The siege of Cambrai was undertaken by an English army led by King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

during September and October 1339 in the early stage of the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a c ...

. At the time

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

, located in the Nord department of the

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...

region in France, was not part of France but a Free imperial city of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. In 1339, Cambrai became the centre of a struggle between supporters of the

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. 20 October 1314 imperial election, Louis' election a ...

, and

William II, Count of Hainaut William II (1307 – 26 September 1345) was Count of Hainaut from 1337 until his death. He was also Count of Holland (as William IV) and Count of Zeeland. He succeeded his father, Count William I of Hainaut. While away fighting in Prussia, the ...

, on the one hand, and those of king

Philip VI of France Philip VI (; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (), the Catholic (''le Catholique'') and of Valois (''de Valois''), was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign w ...

on the other. Among Philip VI's allies were counts

John I of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

, Philip III of Navarre, Aymon, Count of Savoy, Humbert II of Viennois and vassals of King Alfonso XI of Castile and León. Cambrai had allowed the French to garrison the city with 300 men-at-arms. Meanwhile, Edward III left Flanders in August 1339, where he had been on the continent since July 1338. Edward had asserted his rights to the throne of France, openly defying the authority of Philip VI. Wanting to satisfy his Bavarian allies, he decided to seize Cambrai. Edward asked the

bishop of Cambrai This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras. On the death ...

, Guillaume d'Auxonne, a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire, to let him in, however the bishop also had instructions from Philip VI informing him to hold on for a few days until he arrived with a French army. Guillaume proclaimed his allegiance to France and prepared to resist a siege. The defence of Cambrai was provided by the governor Étienne de la Baume, grand master of the crossbowmen of France. The French garrison had artillery comprising 10 guns, five of iron and five of other metals. This is one of the earliest references to the use of cannon in siege warfare. Edward launched several attacks from 26 September, with Cambrai resisting every assault for five weeks. When Edward learned on the 6 October that Philip was approaching with a large army, he abandoned the siege on 8 October. He retreated across

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, devastating the plains of Cambresis along the way. A strong English garrison was left in the castle of Thun-l'Eveque. Edward then proceeded to Saint-Quentin. On 23 October, the armies of England and France faced each other across the plain between La Capelle and Buironfosse. They separated without engaging in battle.

References

Bibliography

* J. Aicard, F. Bourquelot, A. Bravais, F. Chassériaux, A. Deloye, D. Denne-Baron, Desportes, P. Gervais, Jung, Léon Lalanne, Ludovic Lalanne, Le Chatelier, A. Le Pileur, Ch. Louandre, Ch. Martins, V. Raulin, F. Régnier, L. Vaudoyer et Ch. Vergé, ''Patria : La France ancienne et moderne morale et matérielle ou Collection encyclopédique et statistique de tous les faits relatifs à l'histoire physique et intellectuelle de la France et de ses colonies'', Paris, 1847, p. 1244 * N. Chareyron, ''Jean le Bel maître de Froissart grand imagier de la Guerre de Cent Ans,'' Ed. De Boeck Université, Bruxelles, 1996, p. 220 * L. Figuier, ''Exposition et histoire des principales découvertes scientifiques,'' t. 3, 1858, p. 336 * A. Ch. N. de Lateyssonnière, ''Recherches historiques sur le département de l'Ain,'' t. 3, Bourg, 1841, pp. 284–293 * A. Guilbert, ''Histoire des villes de France'', Paris, 1845, p. 274 * Pères Richard et Giraud, ''Bibliothèque Sacrée et Dictionnaire Universel,'' t. 20, Paris, 1827, p. 206 * C. Robert, ''Numismatique de Cambrai,'' Paris, 1861, p. 100 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cambrai 1339 Conflicts in 1339 Sieges of the Hundred Years' War 1339 in England 1330s in France Edward III of England Military history of Cambrai Hundred Years' War, 1337–1360