Siege of Orléans
The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) marked a turning point of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by French forces inspired by the arrival of Joan of Arc. The French would then regain the initiative in the conflict and began to recapture territories previously occupied by the English.
For similarly titled battles, see Battle of Orléans.The city held strategic and symbolic significance to both sides of the conflict. The consensus among contemporaries was that the English regent, John of Lancaster, would have succeeded in realising his brother the English king Henry V's dream of conquering all of France if Orléans fell. For half a year the English and their French allies appeared to be on the verge of capturing the city, but the siege collapsed nine days after Joan of Arc arrived.
Background[edit]
Hundred Years' War[edit]
The siege of Orléans occurred during the Hundred Years' War, an inheritance dispute over the French throne between the ruling houses of France and England. The conflict had begun in 1337 when England's King Edward III decided to press his claim to the French throne, a claim based on his status as the son of Isabella of France and thus of the contested French royal line.
Preparations[edit]
State of the conflict[edit]
After the brief fallout over Hainaut in 1425–26, English and Burgundian forces renewed their alliance and offensive on the Dauphin's France in 1427.[7] The Orléanais region southwest of Paris was of key importance, not only for controlling the river Loire, but also to smoothly connect the English area of operations in the west and the Burgundian area of operations in the east. French forces had been largely ineffective before the Anglo-Burgundian onslaught until the siege of Montargis in late 1427, when they managed to successfully force it to be lifted. The relief of Montargis, the first effective French action in years, emboldened sporadic uprisings in the thinly-garrisoned English-occupied region of Maine to the west, threatening to undo recent English gains.[8]
However, the French failed to capitalize on the aftermath of Montargis, in large part because the French court was embroiled in an internal power struggle between the constable Arthur de Richemont and the chamberlain Georges de la Trémoille, a new favourite of the Dauphin Charles.[9] Of the French military leaders, John, the "Bastard of Orléans" (later called "Dunois"), La Hire and Jean de Xaintrailles were partisans of La Trémoille, while Charles of Bourbon, Count of Clermont, the marshal Jean de Brosse and John Stewart of Darnley (head of the Scottish auxiliary forces), were lined up with the constable.[10][11] The inner French conflict had reached such a point that their partisans were fighting each other in the open field by mid-1428.[10]
The English took advantage of French paralysis to raise fresh reinforcements in England in early 1428, gathering a new force of 2,700 men (450 men-at-arms and 2,250 longbowmen), brought over by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury,[9] who was regarded as the most effective English commander of the time.[12] These were bolstered by new levies raised in Normandy and Paris,[13] and joined by auxiliaries from Burgundy and vassal domains in Picardie and Champagne, to a total strength possibly as great as 10,000.
At the council of war in the spring of 1428, the English regent John, Duke of Bedford determined the main thrust of English military campaigns would be towards the west, to stomp out the remaining Armagnac forces in the Maine and lay siege to Angers.[14] The city of Orléans was not originally in this plan – indeed, Bedford had secured a private deal with Dunois,[13] whose attentions were focused on the Richemont-La Trémoille conflict, then raging violently in the Berri. As Charles, Duke of Orléans was at the time in English captivity, it would have been contrary to the customs of knightly war to seize the possessions of a prisoner. Bedford agreed to leave Orléans alone, but, for some reason, changed his mind shortly after the arrival of English reinforcements under Salisbury in July 1428. In a memorandum written in later years, Bedford expressed that the siege of Orléans "was taken in hand, God knoweth by what advice",[15] suggesting it was probably Salisbury's idea, not his.[16]
Salisbury's approach[edit]
Between July and October, the Earl of Salisbury swept through the countryside southwest of Paris – recovering Nogent-le-Roi, Rambouillet and the area around Chartres.[14] Then, rather than continuing southwest to Angers, Salisbury turned abruptly southeast towards Orléans instead. Pressing towards the Loire, Salisbury seized Le Puiset and Janville (with some difficulty) in August. From there, rather than descending directly on Orléans from the north, Salisbury skipped over the city to seize the countryside west of it. He reached the river Loire at Meung-sur-Loire, which he promptly seized (a detachment of his men crossed the river then to plunder the abbey of Cléry).[14][17] He pressed a little downriver, in the direction of Blois, to take the bridge and castle of Beaugency.[14] Salisbury crossed the Loire at the point, and turned up to approach Orléans from the south. Salisbury arrived at Olivet, just one mile south of Orléans, on 7 October.[13] In the meantime, an English detachment, under John de la Pole, had been sent to seize the regions upriver, east of Orléans: Jargeau fell on 5 October,[14] Châteauneuf-sur-Loire immediately after, while further upriver, the Burgundians took Sully-sur-Loire.[13] Orléans was cut off and surrounded.
