The Strategic Landscape of Northern France in 1429

The summer and autumn of 1429 marked a dramatic shift in the fortunes of France during the latter stages of the Hundred Years’ War. Joan of Arc’s remarkable leadership had infused the French forces with unprecedented energy and tactical flexibility, enabling breakthroughs across northern France and southern Picardy. While Joan and Charles VII focused their main forces between Compiègne and Paris, other commanders led secondary campaigns northeastward.

Among these commanders stood Jean II de Montmorency, a descendant of the Capetian dynasty and former royal chamberlain. His forces conducted daring raids along the lower Somme River, unsettling towns like Amiens and Abbeville where some residents contemplated opening their gates to the French. However, with Charles VII engaged in truce negotiations with Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, and considering the heavy Burgundian presence in northern Picardy, Montmorency ultimately abandoned attempts to reclaim these strategic cities.

The French Offensive Gains Momentum

August witnessed a significant French victory at Eu when conspirators within the town contacted Charles de Longueval, lord of Hangingard, offering to surrender the English-held castle. French forces swiftly occupied the town, executing four or five English guards. After extracting a ransom from residents to prevent pillaging, they fortified the castle, stockpiled provisions, and garrisoned substantial troops, establishing a crucial forward base for raids against surrounding enemy positions.

Over the following months, French forces swept across vast territories from eastern Upper Normandy to northern Île-de-France, capturing numerous towns along the Oise River valley including Beauchamp, Gournay-sur-Aronde, and Remy. Their advance reached Étrépagny, mere miles from Rouen, suddenly placing Normandy’s capital within striking distance. French commanders like Ambroise de Loré attempted secret negotiations with Rouen’s citizens, though court hesitation thwarted these plans.

Simultaneous Campaigns in Western France

While major operations focused on the north, French forces along the Anjou-Maine border exploited English concentration in Upper Normandy and Île-de-France to launch counteroffensives. They recaptured Bonsmoulins, Saint-Céneri, and Laval along the Maine-Lower Normandy frontier. The English withdrawal from Mont-Saint-Michel’s siege enabled its garrison to expand operations against surrounding occupied territories.

Lower Normandy’s flat, forested terrain had long harbored bandits and irregular forces. English authorities in Carentan and Saint-Lô had attempted to clear woodlands along major routes in 1428 to improve security for messengers, merchants, and travelers, with limited success. By 1429, anti-English activities proliferated around Caen and southern Cotentin Peninsula. Mont-Saint-Michel’s garrison now conducted frequent forest-shielded raids, forcing the English to replace the imprisoned William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, with Norman noble Raoul Tesson and forty archers to bolster Saint-Lô’s defenses.

The Changing Strategic Picture by Winter 1429

By winter’s onset, France’s military situation had transformed dramatically from the year’s beginning. Through Joan and other commanders’ efforts, French positions had advanced northward from the Loire Valley into the contested zone between English and Burgundian territories. They established a substantial foothold stretching from the Somme’s southern bank west to the lower Seine and east to the Oise and Aisne headwaters.

This territory provided multiple strategic options: westward advances could reclaim Île-de-France and Seine Valley territories, while northern movements threatened Upper Normandy. The region contained numerous fortified towns like Torcy, Beauvais, Compiègne, and Laon that would absorb enemy counterattacks, buying time for French operations further south. These secondary territories’ consolidation would eventually support northern positions while threatening Philip’s southwestern Burgundian lands, clearly marking the east as France’s primary theater for reclaiming the kingdom.

The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum

Achieving these ambitious goals required substantial resources that Charles VII’s strained treasury couldn’t sustain after months of intensive campaigning. By late 1429, Georges de la Trémoille, citing the Burgundian truce, began suppressing war advocates like Arthur de Richemont, John II of Alençon, and Joan herself. Nonetheless, determined commanders like La Hire continued northern operations, having participated in Charles’s coronation and the Paris campaign before striking out independently in Île-de-France and Upper Normandy.

