Battle of Craon The Battle of Craon took place between 21 – 24 May 1592 , between the French Royal army under the Duke of Montpensier and François de Bourbon , Prince of Conti , reinforced by English contingents under Sir John Norreys , against the combined forces of Spain and the Catholic League of France during the War of the Three Henrys and the Anglo - Spanish War ( 1585 – 1604 ) , in the context of the French Wars of Religion . Craon was besieged by the army of Henry of Navarre , but the defenders , supported by a Catholic relief force recruited by Philippe Emmanuel , Duke of Mercœur , resisted . At the end , Craon was liberated by the Spaniards under Don Juan del Águila , who defeated the Anglo - French besiegers . Background . The commander of the Catholic League of France in the region , the Duke of Mercœur , Governor of Brittany , ordered his chief lieutenant , Urbain de Laval Boisdauphin , to strengthen Craon . In 1590 , Mercœur rebelled against the ascension to the throne of France of Henry of Navarre and becomes the head of the Catholic League of Brittany , aiming to return to restore the autonomy of the former Duchy , and proclaimed protector of the Catholic Church in the region of Brittany . The Duke of Mercœur had the support of the Catholic King , Philip II of Spain , who sent him 7 , 000 Spanish soldiers who landed at Blavet ( Port Louis ) under the command of Don Juan del Águila . On 8 February 1592 , Henry of Navarre decided to take the city of Craon . His cousins , the Duke of Montpensier and François de Bourbon , Prince de Conti , secretly gathered together in Laval to organise the attack . Montpensier arrived with his army on 14 April 1592 , aided by 1 , 200 English troops and 800 German mercenaries , and laid siege to the town . Then on 20 May 1592 , Mercœur and Sablé arrived with their armies to defend Craon . The defense of the city of Craon by the Catholic troops against the French troops of Montpensier and Conti was heroic . On May 22 , 1592 , the Spanish - Catholic army reached Craon under Don Juan del Águila and the Duke of Mercœur . The Spanish - Catholic troops charged against the left flank , taking by surprise the Anglo - French besiegers . At the same time the besieged angrily attacked the right flank , finally achieving a brilliant victory . Under cover of night , Montpensier retired to Laval and Rennes . The Spaniards captured all the artillery , ammunition carts , flags , equipment and supplies from the enemy . The English soldiers captured , were not given quarter , and were all executed , in part in retaliation for the cruelty received from the English in the wrecks of the Spanish Armada . Aftermath . Jérôme d ' Arradon , a French commander , who was entrusted with the command of Hennebont and Blavet by Mercœur , quickly realized that the Spaniards behaved as their conquerors and did not recognize any authority other than their King , Philip of Spain . Just a few days later , Laval fell in the hands of the Catholic League . On May 23 , 1592 , the Prince of Conti retreated into the Chateau - Gontier . The Duke Mercœur and the Marquis of Sablé entered into Laval and took the Chateau - Gontier . Boisdauphin took command of Laval , and Louis Champagné became Governor of Chateau - Gontier .