Fontenoy en Puisaye - June 25, 841 (A la charge!)

After the death of Louis the Pious, the successor to Charlemagne, and despite the treaty of Worms on May 30, 839 with its sharing arrangement, his sons turned on each other. On July 24, 840 in Strasbourg, the new emperor Lothaire I declares that everything must be under his control. According to the ties of loyalty, each lord sets himself under a banner; the emperor's or that of his brothers, Charles the Bald and Louis the Germanic. 

In June 841, the two armies face off near Fontenoy en Puisaye. Lothaire and Pépin II are about to claim a victory when suddenly, the arrival of Guérin, duke of Provence at the head of an army tips the balance. While most have chosen a side, it is not the case of Bernard of Septimany, who awaits the result before aligning himself with the victor. Finally, the battle ends with a stunning victory of Charles the Bald and his half brother, Louis the Germanic.

The death toll is particularly high amongst the Frankish nobility. Nevertheless, the conflict lasts two more years before a sharing agreement is signed at Verdun in early August 843. The imperial unity is by then over.

Charles anchors his flank in and around Fontenoy, while he takes position on his side of the stream. Lothaire sends his southern forces to face off with Charles, also sending a detachment to contest Fontenoy.

Charles is pushed back from the stream, while Lothaire orders more troops in to take Fontenoy.

All along the stream, men from both sides clash around the stream, hoping to gain an advantage.

The battle shifts decisively in Charles the Bald's favor when Bernard of Septimany, in Solmey, joins him and duke Guérin of Provence arrives with his men from the south.

Lothaire leads a desperate charge to break through Charles' forces, but is checked at Fontenoy.

Charles' forces begin a general envelopement, while he personally leads the attack against his beleaguered brother. Lothaire and his picked knights are eradicated and with this act of fraticide, Charles the Bald claims victory.