ecessary to hold, coupled with

(2) an obstacle, the Miosson River, which (when he should retreat) he
could count upon to check pursuit; especially as its little valley was
(_a_) fairly deeply cut, (_b_) encumbered by wood, and (_c_) passable for
troops only at the bridge of Nouaille, which he was free to cut when it
had served him, and at a somewhat hidden ford which I will later describe.

I must here interpose the comment that the bridge of Nouaille, being of
stone, would not have been destroyable during a very active and pressed
retreat under the conditions of those times; that is, without the use of
high explosives. But it must be remembered that such a narrow passage
would in any case check the pursuit, that half an hour's work would
suffice to make a breach in the roadway, and perhaps to get rid of the
keystones, that a few planks thrown over the gap so formed would be enough
to permit archers defending the rear to cross over, that these planks
could then be immediately withdrawn, and that the crush of a hurried
pursuit, which would certainly be of heavily armed and mounted knights,
would be badly stopped by a gap of the kind. I therefore take it for
granted that the bridge of Nouaille was a capital point in Edward's
plan.[3]

[Illustration]

The line along which the Black Prince threw up entrenchments was the head
of the slight slope upon the Nouaille or eastern side of the depression I
have mentioned. It ran from the farm Maupertuis (now called La Cardinerie)
to the site of those out-buildings which surround the modern steadings of
Les Bordes, and to-day bear the name of La Dolerie. The length of that
line was, almost to a foot, one thousand English yards, and it will easily
be perceived that even with his small force only a portion of his men were
necessary to hold it. Its strength and weakness I shall discuss in a
moment. This line faces not quite due west, indeed nearly twenty degrees
north of west.[4] Its distance as the crow flies from the Watergate of
Poitiers is just under seven kilometres, or, as nearly as possible, four
miles and six hundred and fifty English yards.[5] While its bearings from
the town of Poitiers, or the central part thereof, is a trifle south of
due south-east.[6]

The line thus taken up, and the depression in front of it, are both
singularly straight, and the slope before the entrenchments, like its
counterpart opposite, is regular, increasing in depth as the depression
proc