Edward at once despatched troops under the Duke of Lancaster to its support.

But the insurgents were soon forced to fall back.
Conscious of the danger to which an English occupation of Normandy would expose him, John hastened with a large army to the west, drove Lancaster to Cherbourg, took Evreux, and besieged Breteuil.
[Sidenote: The Black Prince] Here however his progress was suddenly checked by news from the south.

The Black Prince, as the hero of Crecy was called, had landed in Guienne during the preceding year and won a disgraceful success.

Unable to pay his troops, he staved off their demands by a campaign of sheer pillage.

While plague and war and the anarchy which sprang up under the weak government of John were bringing ruin on the northern and central provinces of France, the south remained prosperous and at peace.