Captivity of Jeanne d’Arc

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03c Captivity of Jeanne d’Arc: 18 June 1430 to 25 December 1430
Region: Picardy, Nord Pas-de-Calais, and Haute-Normandy
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary: After her capture at the gates of Compiègne by Count Jean II of Luxembourg, Jeanne d’Arc was held captive at several locations while negotiations for the payment of a ransom took place. Eventually the Duke of Bedford purchased her from Count Jean and she was released into English custody.
This Virtual Battlefields Tour traces Jeanne’s route as she was moved towards English held territory along the Channel coast, then as the English moved her to Rouen, their capital in France.

 


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Capture of Jeanne d’Arc

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After the elimination of the English threat to the Loire valley, Jeanne pressured the Dauphin to seek his rightful throne as king of France. Two months later, amidst great pageantry, she stood beside the new king at his coronation as Charles VII in Reims Cathedral, the traditional location for crowning kings of France.

Compiegne, one of the earliest royal cities in France, retains numerous large buildings that date from the 15th century or earlier. The city provides an opportunity to view original structures dating from this period.

03b Capture of Jeanne d’Arc at Compiègne: 18 June 1430
Département: Oise
Region: Picardy
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary: In March 1430, Jeanne left the court to help with the defense of Compiegne against attack by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, an English ally. On 23 May she led a sortie against the besiegers. Jeanne became trapped and taken prisoner by the men of Count Jean II of Luxembourg when the gates closed during her force’s retreat.

Charles made no attempt to rescue his heroine, mainly due to court intrigue against her by those jealous of her increasing influence. In November, she was sold by Jean to the English, as was the custom of the time for important captives.


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Waltzing Australia

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We recently had the opportunity to tour New Zealand and we were impressed with the remembrances of the country’s wartime efforts. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops were a significant contingent to British Commonwealth forces in the First World War and they fought in some of the most difficult engagements on the Western Front. In the second war, they fought in Greece and Crete before the Japanese entry into the war required them to be returned to the Pacific. It is said that there are over 500 world war memorials in New Zealand – I believe it. More about them at some later date.

While we did not get to Australia, that country’s history, legends, and flavor can be had by reading Cynthia Clampitt’s book Waltzing Australia. Through reminiscences of her six months criss-crossing the country, Cynthia helps us Yanks understand the personality of this rugged and slightly in-your-face country. While not strictly a travel guide, anyone thinking of visiting Australia, or just doing some ‘armchair traveling’ should read Cynthia’s book for her keen observations on interesting people and beautiful places. There is a lot more to the country than Crocodile Dundee and Sidney Opera House. You might even learn something about yourself in the process. In addition, her short observations on Australia and other topics can be found on her blog site, Waltzing Australia.

Jeanne d’Arc, Maid of Orléans

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No historical figure has had as dramatic an impact in as short a time as a seventeen-year-old peasant girl from the small Lorraine village of Domrémy-la-Pucelle. No one has come from more obscure beginnings or has remained more controversial. As France’s youngest and most revered hero and as patron saint of the country, homage to her is found throughout the land. Few towns or villages do not have a rue or place ‘Jeanne d’Arc’. For a person of whom no formal portrait exists, her image is the most reproduced in France. Few personalities from this period have had their every move and utterance as well documented, translated, or analyzed.

We started our series of Virtual Battlefield Tours with those of the Hundred Years War in celebration of the 600th anniversary of Jeanne’s birth in 1412 - the exact date is not known. Jeanne d’Arc appeared at the court of as yet uncrowned Charles VII at Chinon begging for an opportunity to defend France from English invaders. She was determined to eliminate the English from French soil and to have the Dauphin, Charles, crowned as king of France. To her, it was a holy quest; the result of divine guidance. Her military aggressiveness revitalized French forces and leadership. Despite her untimely capture and execution, her inspiration eventually led to a French military and political victory twenty-two years later.

Our signature volume, ‘Fields of War: Fifty Key Battlefields in France and Belgium’, only includes one Jeanne d’Arc battlefield, the lifting of the Siege of Orléans. Blogs, however, offer the opportunity to present additional material. Thus, we have already posted a Virtual Battlefield Tour of the Battle of Patay, where French forces including Jeanne routed the English survivors from the Siege of Orléans. Several other Jeanne locations will follow shortly. We hope that you will find them of interest.

