Truce of Esplechin

Timeline

1. 1340Tournai · BelgiumEdward III besieged Tournai for over two months without taking the city; Philip VI's relieving forces also failed to decisively drive off the English. Both sides faced supply shortages and financial pressure; Pope Benedict XII and intermediate Low Countries powers pressed for peace, and negotiations opened near Esplechin.
2. 1340Esplechin · FranceRepresentatives of both sides formally signed the truce document at Esplechin, agreeing to suspend hostile military operations and withdraw their armies from the siege positions. Territorial possession was provisionally recognized according to the existing occupation status; the core dynastic dispute was unresolved, making this a temporary armistice rather than a peace treaty.
3. 1340–1345Anglo-French border and the Low Countries · Western EuropeAfter lifting the siege of Tournai, the English army withdrew to the Low Countries and England; both sides used the truce period to rebuild their forces and raise war funds. Small-scale clashes still occurred during the truce, and around 1345 large-scale warfare erupted again, ushering the Hundred Years' War into a new phase.