France timeline

  • The Battle of Tours (Poitiers)

    The Battle of Tours (October 10, 732), also called the Battle of Poitiers and in Arabic: معركة بلاط الشهداء‎ (ma‘arakat Balâṭ ash-Shuhadâ’) Battle... Read more

  • The Battle of Sluys

    The decisive naval Battle of Sluys was fought on 24 June 1340 as one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War. It is historically... Read more

  • The Battle of Crécy

    The Battle of Crécy (occasionally called the Battle of Cressy in English) took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one... Read more

  • The Battle of Poitiers

    The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the... Read more

  • Black Monday Hail Storm

    On so-called "Black Monday" in 1360, a hail storm kills an estimated 1,000 English soldiers in Chartres, France. The storm and the devastation it... Read more

  • Battle of Agincourt

    The Battle of Agincourt was an English victory against a much larger French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday 25... Read more

  • Leonardo da Vinci Dies in Amboise

    From September 1513 to 1516, Leonardo spent much of his time living in the Belvedere in the Vatican in Rome, where Raphael and Michelangelo were... Read more

  • Jacques Cartier Sails Upriver

    French navigator Jacques Cartier sailed into the St. Lawrence River for the first time on June 9, 1534. Commissioned by King Francis I of France to... Read more

  • Battle of Les Avins

    The Battle of Les Avins or Battle of Avein was fought on May 20, 1635 during the Thirty Years' War between a French and a Spanish army. The... Read more

  • The Siege of Breisach Ends in a French Victory

    Battle of Breisach was fought on August 18 — December 17, 1638 as part of Thirty Years' War. It ended when a garrison of the Holy Roman Empire... Read more

  • The Siege of Turin

    The 1640 siege of Turin was a major action in two distinct wars: the Franco-Spanish War (1635) and the Piedmontese Civil War. Thomas of Savoy and... Read more

  • Battle of Honnecourt

    In spring 1642, cardinal Richelieu concentrated his forces to besiege the city of Perpignan in the province of Roussillon, leaving the rest of his... Read more

  • Battle of Rocroi

    The Battle of Rocroi was fought on 19 May 1643, late in the Thirty Years' War. It resulted in a decisive victory of the French army under the Duc... Read more

  • Battle of Tuttlingen

    The Battle of Tuttlingen was fought in Tuttlingen on November 24, 1643. Those involved in the conflict were the French forces led by Marshal Josias... Read more

  • Battle of Freiburg

    The Battle of Freiburg, also called the Three Day Battle, took place on August 3, August 5 and August 9, 1644 as part of the Thirty Years' War. The... Read more

  • Battle of Mergentheim

    The Battle of Herbsthausen, or the Battle of Mergentheim, was fought on May 2, 1645.The battle was between French forces led by Marshal Turenne and... Read more

  • Second Battle of Nördlingen

    The second Battle of Nördlingen (or Battle of Allerheim) was fought on August 3, 1645 southeast of Nördlingen near the village of Alerheim. France... Read more

  • Battle of Zusmarshausen

    The Battle of Zusmarshausen was fought on May 7, 1648 between the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden and France (led by Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne,... Read more

  • The Peace of Westphalia is Achieved through the Treaties of Osnabrück and Münster

    The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24, 1648, respectively, and... Read more

  • Battle of Lens

    The Battle of Lens (20 August 1648) was a French victory under Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé against the Spanish army under Archduke Leopold... Read more

  • Battle of Arras

    The Battle of Arras, fought on August 25, 1654, was a victory of a French army under Turenne against a Spanish army commanded by Don Fernidand de... Read more

  • Battle of Valenciennes

    With a little further sacrifice of pride on the part of Spain peace might, perhaps, have been made after the deaths of Louis XIII and Richelieu had... Read more

  • Treaty of the Pyrenees

    The Treaty of the Pyrenees is the last major diplomatic achievement by Cardinal Mazarin. Combined with the Peace of Westphalia, it allowed Louis... Read more

  • Palace of Versailles Completed

    The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624,... Read more

  • Signing of the Treaty of Ryswick

    The Treaty of Ryswick or Ryswyck was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick (now known as Rijswijk) in the Dutch Republic. The treaty... Read more