In December 1429, La Hire’s surprise night attack with 500-600 soldiers captured Louviers, earning him the Norman commandership. Situated just seven leagues from Rouen—a day’s hard ride—this wealthy town became his headquarters after executing dozens of English guards. His subsequent February 1430 raid captured the strategic Château-Gaillard, liberating the elderly Arnaud Guillaume de Barbazan from his rusted cage imprisonment in a remarkable display of medieval chivalric customs.

The English and Burgundian Response

Facing this crisis, John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, implemented drastic measures to stabilize Normandy. His August 1429 order prohibited English and Welsh cavalry from returning across the Channel, while October contracts barred hiring former French combatants or recent defectors—policies that complicated garrison maintenance. Evreau’s muster rolls from January-February 1430 show eighteen absent soldiers, four defectors to the French, thirteen arrests, and one confinement over personal disputes.

Bedford desperately needed reinforcements from England. The autumn 1429 Parliament responded by scheduling young Henry VI’s November 6 coronation, a carefully orchestrated London event featuring symbolic fountains and restrained celebrations compared to Burgundian extravagance. The ceremony formally transferred power from Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester’s protectorship, though the royal council retained actual governance.

The Military Balance Shifts in 1430

England’s war machine finally mobilized with substantial taxation. By January 1430, 3,199 soldiers under John, Clarence’s bastard son, crossed to France, followed by 4,792 troops in February accompanying Henry VI—the largest English expedition since 1417’s invasion. The force’s increased cavalry-to-archer ratio (1:3 vs traditional 1:5) and one-year contracts (versus six-month terms) reflected England’s serious commitment.

However, French forces remained active across English-held territories, disrupting stability. Bedford’s limited forces couldn’t simultaneously secure this vast area, making Burgundian cooperation essential despite recent tensions. Philip, angered by Charles VII’s Paris attack, accepted Bedford’s invitation to Paris in September 1429 with 3,000-4,000 troops marching through Picardy to Senlis, where tense standoffs with French commanders revealed lingering hostilities.

The Political Maneuvering Continues

Despite military preparations, diplomatic charades persisted. Philip maintained contact with Charles through October 1429, while Bedford temporarily withdrew from Paris after mid-October local truces covering Paris, Saint-Denis, Vincennes, Charenton, and Saint-Cloud. Savoy’s Duke Amadeus VIII mediated between his nephew Philip and Charles, arranging potential Auxerre negotiations that misled French commanders about Burgundian intentions.

After three weeks in Paris, Philip returned to Flanders, leaving strengthened Saint-Denis defenses while Bedford prepared counteroffensives. November 1429 Norman estates authorized 140,000 livres tournois for garrisons and recapturing French-held positions, with March 1430 adding 70,000 livres as warfare escalated.

The Military Campaigns of Early 1430

English counterattacks commenced at the Upper Normandy-Île-de-France border in January 1430, when Thomas Kyriell’s 400-strong raid plundered southwest to Clermont’s outskirts. Despite numerical superiority, Clermont Count Charles’s 800 soldiers and peasant auxiliaries suffered defeat against English dismounted formations behind stakes—a recurring tactical pattern. Subsequent French defeats prompted Charles’s withdrawal southward as Vendôme’s Louis assumed regional command.

English focus shifted to northern Upper Normandy, systematically eliminating French strongholds. Clarence’s bastard son besieged formidable Torcy castle from January, constructing siegeworks and taxing locals for payroll. Though French resistance continued through August, other Norman fortresses like Blancbourg, Conches, and Château-Gaillard succumbed to English pressure. By mid-1430, only Louviers remained of France’s northern positions, with Bedford preparing its siege as Henry VI moved from Calais to Rouen in July.

Simultaneously, English forces advanced into Île-de-France, with June 8 arrivals fortifying Saint-Denis. John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, reclaimed twelve Paris-surrounding castles within a month, compressing French resistance into few strongpoints like Senlis. Reinforcements flooded Île-de-France after Upper Normandy’s pacification, with August operations reaching southward to Coulommiers beyond the Marne.

