The Great Chevauchée - John of Gaunt-s Raid on France, 1373

Serie della Osprey Publishing dedicata a famosi assalti della storia. Ogni volume di 64 pagina presenta: l'origini del raid, le strategie adottate, la preparazione, una descrizione del raid, una analisi dello svolgimento e una conclusione.

In 1373, John of Gaunt set off from Calais on a great raid to strike at the heart of France. Driven by the high ideals of chivalry,the raiders left with epic pageantry. However, the reality soon overwhelmed the raiders. Beset on all sides by French ambushes and plagued by disease and starvation, the raiders battled their way through Champagne, east of Paris, into Burgundy, across the Massif Central and finally down into the Dordogne. Unable to attack any major fortifications, John of Gaunt’s men plundered the countryside, raiding towns and villages, weakening the French infrastructure. While the military value of the raid is debatable, the English knights who finally made it home were hailed as heroes. This book charts the course of the raid from beginning to end, studying all the battles and skirmishes the raiders fought along the way in this bloody example of chivalric warfare.