Second; 1567–1568Saint-Denis; Chartres Third; 1568–1570Jarnac; La Roche-l'Abeille; Poitiers; Orthez; Moncontour; Saint-Jean d'Angély; Arney-le-Duc Fourth; 1572–1573Mons; Sommières; Sancerre; La Rochelle Fifth; 1574–1576Dormans Sixth; 1577La Charité-sur-Loire; Issoire; Brouage Seventh; 1580La Fère War of the Three Henrys (1585–1589)Coutras; Vimory; Auneau; Day of the Barricades Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594)Arques; Ivry; Paris; Château-Laudran; Rouen; Caudebec; Craon; 1st Luxembourg; Blaye; Morlaix; Fort Crozon Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598)2nd Luxembourg; Fontaine-Française; Ham; Le Catelet; Doullens; Cambrai; Calais; La Fère; Ardres; Amiens The Battle of Vergt took place on 9 October 1562 during the first French War of Religion, between a Royalist army led by Blaise de Montluc and Huguenot rebels under Symphorien de Duras.

The battle was a decisive Royalist victory, which destroyed Duras' army, and prevented him reinforcing Protestant forces in the Loire Valley led by Gaspard II de Coligny and Condé.

When the war began in April 1562, Protestant rebels controlled much of Guyenne and Gascony, while Condé and Coligny quickly seized much of central France north of the Loire.

[5] On 2 April, the Protestant leader Condé seized Orléans and rapidly over-ran large parts of central France and Normandy, but he was short of infantry who were traditionally recruited from Gascony and Guyenne.

[7] In contrast, Monluc proved an energetic defender of Royal authority, who by his own admission executed hundreds of Protestant prisoners and expressed regret lack of funds forced him to ransom captured officers, rather than kill them.

[11] Over the next few months, Montluc captured Bergerac, Agen and Lectoure, while Duras focused on trying to take Bordeaux, despite Jeanne d'Albret urging him to march north and reinforce Condé.

[14] Here he learned Duras' artillery and infantry were at Vergt, with his cavalry stationed in the nearby village of Cendrieux; having failed to send out patrols, they were unaware of how close the enemy was and the Royalists captured 25 of their officers who were out hunting.

Duras ordered his cavalry to withdraw from Cendrieux but assumed his officers had been captured by local Catholic partisans and only discovered the truth when the Royalists arrived outside Vergt early on the morning of 9 October.

The Huguenot army headed for some nearby hills, which would provide protection from the Catholic horse, Pardaillon leading the vanguard, the artillery in the centre under Sainte-Hermine and Duras commanding the rearguard.

[27] Lacking heavy weapons or military cohesion, the defeated Huguenot army broke into small bands that began raiding Catholic towns throughout the Dordogne in an increasingly vicious guerrilla war.