French Religious Wars 1562-1598. Siege of Poitiers 24 July-7 September 1569. Huguenots under Gaspard de Coligny (1519-1572) besieged the city but the defenders held them off with the aid of heavy artillery and a small troop of cavalry, and by flooding meadows. Engraving by Jacques Tortorel fl1568-1590) and Jean-Jacques Perrissin (1536-1617) from their series on the Huguenot Wars c1570. Photo via Newscom