4 – Siege of Orleans (1428-1429)
When Henry V was on his deathbed, he gave the Duke of Bedford control of English territories in France because Henry VI was an infant. Bedford enjoyed initial success including a major victory at the Battle of Verneuil on August 17, 1424. Over in France, Charles VI died a few weeks after Henry V and was succeeded by Charles VII even though the new monarch was disinherited under the terms of the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. At this point, England was still faring well in the Hundred Years’ War as it had an alliance with French-Burgundians and together they controlled Aquitaine and much of Northern France including Paris.
Although Charles VII was technically the king, the Anglo-Burgundians held the city of Reims which was traditionally the city of French coronation. As a result, Charles was not crowned. In 1427, the English, along with their Burgundian allies, launched yet another attack in France. They had initial successes, but the tide of the war began to turn when the French lifted the Siege of Montargis late in 1427. An internal power struggle prevented the French from following up on their success.
The English regrouped and received fresh reinforcements which they used to continue the invasion. When the English closed in on Orleans, John of Dunois knew he had to tighten up the city’s defenses. The Siege of Orleans began on October 12, 1428, and within 12 days, the Tourelles fell, and the city appeared doomed. Fortunately for the French, Marshal de Boussac arrived with troops and prevented the English from taking the city there and then. A couple of days later, the English commander, the Earl of Salisbury, was struck in the face by debris and died from his injuries.
The citizens of Orleans destroyed the remaining arches of the bridge into the city, so a long siege was the consequence. By the spring of 1429, the English were finally making inroads and were set to take the city. France needed a hero, and it came in the form of a teenage girl named Joan of Arc. When she was 16, she claimed to have heard ‘voices’ urging her to help the Dauphin Charles take his throne. She traveled to his stronghold at Vaucouleurs in May 1428, but the captain of the garrison refused to believe her story and sent her away. Joan returned in January 1429 and convinced the captain to let her meet the Dauphin.
She was dressed in men’s clothes when she arrived at Chinon in March 1429, and Charles agreed to meet her. His theologians questioned Joan at length and advised the prince to accept the help of the unusual young lady. On February 12, 1429, the French had suffered a morale-sapping defeat at the Battle of Herring. Things were about to change as Joan arrived on the scene after Charles had given her command of a small army. She reached Orleans on April 29 and immediately raised morale by handing out food to the citizens and money to the soldiers. There had been prophecies regarding a young armor clad woman who would come and save France circulating for years so when Joan arrived, the inhabitants of Orleans had real hope.
Joan led the charge in several battles and returned to the field just a day after being wounded by an arrow. The French had unstoppable momentum and forced the English to leave the surrounds of the city on May 8; the Siege of Orleans had been lifted. Joan helped the French win a series of stunning victories in the following weeks, and they captured Reims in July. The Dauphin was finally crowned Charles VII, and Joan kneeled at his feet. It is important to note that Joan acted as a mascot and did not fight in any battles but she was heavily involved in creating strategies, directing troops and in negotiations with the English. Joan was captured in May 1430 by Bourguignon soldiers, and they sold her to the English. She was tried as a heretic and a witch and burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431. The martyrdom of Joan only spurred on the French and enabled them to conclude the Hundred Years’ War finally.