Saintonge War The Saintonge War was a feudal dynastic encounter that occurred in 1242 between forces of Louis IX of France and those of Henry III of England . Saintonge is the region around Saintes in the centre - west of France . The conflict arose because some vassals of Louis were displeased with accession of his brother , Alphonse , as count of Poitou . The French decisively defeated the English at the Battle of Taillebourg and concluded the struggle at the Siege of Saintes , but because of dynastic sensibilities and the desire to go on a crusade , Louis did not annex Guyenne . Prelude . By the terms of his will Louis VIII had left Poitou as an appanage to his younger son Alphonse . In June 1241 , Louis IX held a plenary court at Saumur in Anjou and announced that Alphonse , having come of age , was ready to come into possession . Many nobles from Aquitaine attended the court , among them Isabella of Angoulême and her husband , the Count of La Marche , Hugh de Lusignan . After the meeting at Saumur , Louis went to Poitiers and installed his brother as the Count of Poitiers . The Lusignans were not receptive to Capetian authority in the region , and Isabella was particularly frustrated that her son , the Earl of Cornwall and brother to King Henry III , had not got the title . Shortly after his arrival at Poitiers , Louis learned that Hugh had assembled an army of men - at - arms at the nearby town of Lusignan . Talks between Louis and Alphonse and Hugh and Isabella did not resolve the dispute . In April 1242 , Louis assembled a force at Chinon that some contemporaries estimated at around 50 , 000 . On May 20 , 1242 , Henry arrived at Royan and joined the rebelling French nobles , forming an army that may have numbered about 30 , 000 . The two kings exchanged letters , but these resolved nothing . Battle of Taillebourg . Henry advanced to Tonnay - Charente by mid - July and Louis moved to Saint - Jean - d ' Angély , just north of Taillebourg , the armies intending to reach the bridge across the Charente River , located in the commune of Taillebourg . Henry and Hugh positioned their army near the village of Saint - James on the west bank of the river and camped in the neighbouring field , while Louis was welcomed to the fortified chateau of Geoffroy de Rancon , the Count of Taillebourg . Henry decided to send an advance guard to protect the left bank of the Taillebourg bridge , a move that led to a sharp encounter with some French troops on either July 21 or 22 . Louis decided to follow up this engagement and launched a full offensive with the entire French army . The aggressive French assaults carried the day and the English king fled south to the town of Saintes , along with the revolting barons . Siege of Saintes . On July 22 or 23 , the French army arrayed itself before the city of Saintes . Henry realised that Hugh did not have as much support as he may have earlier claimed and withdrew to Bordeaux . It is uncertain if there were was any armed conflict associated with the siege . Recognising that he was in a hopeless position , Hugh surrendered to Louis on July 24 , ending the Saintonge War . Aftermath . Casualties are unknown , but were probably not heavy . Hugh ' s revolt and Henry ' s assistance were primarily aimed at exploiting the diversion provided by French involvement in the Albigensian Crusades . Raymond VII of Toulouse led a revolt in May 1242 , but his allies revoked their support after the English were defeated ; Raymond submitted to the king ' s authority at Montargis in January 1243 . Louis did not take advantage of his victory by annexing the Plantagenet fief of Guyenne , probably because he was mostly concerned with going on the Seventh Crusade in 1248 . He simply allowed Henry to do homage without inflicting further punishment .