When King John received news that the Black Prince had commenced a "chevauchée" of his own with an Anglo-Gascon force moving north from Bergerac, he offered the garrison of Breteuil easy terms to end the siege. He then assembled a royal army at Chartres, pursued the Anglo-Gascons, cut off their retreat and forced them to battle at Poitiers. The French army was heavily defeated by the smaller Anglo-Gascon force and John was captured, along with most of his court and much of the nobility of France.