces in the Loire Valley led by Gaspard II de Coligny and Condé. As such, it is considered a turning point in the first French War of Religion.
When the war began in April 1562, Protestant rebels controlled much of Guyenne and Gascony, while Condé and Coligny quickly seized much of central France north of the Loire. Duras recruited around 10,000 reinforcements, but then wasted several months seeking to capture Bordeaux. On 9 October, he was surprised by Montluc near the village of Vergt and ordered a withdrawal to the safety of some nearby hills, unwilling to risk a pitched battle. Slowed by their artillery train, the Protestant rearguard was caught in the open by the superior Royalist cavalry, which broke through their formation. Duras escaped with the cavalry but lost most of his infantry.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Vergt (revision 1380091153), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Browse more: battles in France · Europe · Early modern battles