The Strategic Context of the Siege

The year 1418 found England and France locked in the protracted struggle known as the Hundred Years’ War. Following his decisive victory at Agincourt three years prior, King Henry V of England had returned to France in 1417 with renewed determination to press his claims to the French throne. His campaign focused on Normandy, the ancestral lands of his Norman ancestors, with Rouen standing as the region’s capital and most formidable prize.

Rouen represented more than just a strategic military objective – it was a symbol of Norman identity and the key to controlling northern France. The city’s formidable defenses included massive stone walls, towers, and the natural barrier of the Seine River. For the English, capturing Rouen would secure their hold on Normandy and provide a base for further operations against Paris and beyond.

The English Encirclement and French Resistance

Henry V’s approach to Rouen demonstrated his mastery of siege warfare. Rather than attempting a direct assault on the well-fortified city, he implemented a methodical strategy of encirclement and starvation. English forces constructed an elaborate network of trenches and fortifications around Rouen, cutting off all land routes while their Portuguese allies blockaded the Seine estuary.

The siege works proved remarkably effective. As French chronicler Enguerrand de Monstrelet recorded: “These extensive fortifications, constructed at great cost, yielded immense benefits for the English.” When French raiding parties attacked English positions, reinforcements could rapidly move through the trench system to counterattack. The completed siege lines allowed unimpeded communication between English camps while severely restricting French movements.

Simultaneously, English forces under Thomas Montagu, Earl of Salisbury, besieged the fortified monastery at Mont Saint-Catherine southeast of Rouen. After a month-long blockade that cut off supplies, the French garrison surrendered on August 30, eliminating this potential threat to English supply lines. From this elevated position, English forces could now survey the increasingly desperate situation within Rouen.

The Naval Blockade and Regional Campaigns

Henry V complemented the land siege with a comprehensive naval strategy. Patrol boats constantly monitored the Seine, while a fleet of Portuguese galleys sealed the river’s mouth. The captured port of Harfleur became a vital supply hub where provisions from England were transferred to riverboats for transport upstream to the siege camps.

To secure their maritime supply lines, English forces targeted French-held towns along the lower Seine. The garrisons at Quillebeuf and Caudebec, which possessed armed vessels that threatened English shipping, were systematically eliminated. By late August, the last Norman stronghold at Cherbourg surrendered to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, freeing additional English forces for the Rouen operation.

Meanwhile, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, led forces against Caudebec northwest of Rouen. In a fierce engagement, Warwick’s deputy John Cornwall was wounded but ultimately victorious, capturing the French commander and 240 soldiers. After six days of resistance, Caudebec agreed to allow English ships free passage by September 9, though the garrison stubbornly refused to surrender until Rouen fell.

The Human Tragedy of the Siege

As autumn progressed, conditions within Rouen deteriorated catastrophically. With all supply routes severed, food stores dwindled to nothing. Contemporary accounts describe horrific scenes of starvation, with residents resorting to eating horses, dogs, cats, and even rats. The desperate situation led to extreme measures – in late December, the city expelled thousands of “useless mouths,” primarily women, children, and the elderly.

These refugees found no mercy between the lines. English archers drove them back toward the city walls when they attempted to cross no-man’s land. A Burgundian chronicler recorded the pitiful scene: “Some could no longer open their eyes and stopped breathing, others curled their legs, thin as dry branches…a woman held her dead baby to her breast trying to warm him, while an infant suckled vainly at his deceased mother’s breast.” Henry V callously remarked, “I did not order them to be driven out,” though he eventually relented slightly after Christmas.

By year’s end, Rouen’s streets were littered with corpses, with up to 200 residents dying daily. A desperate breakout attempt on Christmas Eve ended in disaster when a drawbridge collapsed, killing many attackers and allowing English forces to repel the sortie. The death of Alain Blanchard, a popular French commander, further demoralized the defenders.

The Failure of French Relief Efforts

The besieged Rouennais repeatedly appealed for help from the fractured French leadership. In October 1418, a delegation including Augustinian scholar Eustache de Pavilly reached Paris to plead before the royal council. Their emotional appeal highlighted Rouen’s two centuries of loyal service and tax contributions, warning that its fall would doom all Normandy.

Burgundian Duke John the Fearless, who controlled Paris and the mad King Charles VI, offered reassuring promises but little concrete action. His attempts to raise an army faltered due to financial constraints and political infighting. Tax revenues intended for military preparations were diverted to pay political allies and ransom prisoners. Agricultural devastation around Paris compounded supply problems.

When a Burgundian relief force finally assembled in December, it numbered fewer than 5,000 men – half the size of the previous year’s levy. Their half-hearted advance stalled at Pontoise, where a bungled ambush resulted in 240 Burgundian nobles being captured. This fiasco, combined with ongoing conflict with the rival Armagnac faction, doomed any serious attempt to relieve Rouen.

The Final Surrender and Aftermath

With all hope of relief extinguished, Rouen’s leaders began surrender negotiations in early January 1419. The process proved contentious, with the military garrison demanding honorable terms while starving citizens pressed for immediate capitulation. Tensions erupted into riots, with civilians threatening to open the gates unless the garrison surrendered.

The final agreement, signed on January 13, allowed Rouen to hold out until January 19 in case French relief arrived. The terms were harsh: a 300,000 écu indemnity, surrender of all weapons and horses, 80 hostages, and an oath of allegiance to Henry V for Norman residents. When no French army appeared, Governor Guy Le Bouteiller formally surrendered the city on January 19, 1419.

Henry V’s triumphant entry into Rouen on January 20 marked a watershed moment. As an English chronicler noted, “215 years after Philip Augustus took Rouen from King John of England, the city again bowed to a descendant of the Norman dukes.” The conquest secured English control of Normandy and positioned Henry V for further advances toward Paris.

The Strategic Consequences

Rouen’s fall sent shockwaves through France. Brittany’s Duke John quickly extended his truce with England, while Gascon nobles agreed to cease hostilities until Easter. The psychological impact was perhaps most severe in Paris, where citizens bitterly criticized Burgundian leadership. As Monstrelet observed, “The loss of Rouen struck a devastating blow to French morale, with consequences more disastrous than anyone could have imagined.”

Henry V capitalized on his victory by establishing permanent administrative structures in Normandy, including a treasury, mint, and audit office at Rouen. He adopted the title of Duke of Normandy and confirmed local officials who swore allegiance, while redistributing lands of exiled nobles to English supporters. This policy aimed to normalize English rule and secure the conquered territory’s resources for future campaigns.

The siege’s legacy extended beyond its military outcome. It demonstrated Henry V’s mastery of siege warfare and psychological pressure, while exposing the fatal divisions plaguing France. Rouen became the cornerstone of English Normandy, though its conquest came at tremendous human cost that foreshadowed the brutal warfare that would characterize the conflict’s final decades.