Manning the defenses of Orléans, John of Dunois had watched the tightening English noose and took care to prepare the city for siege. Dunois correctly anticipated that the English would aim for the bridge, nearly one quarter mile (400 m) long, that led from the south shore of the Loire into the centre of the city of Orléans on the north shore. The bridge passed over the riverine island of St. Antoine, an optimal location for Salisbury to position English cannon within range of Orléans city centre.[13] At the southern end of the bridge was a turreted gatehouse, Les Tourelles, which stood in the river, connected by a drawbridge to the southern bank. Dunois rapidly erected a large earthwork bulwark (Boulevart) on the south shore itself, which he packed with the bulk of his troops, thus creating a large fortified complex to protect the bridge.[18] Just across from the Boulevart was an Augustinian friary, which could be used as a flanking firing position on any approach to the bridge, although it seems Dunois decided not to make use of it. On his orders, the southern suburbs of Orléans were evacuated and all structures leveled to prevent giving the English cover.[18]
Surrender proposal[edit]
In March, John of Dunois made what he hoped was an irresistible offer to Philip III of Burgundy, offering to turn Orléans over to him, to hold as a neutral territory on behalf of his captive half-brother Charles, Duke of Orléans.[31] A group of nobles and bourgeois from the city went to Philip to try to make him persuade the Duke of Bedford to lift the siege so that Orléans could surrender to Burgundy instead. The specific terms of the offer made are outlined in the letter by a contemporary merchant. Burgundy would be able to appoint the city's governors on behalf of the Duke of Orléans, half the city's taxes would go to the English, the other half would go for the ransom of the imprisoned duke, a contribution of 10,000 gold crowns was to be made to Bedford for war expenses, and the English would gain military access through Orléans, all in return for lifting the siege and handing the city to the Burgundians.[32]
The agreement would have given the English the chance to pass through Orléans and strike into Bourges, the administrative capital of the Dauphin, which had been the primary motivator for the siege itself. Burgundy hurried to Paris in early April to persuade the English regent John of Bedford to take the offer. But Bedford, certain Orléans was on the verge of falling, refused to surrender his prize. The disappointed Philip withdrew his Burgundian auxiliaries from the English siege in a huff.[33] The Burgundian contingent left on 17 April 1429,[34] which left the English with an extremely small army to prosecute the siege. The decision proved to be a lost opportunity, and a terrible mistake in the long run for the English.[35]
End of the siege[edit]
With the Tourelles complex taken, the English had lost the south bank of the Loire. There was little point of continuing the siege, as Orléans could now be easily re-supplied indefinitely.
On the morning of 8 May the English troops on the north bank, under the command of the Earl of Suffolk and Lord John Talbot, demolished their outworks and assembled in battle array in the field near St. Laurent. The French army under Dunois lined up before them. They stood facing each other immobile for about an hour, before the English withdrew from the field and marched off to join other English units in Meung, Beaugency and Jargeau. Some of the French commanders urged an attack to destroy the English army then and there. Joan of Arc reportedly forbade it, on account of it being Sunday.[51]
Legacy[edit]
The city of Orléans commemorates the lifting of the siege with an annual festival, including both modern and medieval elements and a woman representing Joan of Arc in full armor atop a horse.[6] On 8 May Orléans simultaneously celebrates the lifting of the siege and V-E Day (Victory in Europe, the day that Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies to end World War II in Europe.)