Easter in Soissons

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The Chemin des Dames battlefield is frequently overlooked by English-speaking visitors. That is unfortunate. The Germans had been ensconced on an 18-mile irregularly-shaped ridgeline that overlooked the Aisne valley for almost three years. During their occupation, they prepared extensive defensive positions both on the ridge and in caves and tunnels dug into the sides of the hills. The French Army decided to attack those strongpoints in April 1917. Everything was against their success; the strategic plan, the terrain, and the weather. The Nivelle Offensive was a disaster for the French, costing them almost 200,000 casualties and inciting a widespread army mutiny. Continue reading →

Battle of Patay

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After the liberation of Orléans, Jeanne d’Arc turned her attention to other English-held towns in the Loire Valley. While far-less-known than the famous royal châteaux, these villages offer opportunities to view medieval castles and churches of a simpler style. Wandering their narrow streets can sometimes present quaint sights of life in rural France.

03a Battle of Patay: 18 June 1429
Département: Loiret
Region: Centre
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour” [This battlefield is not included in Fields of War.]

Summary: The siege of Orléans had been lifted, but the English Army, led by John Talbot, the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, still controlled bridges across the Loire River at Jargeau, Meung-s/Loire, and Beaugency. In addition, Sir John Fastolf was leading an English relief column from Paris. After a short rest and with reinforcements in the form of Duke Jean II of Alençon’s troops, Jeanne set about retaking Jargeau (12 June), the Meung-s/Loire bridge (15 June) and Beaugency (16 June). The combined French forces pursued the retreating English Army and won a decisive open-field battle near Patay (18 June). The victory turned the tide of the war.

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Siege of Orléans

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03 Siege of Orléans: 12 October 1428 to 8 May 1429
Département: Loiret
Region: Centre
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour”

Summary: Orléans controlled one of the few bridges crossing the dangerous Loire River, a major commercial waterway. Capture of the city offered the English control of the entire Loire valley. The walled city was placed under siege by the Earl of Salisbury’s forces and, as winter changed into spring, the inhabitants were increasingly weakened by shortages of food and desertions. Jeanne d’Arc, then only a 17-year old peasant girl, convinced the French Dauphin to grant her an army to lift the siege. Personally leading successive attacks, she entered the city, stormed various English strongpoints, and finally overcame Les Tourelles. The siege was lifted.


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Irish Guards Monument Moved

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The plaque commemorating the capture on 10 September 1944 of ‘Joe’s Bridge’ by the Irish Guards has been relocated. For years the plaque dedicating the bridge to the group’s commander, Lieutenant-Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur DSO, was posted below the bridge’s northeastern ramp. This summer the plaque was fitted upon a new stone and relocated to a park on the other side of the Maas – Schelde Canal (Bocholt – Herentals Kanaal) southeast of the bridge. The slip road to the park can only be entered by driving north on the N715 from Overpelt, Belgium towards Valkswaard, Netherlands.

Continue reading →

Battle of Agincourt

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02 Battle of Agincourt: 25 October 1415
Département: Pas-de-Calais
Region: Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour”

Summary: Henry V became King of England in 1413. A professional soldier, he almost immediately began preparations to invade France, then embroiled in a nasty civil war between Armagnac and Orleanist factions. Henry landed his forces near the port of Harfleur and began a five-week siege. Henry’s army, weaken by the siege, illness, and shortages of supplies, made to escape to the English stronghold at Calais. After days of maneuvering as the English attempted to cross the Somme River, the larger French army, led by the Constable of France, Charles d’Albret, blocked the road to Calais at the town of Agincourt (Azincourt). Outnumbered in men-at-arms by over 10 to 1, Henry established positions on open ground flanked by his archers. Again, as at Crecy, the superior firepower of the longbow and poor tactics by the French resulted in a stunning English victory.


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Battle of Crécy

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01 Battle of Crécy-en-Ponthieu: 26 August 1346
Département: Somme
Region: Picardy
Country: France

A French Battlefields “Virtual Battlefield Tour”

Summary: King Edward III of England landed an army of 15,000 men at St-Vaast-la-Hougue on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy. His objective was to claim the crown of France as his own. Edward was prevented from attacking Paris by maneuver of the much larger army of the French king, Philip VI. Now trapped and without ability for resupply, Edward attempted to join forces with his Flemish allies to the north. Philip’s vanguard, led by Jean de Luxembourg fought to deny Edward bridges over the Somme River, essentially assuring his destruction. At Crecy, Edward positioned his dismounted men-at-arms and his archers so as to take maximum advantage of the longbow’s superior firepower. The French army, the largest in Europe, fielded thousands of mounted, armored knights. Although greatly outnumbered, Edward’s army, led on the field by his son the Prince of Wales (The Black Prince), produced a stunning victory over the French aristocracy.


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