The siege of St. James took place between 27 February and 6 March 1426, opposing
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, during the
latter half of the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
.
Forces
The battle was fought at Avranches, on the border of Normandy and Brittany, with the English led by
Sir Thomas Rempston, while the French were led by
Arthur de Richemont
Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...
, the
Constable of France
The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...
. The English were victorious.
Background
In late 1425,
Jean, Duke of Brittany, had switched his allegiance from the English to
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
the
dauphin. In retaliation,
Sir Thomas Rempston invaded
the duchy with a small army in January 1426, penetrating to the capital,
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
, before falling back to
St. James-de-Beuvron on the Norman frontier. The duke of Brittany's brother,
Arthur de Richemont
Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...
, newly made
constable of France
The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...
, rushed to his brother's aid. Richemont hastily levied an army across Brittany in February and gathered his forces in
Antrain
Antrain (; br, Entraven; Gallo: ''Antrein'') is a former commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in the Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Val-Couesnon. Château de Bonnefontaine dates to the ...
. The newly assembled Breton force first captured
Pontorson
Pontorson () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Macey and Vessey were merged into Pontorson.
Geography
Pontorson is situated about 10 kilometres from the Mont Saint-Michel, ...
, executing all the surviving English defenders and entirely destroying the wall after seizing the city. By the end of February, Richemont's army then marched on St. James. Rempston was heavily outnumbered, with 600 men to Richemont's feudal horde of 16,000.
Battle
As the Breton force approached, English troops came out in
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
but were soon driven back into the walls after a swift fight.
The constable had with him a powerful force of
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and then proceeded to
bombard __NOTOC__
Bombard may refer to the act of carrying out a bombardment. It may also refer to:
Individuals
*Alain Bombard (1924–2005), French biologist, physician and politician; known for crossing the Atlantic on a small boat with no water or food
...
the city from several sides. The bombardment lasted for a week, during which the defenders unsuccessfully tried several
sorties
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
that all ended with them retreating into the walls. After several days of bombardment, two large breaches were made in the walls.
Richemont was reluctant to launch a full assault with troops of such poor quality, but he was running low on funds and his failure to pay troops had already caused some of his men to desert despite the short duration of the siege. After holding a council of war with his officers, he decided to assault the walls through the two breaches.
On the 6th of March the French attacked in force. All day Rempston's troops held the breaches, but there was no let-up in the constable's assault.
At some point, men from Richemont's main force mistook for enemy relief a returning
detachment, that had been previously tasked by the constable to survey the other side of the city, and panic ensued among the largely ill-trained Breton militia.
The English defenders immediately decided to capitalize on this unexpected route and came out of the city to inflict heavy losses on the fleeing Breton troops. During the chaotic retreat, hundreds of men drowned crossing the nearby river while many others fell to the deadly bolts of the defenders' crossbows. The remnants of the disorganized feudal militia, technically defeated by an enemy 26 times their inferior, straggled back to camp, thoroughly demoralized. Any attempts Richemont may have made to rally them were unsuccessful and, in the night, they burned their tents and baggage and fell back in disorder to their point of departure near
Fougres. Six hundred were dead, 50 captured, and 18 standards lost. The remainder soon disbanded.
Aftermath
Two days later the
Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfei ...
arrived, bringing 1500 men. Intent on exploiting the victory, he at once set out for Rennes, 45 miles to the west. Halfway there, he captured the town of
Dol without difficulty, as neither Jean nor Richemont offered resistance. Here he found he need not resume the advance, for the duke had offered a three-month truce. Suffolk agreed. After a brief outbreak of fighting next year the turncoat duke sought rapprochement with his erstwhile allies, and signed a treaty with the Duke of Bedford by which he accepted
Henry VI of England
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...
as
king of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James, Battle of
Battles of the Hundred Years' War
1426 in England
1420s in France
Conflicts in 1426
History of Manche