The aim of this book is to explore the neglected subject of the final war between France and England at the end of Henry VIII's and Francis I's reigns. The relationship between these two monarchs has long fascinated historians and serious work has been done in the last generation, especially on the earlier period. Rather less has been written on the sombre last years of their reigns. The perspective is a dual one, from both that of England and France, with equal weight given to the reasons for conflict and the effects of war on both (on land and sea, in France and Scotland). For England, the military effort of the period proved to be extremely damaging and long-lasting, and Henry VIII found himself facing his enemy without allies for a while. France found itself at war on two fronts for the first time since the early 1520s. The book therefore asks why Henry VIII opted for the imperial alliance in 1542, thus committing himself to war in the long term, and why Francis I and his advisers could not do more to win over the English alliance. The Anglo-French war needs to be placed firmly in the content of the great Habsburg-Valois dual. The Anglo-French wars of this period have not received any serious modern analysis and the study of diplomacy in the period needs to be updated. Maps and plans are included as well as some illustrations.
List of Maps ix
List of Illustrations xi
Abbreviations xiii
Notes xv
Note on Presentation xv
Note on Money xv
Preface xvii
Maps xix
Introduction 1
I 'Whomever I join will (God willing) be the victor': The Road to War 33
Henry and Francis: Perpetual Allies or Wary Opponents? 33
Henry, Francis and the German Princes 48
Pulling Back from the Brink (1541-1542) 55
'To make the worlde newe again': Henry and the Emperor 66
The French Rearguard Action for Peace with England 79
II 'Dancing to the French Tune?:' Scotland between England and France 86
Scotland and Henry VIII 86
The Anglo-Scottish War, 1542-1543 93
French Intervention, 1543 100
The English Invasion of 1544 107
Scottish Revenge, French Intervention, 1545 111
III England and the Wars in Flanders, 1542-1543 120
Border Tensions 121
Watching from the Sidelines (June 1542-June 1543) 124
Open War: Border Conflict and Wallop's March to Landrecies (June-December 1543) 136
IV 'Fighting over the Bear's Skin': The Invasion of France (1544) 153
The Anglo-Imperial Plan of Campaign 153
The French Attempt to Divide Their Enemies 160
A Strategy in Dispute 166
Invasion: Montreuil 172
Invasion: Boulogne 184
French Defence Strategy 189
The Fall of Boulogne and French Attempts at Recapture 197
V An Unequal Contest? English Military Organisation, 1542-1547 205
Command and Control 209
Recruitment and Organisation 214
The Flanders Campaign 218
By Land and Sea: The Expedition to Scotland, 1544 220
The Army Royal in France, 1544 223
Armies for the Defence of Boulogne, 1545-1546 235
Supply, Provisioning and Transport 236
Paying for War 243
The Panoply of War 257
VI The War in France, 1545-1546 266
The Renewal of War around Boulogne, 1545 266
Military Confrontation in France 272
Final Phase: Surrey and Hertford Face du Biez 286
Digging In: French and English Fortifications around Boulogne 294
VII France and England Compete for Troops:
The Mercenary Market, 1543-1546 305
France and the Mercenary Market 307
The Landenberg Fiasco: Henry VIII's Quest for Mercenaries, 1544 310
The Anglo-French Duel in Germany, 1545 316
Changing Terms of Trade: 1546 336
VIII The Admirals' War 347
The French War Effort at Sea 347
The Navy of Henry VIII 362
The Campaign in the English Channel, 1545 375
IX 'To entreate with the sworde in hand:' Imperial and Protestant Mediation (1544-1546) 391
England, France and the Emperor, 1544-1545 391
The German Protestants as Mediators 399
Charles V as Mediator Again, Autumn 1545 402
Protestant Mediation at Calais, Autumn 1545 410
X The Admirals' Peace: The Treaty of Ardres-Guînes (June 1546) 427
The Need for Peace 428
A Mediator from Venice 432
Preparations 438
Haggling over Terms 442
'He never brake in his hert nor never will': The Renewal of Amity 456
Conclusion The End of Two Reigns 462
Appendices
1 The Battle (1544) 485
2 Planning for Wallop's army, 1543 486
3 The Fleet for Scotland, 1544 488
4 The Rearguard, 1544 494
5 The Retinue of Thomas Cawarden (1 August-15 September 1544) 498
6 Coat and Conduct Money for the Army, July-August 1545 500
7 Hertford's Army, January 1546 503
8 Expenses of French and Scottish wars, 1542-1550: 'A Brief declaration wherein are conteyned the greate and notable chardges of warres' 507
9 Estimates for the Cost of the War for Three Months from the Time of Henry VIII's Departure from Calais, 1544 (By Richard Rich as Treasurer of the Wars) 514
10 Expenses of the Rearguard, 4 May 1544-5 November 1544 516
11 The English Garrison at Boulogne 518
12 Sir Hugh Paulet's Account as Treasurer of Boulonnais, 13 September 1544-27 August 1546 519
13 France, Summary State Budgets 1515-1549 520
14 Annebault's Embassy in August 1546 522
15 French Military Resources in Royal Propaganda: 1542 524
Bibliography 527
Index 545
Overview
The aim of this book is to explore the neglected subject of the final war between France and England at the end of Henry VIII's and Francis I's reigns. The relationship between these two monarchs has long fascinated historians and serious work has been done in the last generation, especially on the earlier period. Rather less has been written on the sombre last years of their reigns. The perspective is a dual one, from both that of England and France, with equal weight given to the reasons for conflict and the ...