Battle of Cocherel

The Battle of Cocherel was fought on 16 May 1364 between the forces of Charles V of France and the forces of Charles II of Navarre (known as Charles the Bad), over the succession to the dukedom of Burgundy. The king of France's forces were led by Bertrand du Guesclin, though Jean, Count of Auxerre was the highest-ranking noble present. There were knights from Burgundy (f. e. Jean de Vienne), Breton, Picard, Parisian and Gascon people.

The forces of Navarre were commanded by the Gascon chief, Jean de Grailly, Captal de Buch and mainly consisted of 800 to 900 knights and 4000 to 5000 soldiers from Normandy, Gascony and England, including 300 English archers.

The Navarrese army was lined up in three battalions. It took up a defensive position, as was standard English tactics, forcing du Guesclin to be the aggressor. The French commander managed to break the defensive formation by attacking and then pretending to retreat, which tempted the enemy from their hill in pursuit. A flank attack by du Guesclin's reserve then won the day.