Preparation
Talbot received another 3,000 men to face this new problem, but it was still an inadequate number to hold back the thousands of Frenchmen on Gascony's borders. When the leading French army laid siege to Castillon, Talbot abandoned his original plans (acceding to the pleas of the town commanders), and set out to relieve the town garrison commanders. The French commander, Jean Bureau, in fear of Talbot, ordered his men (estimated at between 7,000 and 10,000 in number) to encircle their camp with a ditch and palisade, and deployed his 300 cannons on the parapet. This was an extraordinarily defensive setup by the French, who enjoyed great numerical superiority. They had made no attempt to invade Castillon.
Talbot approached the French camp on 17 July 1453, arriving before his main body of troops with a vanguard of 1,300 mounted men. He routed a similar sized force of French francs-archers (militia) in the woods before the French encampment, giving his men a large boost of morale.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Castillon
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