The Siege of Roche-au-Moine was an engagement of the Anglo-French War. King John of England besieged the castle but had to retreat in the face of King Philip Augustus' son, Prince Louis. Despite enjoying numerical superiority, John did not want to engage in battle as his goal was to draw French forces south and distract them to facilitate the main Imperial-led allied invasion from the northeast. He also distrusted his Poitevin allies and was afraid of not being supported in case of confrontation. Destroying his siege implements, he and his troops hastily withdrew. His rearguard suffered severely at the hands of Louis' army. The prince pursued him as far as Thouars before turning back to Anjou. King John's efforts were ultimately fruitless as his allies nonetheless suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Bouvines.
Siege
In 1214 John began his final campaign to reclaim Normandy from Philip. John was optimistic, as he had successfully built up alliances with the Holy Roman EmperorOtto IV, Count Ferrand of Flanders, Count Renaud of Boulogne, Duke Henry I of Brabant, Count William I of Holland, Duke Theobald I of Lorraine and Duke Henry III of Limburg. He was also enjoying papal favour and had successfully built up substantial funds to pay for the deployment of his experienced army. Nonetheless, when John left for Poitou in February 1214, many barons refused to provide military service; mercenary knights had to fill the gaps. John's plan was to split Philip's forces by pushing north-east from Poitou towards Paris, whilst Otto, Renaud and Ferdinand, supported by William Longespée, marched south-west from Flanders. His plan of campaign was quite ambitious and was the project of a great strategic combination; unfortunately it required accurate timing, a thing impossible to secure when the distances were so great and comunications so difficult. John crossed to Aquitaine with his force at a very unusual season. Sailing from Portsmouth, they landed at La Rochelle on 15 February 1214. He called the feudal levies of Guyenne to reinforce him and marched into Poitou, where he was joined by Hugh IX of Lusignan and by Hervé, Count of Nevers. Making a great display of his troops, John overran Poitou in March, then crossed the Loire and invaded Anjou, the ancient patrimony of his house. As he expected, the King of France marched to check the invasion, taking with him his son, Louis, and the pick of the feudal levies of his realm. Moving by Saumur and Chinon, he endeavoured to cut off John's line of retreat towards Aquitaine. But, abandoning Anjou, the english king hastened rapidly southward, and, evading the enemy, reached Limoges on 3 April. By these operations, John had drawn Philip far to the south. Philip, however, refused to pursue John any farther and after ravaging the revolted districts of Poitou, marched homewards. At Châteauroux, he handed over a few thousand troops to his son and returned with the rest to the north. John was still determined to tie down as large a force as possible. When he heard Philip had departed, he at once faced about and re-entered Poitou in May. Rapidly passing the Loire, he again invaded Anjou and after subduing many towns, laid siege to the strong castle of Roche-au-Moine on 19 June. He had lain in front of it for fifteen days when Prince Louis marched to it with his relief army, reinforced by Angevin levies under William des Roches and Amaury de Craon. But despite his significantly larger army, the English king was not prepared to fight as he deemed his Poitevin allies to be untrustworthy. He recrossed the Loire on July 3, retreating back to La Rochelle, with his rearguard suffering immensely at the hands of the French forces in the process.
Aftermath
Shortly afterwards, Philip won the hard-fought battle of Bouvines in the north-east against Otto and John's other allies, bringing an end to John's hopes of retaking Normandy. A peace agreement was signed in which John returned Anjou to Philip and paid the French king compensation; the truce was intended to last for six years. John arrived back in England in October.
