1080 Caen

Duke Gassou had not suspected the English would weaken the garrison at Anger and sally from the superior walls of Caen at the same time, but as fate would have it they had done just that. Fortunately word had arrived of the men from Anger in good time, and Perrin's men had withdrawn from the siegeworks in plenty of time to intercept the tiny force, which was marching double time headlong through the forest.



At the sound of his horn the English peasant archers started in terror, attempting to flee, while their spear carrying brothers drew up their formation too far away to provide any cover. It was a slaughter, the lightly armed archers never so much as touched their bows and their daggers made little impression on Duke Gassou's heavily armored guardsmen. As the peasants fled screaming into the woods Perrin's men pursued, and seeing them move off the English spearmen began to advance once more, directly into the pincer set by Perrin's infantry and archers.



Perrin's own archers pelted them from both sides as the enemy advanced towards the French spearmen. Within moments of the reduced English force making contact Duke Gassou's horn sounded once again, directly to their rear. The panic stricken fools fled just as their archer support had moments earlier.



Duke Gassou's spearmen and archers took a position at the crown of the hill, flanked by extensions of the forest running down either side. Eventually the English from Caen, oblivious to the fate of their support from Anger, marched up the hill with their archers once more in the lead. Duke Gassou winded his horn once more, smashing the peasant formation and riding out the other side with over half of them dead and the English noble, Harold, in close pursuit.



As the two companies of English spearmen advanced into the teeth of Perrin's bowmen the Duke's guardsmen led Harold's men in a merry circle through the edge of the nearby woods. Just as the reduced companies of enemy spearmen were engaging with Duke Gassou's lone formation of French spears that gay horn could be heard a fourth time. Mad with glee and desperate to swing the battle the French archers also rushed into the fray against the English spears, routing them completely before Harold and his enraged guardsmen smashed into Perrin's men from behind.



The battle was already over, only Harold didn't know it yet. Turning his men neatly to fight downhill with the support of the remaining French spears Duke Gassou demonstrated this fact with a short sword thrust directly through the English cur's helmet visor. A few more of his guardsmen had to be killed before the remainder would flee, leaving Perrin and the rest of his own guards to run down the last of the routing English infantry.







Caen itself then fell undefended and was sacked and added to the French Empire.