The Battle of Cocherel it fought on May 16, 1364 between the king of France and the forces of Charles II of Navarre

Charles II of Navarre

Charles II , called "Charles the Bad", was King of Navarre 1349-1387 and Count of Évreux 1343-1387....

, over the succession to the dukedom of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...

.

The king's forces were led by Bertrand du Guesclin

Bertrand du Guesclin

Bertrand du Guesclin , known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death...

, though Jean, Count of Auxerre

Jean III of Châlon

Jean of Châlon, Count of Auxerre was a French nobleman and soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War, and was the son of Jean II of Châlon. He was Count of Auxerre from 1361 to 1370....

 was the highest-ranking noble present. There were knights from Burgundy (f. e. Jean de Vienne

Jean de Vienne

Jean de Vienne was a French knight, general and Admiral of France during the Hundred Years' War.-Early life:Jean de Vienne was born at Dole, in what is now Franche-Comté. As a nobleman, he started his military career at the age of 19, and was made a knight at 21.-Career:By the age of 24, de Vienne...

), Breton

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, Picard

Picardy

This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...

, Parisian

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and Gascon

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

 people.

The forces of Navarre were commanded by the Gascon chief, Jean de Grailly, Captal de Buch

Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch

Sir Jean III de Grailly, Captal de Buch KG , son of Jean II de Grailly, Captal de Buch, Vicomte de Benauges, and Blanch de Foix...

 and mainly consisted of 800 to 900 knights and 4000 to 5000 soldiers from Normandy, Gascony and England, including 300 English archers

English longbow

The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow about 6 ft long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare...

.

The result of the battle was the French king's victory.

The Navarrese army was lined up in three battalions. It took up a defensive position, as was standard English tactics, forcing du Guesclin to be the aggressor. The French commander managed to break the defensive formation by attacking and then pretending to retreat, which tempted the enemy from their hill in pursuit. A flank attack

Flanking maneuver

In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its...

by du Guesclin's reserve then won the day.