Henry II's Final Battle

By 1189, Henry II, ageing and tiring from continuous problems with his sons, once again had to brace himself for warfare as the eldest of his two remaining sons, Richard, allied himself with the devilish king of France Philip II. Philip and Richard began to eat into Henry’s holdings in France as castle after castle fell into their hands. With Henry staying in Le Mans, Philip and Richard made preparations to launch an unexpected attack and catch the king of England off guard. Henry was said to be furious at the fall of his lands and the gradual disintegration of his once mighty empire. But what made him particularly angry was the continued treachery of Richard. All Henry could do now was turn to William Marshal, the finest knight and warrior of his age. The king instructed Marshal, as well as a handful of other knights, to ride out early in the morning to locate Philip and Richard’s army.

Marshal and the others did as they were ordered. They wore light armour in order to travel more easily and set out on their scouting mission. They came to a river but crossing it was made much more challenging by the thick fog that had descended. Eventually, they crossed and soon enough they came upon the enemy who were evidently marching at great speed. One of Marshal’s small retinue suggested that it would be best to return, with all haste, to Henry to inform him that the enemy was approaching. Marshall, however, delayed him. Marshall wanted a closer look at Richard and Philip’s army. After returning to his small band of men, Marshall had discussions over what to do next. One knight wanted to attack the French scouts who were riding on ahead and seemingly, paying little attention to the environment around them. Marshal, seeing little to gain from this, dismissed the idea as folly and instead chose to return to Henry.

Henry realised he had little option but to depart Le Mans, once he had been informed by Marshal on the situation facing him. However, he took steps to ensure that Richard and Philip’s progress was hindered as much as possible. The bridge that Marshal had crossed during his scouting mission was pulled down, ditches were dug and the fords of the river were impeded so crossings were made highly treacherous. As this was being done, Philip and Richard drew steadily closer until Henry and his men could see them across the river. At this point, the level headed and calming advice of William Marshal helped to clear Henry’s mind. Philip and Richard had set up camp and so there was no need for Henry to panic. Yet.

Henry and his men rose early in the morning. Here, the English king had a heated disagreement with Marshal over the wearing of armour. Henry demanded that Marshal take his off armour and disarm himself, as he sought to speed up the departure from Le Mans. Marshal, sensing a battle could be imminent, point blank refused the king’s request. Angered, Henry told Marshal to stay behind as he departed the town, along with a number of other knights. Evidently, the king thought the precautions that he had taken to prevent Richard and Philip’s army from crossing the river would hold at least long enough for Henry and his men to reach safety. But a small band of French knights had found a crossing, much to the dismay of the English, and now Henry and his company were in grave danger. Marshal, ever the wise man of war, had been proven right. Those who had disarmed themselves would now be regretting it.

For Marshal, there was nothing else for it but to rouse the men still inside the walls of Le Mans. The fighting between the two sides was fierce. Marshal, in particular, defended the gates of Le Mans particularly staunchly, to the point where his horse suffered a crippling injury. Henry, somewhat embarrassed and realising how wrong he’d been, was now entirely reliant on Marshal. Perhaps fueled by this, Henry, needlessly, started a damaging fire, which played into Philip’s hands and the French king returned to his position over the river. The flames of Henry’s fire continued to spread and the decision was taken to abandon Le Mans completely. Further fighting broke out when the French saw Henry and Marshal leading their men out of Le Mans. Philip himself sustained some heavy blows and it was here that Henry’s son, Richard, later known as the Lionheart, would earn his respect for William Marshal.

Marshal cornered the rebellious prince. Richard, in fear for his life, begged Marshal to spare him. Marshal, of course, did so but, after the damage that Richard had caused to the prestige of Henry II, his own father, Marshal was not going to let him go lightly. He drove a spear into Richard’s horse, sending him crashing to the ground. This was Henry’s final military engagement. Not long after, Henry II died with Richard succeeding him. On the death of his father, Richard evidently showed remorse for his behaviour. Some of that remorse, no doubt, instilled in him by that encounter with William Marshal.