The Burgundian Marriage and Chivalric Display

Amidst these campaigns, Philip celebrated his January 1430 marriage to Portugal’s Isabella in Bruges with unprecedented week-long festivities showcasing Burgundian wealth and cultural sophistication. More significantly, on January 10 he established the Order of the Golden Fleece, creating a chivalric brotherhood that reinforced political bonds among Burgundian nobility while projecting Philip’s imperial aspirations through its Jason-and-the-Argonauts symbolism.

This lavish display contrasted sharply with France’s financial distress while enhancing Burgundian prestige across Europe. English Cardinal Henry Beaufort capitalized on the atmosphere to secure Philip’s commitment to field 1,500 troops for Henry VI in exchange for 12,500 marks and Champagne’s cession—formalized in March documents that bound Burgundy firmly to England’s cause.

The Siege of Compiègne and Joan’s Capture

With diplomacy exhausted, military operations intensified. Philip concentrated on Compiègne, the linchpin controlling Oise Valley communications between Picardy and Île-de-France. Despite French promises during truce negotiations to cede the town, its citizens vehemently refused Burgundian rule, forcing Charles to offer Pont-Sainte-Maxence instead—an offer Philip ignored.

Guillaume de Flavy, Compiègne’s deputy governor, organized stalwart defense of the town’s impressive fortifications. Philip’s artillery, including five large bombards, two veuglaires, and numerous culverins, first reduced Choisy-au-Bac’s eastern bridgehead in May 1430 before besieging Compiègne proper. French relief attempts achieved temporary successes, including May’s capture of Burgundian commander Baudouin de Lannoy, but couldn’t break the siege.

Joan of Arc, frustrated by court inaction, arrived at Compiègne in mid-May with about 200 troops. After failed diversionary attacks, she entered the besieged city on May 23, participating in a sortie against Burgundian positions at Margny that afternoon. The operation initially succeeded but collapsed when English reinforcements arrived from Clairoix. During the chaotic retreat, Burgundian archer pulled Joan from her horse, leading to her capture by the Bastard of Wandomme—a pivotal moment celebrated by Burgundian forces as their greatest victory against the French inspiration.

The Aftermath and Continued Campaigns

Joan’s imprisonment provoked widespread dismay among French supporters, with towns like Tours holding barefoot processions begging divine intervention for her release. Paris University, however, immediately petitioned Philip to place her under their theological examination—a request ignored as Joan was entrusted to John of Luxembourg at Beaulieu castle.

Meanwhile, Compiègne’s siege continued through summer 1430 despite supply shortages and artillery damage. French relief efforts finally succeeded in late October when Vendôme’s Louis and Marshal Jean de Brosse’s 4,000-strong force outmaneuvered Burgundian-English positions, destroying key siege forts and breaking the six-month investment. This victory collapsed Burgundian momentum in southwestern Picardy, with many towns reverting to French allegiance.

The Southern Theater: Dauphiné Campaigns

While northern campaigns dominated, conflict flared in southeast France where Orange’s Louis, exploiting French preoccupation, invaded Dauphiné with Burgundian and Savoyard support. New Dauphiné governor Raoul de Gaucourt countered by hiring Castilian mercenary Rodrigo de Villandrando and mobilizing local forces. Their June 1430 victory at Anthon against Orange’s larger army secured Dauphiné through clever use of forest terrain and surprise tactics, capturing numerous nobles and 1,200 horses while demonstrating French resilience on multiple fronts.

Strategic Implications

The 1429-1431 campaigns marked a watershed in the Hundred Years’ War. French forces transitioned from desperate defense to sustained offensive operations, leveraging Joan of Arc’s inspirational leadership and improved tactical coordination. Though Joan’s capture represented a significant blow, French commanders demonstrated growing capability to conduct complex multi-front campaigns, exploit enemy weaknesses, and motivate civic resistance—foundations for France’s ultimate victory. The era witnessed England’s high-water mark recede as Burgundian commitments became increasingly strained across dispersed territories, setting the stage for France’s eventual reunification under Charles VII.