Wikipedia article of the day for August 18, 2026

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 18, 2026 is Siege of Brest (1342).
The siege of Brest took place in 1342 during the Breton Civil War, a dispute over who should inherit the Duchy of Brittany, with Charles of Blois, supported by a large French army, besieging supporters of John of Montfort. As France and England were engaged in the Hundred Years' War, the Monfortists appealed to the English king for military assistance, which was promised. It was slow in coming, and by July 1342 Brest was the last fortification held for the Montfort cause. The town was blockaded from the sea by 14 mercenary Genoese galleys. On 18 August, an English fleet of 260 ships (example pictured), commanded by William of Northampton, sailed into the Brest Roads and overwhelmed the galleys, burning 11. The English ships carried only a small fighting force, but seeing so many enemy ships and the English vanguard disembarking, Charles broke off the siege and withdrew. The historian Jonathan Sumption describes this as extraordinary. The Breton Civil War continued until 1365, and the Hundred Years' War until 1453.