The Siege of Le Plessis-le-Comte and England’s Crumbling Normandy

The ten-month siege of Le Plessis-le-Comte marked a turning point in the Hundred Years’ War. Its fall in 1443 shattered English ambitions in Normandy, leaving their forces demoralized and financially ruined. The victorious French commander, Count Jean de Dunois, was rewarded with the title of Count of Longueville, while the English faced a grim reality: unpaid soldiers, bankrupt treasuries, and a collapsing military presence.

The Duke of York, Richard Plantagenet, struggled to maintain order as his troops mutinied over unpaid wages. Meanwhile, John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, ignored the crisis in Normandy entirely. Instead of reinforcing York, he marched south with his army, leaving the region vulnerable. His mysterious campaign—marked by erratic decisions and secretive behavior—would prove disastrous for England.

Somerset’s Baffling Campaign: A March into Chaos

Somerset’s leadership was as puzzling as it was ineffective. He refused to disclose his plans even to his own officers, famously declaring that if his shirt knew his intentions, he would burn it. His army rampaged through Anjou, burning villages before failing to capture Angers. A lucky shot from the city’s defenders narrowly missed Somerset during dinner, forcing a retreat.

The English then besieged Pouancé, a fortress belonging to the Duke of Alençon. French reinforcements arrived, led by Constable Arthur de Richemont, but overeager French commanders—Marshal André de Lohéac and the brothers Jean and Louis de Buell—disobeyed orders and launched a reckless attack. Ambushed by English forces under Matthew Gough, the French were routed, but the victory was hollow. It did nothing to reverse England’s declining fortunes.

The Blunder at La Guerche and Diplomatic Fallout

Somerset’s next move was a catastrophic miscalculation. Ignoring a truce with Brittany, he besieged La Guerche, a town held by the Duke of Alençon. After forcing its surrender, he demanded a hefty ransom from Francis I, Duke of Brittany. This act infuriated the Bretons, who had been mediating peace talks between England and France.

King Henry VI, embarrassed by Somerset’s aggression, disavowed the attack and showered Brittany’s envoys with gifts to repair relations. Yet the damage was done: Brittany’s trust in England eroded, and sporadic attacks on English positions began. Somerset, oblivious to the diplomatic disaster, continued his aimless campaign before finally disbanding his unpaid army in December 1443.

The Truce of Tours: A Fragile Peace

By 1444, England’s war effort was in shambles. Somerset’s failed campaign had drained resources without securing any strategic gains. Even hardline war advocates in Henry VI’s council recognized that peace was the only option.

Negotiations began in Tours, with William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, leading the English delegation. The French, led by Charles VII, were in no mood for concessions. After weeks of tense talks, the only agreement reached was a temporary truce—lasting less than two years—and a marriage alliance between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, niece of Charles VII.

The Truce of Tours (May 1444) brought a brief respite from war, celebrated across France. Yet it was a fragile peace. Charles VII had no intention of surrendering his claims, and England’s military weakness left it vulnerable.

Legacy: The Beginning of the End for English France

Somerset’s disastrous campaign exposed England’s declining military strength and fractured leadership. His death in May 1444, broken by failure, symbolized the collapse of English fortunes in France.

The Truce of Tours delayed the inevitable. Within years, war would resume, culminating in France’s reconquest of Normandy (1450) and Gascony (1453). The Hundred Years’ War ended with England retaining only Calais—a far cry from Henry V’s conquests.

Somerset’s blunders and the Truce of Tours marked the beginning of the end for England’s French empire. The once-mighty Plantagenet war machine had run out of steam, and France, under Charles VII, emerged stronger than ever.