King Henry II of France had occupied the city according to the terms of the Treaty of Chambord he had signed with several Protestant Imperial princes.

The Imperialist light cavalry, under the Duke of Savoy, and reiters commanded by Count Volrad de Schwartzemberg, chased French harquebusiers and their supporting gendarmes from the Bois Guillaume wood, a significant position.

Gaspard II de Coligny, Admiral of France, a Huguenot, dismounted and entered the Bois Guillaume wood with 1,000 men, attacking the Spanish defenders.

This allowed Gaspard de Saulx to charge the Imperialists, supported, possibly somewhat tardily, by Francis, Duke of Guise.

King Henry II awarded Gaspard de Saulx his own Order of Saint-Michel on the battlefield.