June 18, 1429 · Loire Valley Theater
June 18, 1429
Patay was the French answer to Crécy and Agincourt. French cavalry caught the English army before it could form its defensive line — the longbowmen who had devastated French knights for generations never got their stakes in the ground. French horsemen crashed into the unprepared English archers and routed them entirely. John Talbot, England's most feared commander in France, was captured. John Fastolf fled the field, earning lasting disgrace. Joan of Arc, having broken the siege of Orléans, now shattered the myth of English military invincibility.
Commanders