Battle Of Jargeau
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The Battle of Jargeau took place on 11–12 June 1429. It was part of the
Loire Campaign The Loire Campaign was a campaign launched by Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War. The Loire Valley, Loire was cleared of all Kingdom of England, English and Burgundian State, Burgundian troops. Campaign The English under John, Duke of ...
during the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, where the forces of
Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
successfully recaptured much of the region, following their victory at the Siege of Orléans. The battle ended in victory for Charles VII and is notable as
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ;  – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
's first offensive battle.


Background

By the end of 1428, during the later years of the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, the English and their allies from the Burgundian faction had occupied almost all of France North of the Loire River. Many strategic points along the Loire had also been seized, and Orléans, the last major city on the river, had been under siege since October of that year (1428). If the English had been able to secure complete control of the Loire valley, the southern part of France, the last remaining position of the Dauphin would be open to invasion. In early March 1429, Joan of Arc arrived at Chinon to meet with Charles VII and, after being examined by church officials in Poitiers, joined a large force which set out to relieve the siege at Orléans. This operation proved successful as the siege was lifted by 9 May. Following the lifting of the siege of Orléans, Charles VII's forces spent the next month or so recruiting and growing in strength for the next phase of military operations. In early June, at a meeting of French military leaders in the presence of Charles VII, it was decided to pursue a strategy of clearing the Loire River valley of English troops. The Bridge at Orleans had been destroyed by the English at the end of the siege. The other bridges on the Loire (including Jargeau) were in English hands. The army was assembled at Orléans where Joan rejoined them on 9 June. That same day, they departed for Jargeau. Meanwhile, on 8 June, Sir John Fastolf finally left Paris with a reinforcing army of several thousand, headed for the Loire River valley.


Setting

Jargeau was a small town on the southern bank of the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
river in central France, about ten miles east of Orléans. Conquered by the English a few years earlier as a staging point for a planned invasion of southern France, the city was defended by a wall with several towers and fortified gates. A ditch just on the outside of the walls further enhanced the defenses. Outside the walls, suburbs had grown. There was a single fortified bridge, of strategic significance during the latter part of the war, crossing the Loire River to the north bank. The city was defended by approximately 700 troops armed with gunpowder weaponry.


Battle

Charles' VII's army included commanders such as Jean d'Orléans,
Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais, Pays de Retz, Baron de Rais (; also spelled "Retz"; 1405 – 26 October 1440) was a knight and lord from Duchy of Brittany, Brittany, Duchy of Anjou, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' W ...
, Jean Poton de Xaintrailles, and La Hire. The Duke of Suffolk William de la Pole led the English defense of the town. The battle began with a French assault on the suburbs. English defenders left the city walls and the French fell back. Joan of Arc used her standard to begin a French rally. The English retreated to the city walls and the French lodged in the suburbs for the night. The following morning Joan of Arc called upon the defenders to surrender. They refused. The French followed with a heavy artillery bombardment using primitive cannons and siege engines. One of the town's towers fell. Suffolk entered surrender negotiations with a minor French captain, La Hire. This breach of protocol antagonized the French command. Joan of Arc initiated an assault on the town walls, surviving a stone projectile that shattered against her helmet, knocking her to the ground. The English suffered heavy losses with the French executing those they took prisoner.


See also

* Jargeau *
Medieval warfare Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social advancements had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artiller ...
* French military history


References


Bibliography

* DeVries, Kelly. ''Joan of Arc: A Military Leader'' (Glaucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 1999). * Richey, Stephen W. ''Joan of Arc: The Warrior Saint.'' (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003). * Allmand, C. ''The Hundred Years' War: England and France at War c. 1300–1450.'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).


External links


Siege of Orleans and the Loire campaign
a detailed description with strategic and tactical maps

of Joan of Arc's campaigns from
Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

''Jeanne d'Arc: Her Life and Death''
by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
''A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times''
by François Pierre Guillaume Guizot, vol. 3
Joan of Arc And The Loire Valley Campaign
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jargeau 1429 Battles of the Hundred Years' War 1429 in England 1420s in France History of Loiret Conflicts in 1429 Military history of Centre-Val de Loire Battles of Joan of Arc Building bombings in France Gilles de Rais Extrajudicial killings by the French military Murdered prisoners of war Attacks on military installations in France