The siege of Montargis (15 July – 5 September 1427) took place during the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

. A French relief army under

Jean de Dunois Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois (23 November 1402 – 24 November 1468), known as the "Bastard of Orléans" (french: bâtard d'Orléans) or simply Jean de Dunois, was a French military leader during the Hundred Years' War who participated in m ...

routed an English force led by the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation c ...

Prelude

In June 1427,

John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG (20 June 138914 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of ...

ordered

Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Early life Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe CourtRichard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoin ...

to capture the French stronghold of

Montargis Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...

, situated on high ground between the

Loing The Loing () is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the Seine. Its source is in Sainte-Colombe-sur-Loing, in the southwestern of the department of Yonne, and it flows into the Seine in Saint-Mammès, near Moret-sur-Loing. Its ma ...

and Vernisson rivers, crisscrossed by canals and held by a sizeable and well-supplied garrison. Warwick led a force 3,000 men supported by artillery and laid siege to the place on 15 July 1427.

Siege

Despite a constant artillery bombardment, the English made little progress by early September. Dauphin Charles sent a relief force of 1,600 men under the command of

and

La Hire Étienne de Vignolles, Sieur de Montmorillon, Chatelain de Longueville (), also known as La Hire (; 1390 – 11 January 1443), was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. Nickname One explanation for his nickname of La ...

. Dunois informed the garrison of his arrival and laid out a battle plan. Dunois' force appeared south of town, and as the English tried to attack them across a wooden bridge, Montargis' defenders opened the town's sluice gates, sweeping away the bridge and cutting the English army in two. The garrison and Dunois attacked the English from both sides and Warwick's army lost one third of its troops and all of its artillery and baggage as it fled.

Aftermath

The victory was a major boost for French morale and advanced the military fame of Dunois.

Citations

References

* *{{Cite book , last1=Wagner , first1=John A. , title=Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War , year=2006 , publisher=

Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

, isbn=978-0313327360 1420s in France