| Siege of Mercq | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Hundred Years' War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of France |  Kingdom of England | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Richard Aston Robert de Berengeville † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
~800
| ~500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy [1] | Light | ||||||
On 6 May of 1405, [2] a French army under the command of Waleran III, Count of Ligny and Saint-Pol besieged the English castle at Mercq in Pas-de-Calais. [3]
The French siege proved futile as English reinforcements under Lieutenant of Calais Sir Richard Aston arrived with the Calais garrison to counterattack and lift the siege. [2] Although surprised by the English attack the French troops manned the trenches, but the Genoese crossbowmen had no bolts and St. Pol's army suffered losses from English archers. [2] The first to flee were the Flemings, quickly followed by the French and Genoese. [2] Waleran III escaped with remnants of his army, but most were either killed or captured. The English captured all the French artillery, four standards, 60-80 prisoners including Jean de Hangest. [2]
