 The battle of Saint-Omer was the culmination of the northern fork of Edward's campaign and resulted in a tactical stalemate but forced a strategic withdrawal for the Anglo-Flemish forces.By 1340, Flanders had reluctantly been under French suzerainty for centuries and frequent uprisings and wars of independence between the two nations had studded the Middle Ages.In the late 1330s, Flanders again struck out for self-determination; Louis I of Flanders, who had abandoned his father's anti-French policies, was overthrown in a bloody coup and fled to France.