Siege of Brest (1342) 1342
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1342 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Breton Succession | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 48.3819, -4.4963 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Brest took place in 1342 during the Breton Civil War. When John III, the duke of Brittany, died childless in 1341 the title was contested by Charles of Blois and John of Montfort. Charles was the nephew of the French king, Philip VI (r. 1328–1350), who supported him with a large army. Charles invaded Brittany, making good progress and taking John prisoner. John's wife, Joanna of Flanders, took up the Montfortist cause and fought on. As France and England had been fighting the Hundred Years' War since 1337 Joanna appealed to Edward III, the English king, for military assistance, which was promised.
The assistance was slow in coming and the Montfortist forces were pushed back across Brittany. By July 1342 Joanna was besieged in Brest, the last Breton fortification held for the Montfort cause, by Charles and a large army. The town was blockaded from the sea by 14 mercenary Genoese galleys. On 18 August an English fleet of 260 ships, commanded by William of Northampton, sailed into the Brest Roads and overwhelmed the galleys, burning 11. The English ships carried only 1,350 fighting men, a force far smaller than that of the French army.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Brest (1342) (revision 1370773684), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle for Brest 1944 · 1 km
- Childers Incident 1793 · 10 km
- Battle of Camaret 1694 · 14 km
- Siege of Fort Crozon 1594 · 15 km
- Battle of Saint-Mathieu 1512 · 21 km
- Battle of Pierres Noires 1944 · 36 km
Other battles of the War of the Breton Succession
- Initial campaign of the War of the Breton Succession 1341
- Battle of Morlaix 1342
- Siege of Hennebont 1342
- Sieges of Vannes (1342) 1342
- Battle of Cadoret 1345
- Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Léon 1346
- Combat of the Thirty 1351
- Battle of Mauron 1352
- Siege of Rennes (1356–1357) 1356
- Battle of Auray 1364
All 11 battles of the War of the Breton Succession →
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