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.

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

Hundred Years' War

The siege of Orléans, 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.

Following a decisive victory at Agincourt in 1415, the English gained the upper hand in the conflict, occupying much of northern France. Under the Treaty of Troyes of 1420, England's Henry V became regent of France. By this treaty, Henry married Catherine, the daughter of the current French king, Charles VI, and would then succeed to the French throne upon Charles's death. The Dauphin of France (title given to the French heir apparent), Charles, the son of the French king, was then disinherited.

Geography

Orléans in north-central France. During the time of this siege, it was the northernmost city that remained loyal to the Valois French crown. The English and their Burgundian allies controlled the rest of northern France, including Paris. Orléans's position on a major river made it the last obstacle to a campaign into central France. England already controlled France's southwestern coast.

Armagnac party

As the capital of the duchy of Orléans, this city held symbolic significance in early 15th century politics. The dukes of Orléans were at the head of a political faction known as the Armagnacs, who rejected the Treaty of Troyes and supported the claims of the disinherited and banished Dauphin Charles to the French throne. This faction had been in existence for two generations. Its leader, the Duke of Orléans, also in line for the throne, was one of the very few combatants from Agincourt who remained a prisoner of the English fourteen years after the battle.

Under the customs of chivalry, a city that surrendered to an invading army without a struggle was entitled to lenient treatment from its new ruler. A city that resisted could expect a harsh occupation. Mass executions were common in this type of situation. Reasoning of the late medieval established that since the city of Orléans had escalated the conflict, it forced the use of violence upon the English, justifying a conquering lord in exacting vengeance upon the citizens. The city's association with the Armagnac party made it unlikely to be spared if it fell.

Preparations

State of the conflict

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. 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.

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. 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. The inner French conflict had reached such a point that their partisans were fighting each other in the open field by mid-1428.

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 Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury, who was regarded as the most effective English commander of the time. These were bolstered by new levies raised in Normandy and Paris, 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. The city of Orléans

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