Page 56 - History of War - Issue 29-16

JOHN, DUKE OF BEDFORD

divided his lands into two governments. Henry 1423 and Bedford then intended to build up his these troops were Scottish under the command
V’s youngest brother, Humphrey, ran England, army for a decisive stroke against the Dauphin. of the Earls of Douglas and Buchan. The Scots
while Bedford was named as Regent of France. His plan revolved around strengthening were vigorous allies of the French and had
This was by far the hardest assignment, Normandy’s frontiers by occupying Picardy and been a considerable thorn in the side of the
as Bedford had to continue his brother’s driving French troops from key towns on the English for decades, and the Dauphin had even
conquests in the face of stiff opposition by River Somme. To achieve this, Bedford laid appointed Buchan as Constable of France.
those who regarded Charles VI’s son, the siege to Ivry, a town 30 miles west of Paris, but Viscount d’Aumale was commanding this
Dauphin, as the true king of France. the French immediately captured the Norman coalition army, but the Scots had a great
One Victorian historian said Bedford was, “at border town of Verneuil in August 1424. Ivry degree of in uence. For Bedford, the battle
once prime minister and commander-in-chief, surrendered on 14 August and Bedford rushed would be personal, as it was a Scottish force
he was virtually king of France.” Additionally, his army to recapture Verneuil. The battle that that had killed his elder brother, Thomas, Duke
Bedford had to maintain a tenuous alliance would take place outside its walls would secure of Clarence, at the Battle of Baugé in 1421.
with the Duke of Burgundy. Burgundian support Bedford’s reputation. A Burgundian eyewitness, Jean de Waurin,
was essential to Bedford as the English did not who fought for the English, described the
have a numerical superiority in France, but the The ‘Second Agincourt’ Anglo-Scottish enmity during the battle: “The
alliance was shaky as Burgundy was a semi- On 17 August, Bedford’s army of approximately English archers, and the Scots who were with
dependent duchy and its duke was a slippery 9,600 men lined up across the north road out the French, began to shoot each other so
character who changed sides depending on the of . He arranged his army in the ‘Agincourt’ cruelly that it was horrible to look at them.
political climate. This meant that the English formation with his men-at-arms in the centre They brought death with full force to those
took on the bulk of the military offensive and the famous archers on the anks. There they attacked. After the shooting the parties
against ‘Dauphinist’ French armies. was also a reserve of 2,000 archers who attacked each other furiously, hand to hand.”
Under Bedford’s leadership the English formed a laager of wagons and horses to Waurin, who had fought at Agincourt, stated
armies had continued success in France. An defend the baggage train. that Verneuil was a more ferocious battle:
Anglo-Burgundian army defeated a numerically Facing the English was a ‘French’ army of “Without doubt, I have never seen a ner
superior Franco-Scottish army at Cravant in July about 14-16,000 men but 6,000 of company where there were so many nobles
showing greater appearance of wanting to
ght. I saw the assembly of Agincourt, but
the assembly at Verneuil was the most
formidable and the best fought.”
He went on to state: “This battle lasted
about three-quarters of an hour, very
terrible and bloody, and it was not in the
memory of man to have two such mighty
parties ghting for such a space of time
without being able to tell to whom the loss
or victory would turn…”
Eventually, however, victory turned
decisively for the English. As at Agincourt,
the archers played a part in the success
Left: Joan dictated many letters to the English
demanding their withdrawal from France. This
particular letter is addressed to the people of the city
of Riom (in the Auvergne region) in 1429
Joan of Arc

ENGLAND’S NEMESIS

THE SCOURGE OF THE ENGLISH IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS WOMEN IN
HISTORY, WHOSE SHORT BUT EXTRAORDINARY LIFE HAS BECOME LEGENDARY
Joan of Arc is a French national icon and Following these victories Joan and her
one of the most curiously fascinating gures allies moved fast to crown the Dauphin
to emerge from the Middle Ages. She was as Charles VII at Reims Cathedral in July
a teenage peasant girl from Domrémy in 1429, but a subsequent attack on Paris
Lorraine who claimed to hear divine voices failed in September. In the spring of
telling her to expel the English from France 1430, Burgundians captured her while
and crown the Dauphin as Charles VII. she was attacking Compiégne and she
Remarkably, her story was believed (or was subsequently sold to the English who
used) by Charles and he allowed her to imprisoned her at Rouen.
accompany a relief convoy to the Siege of At her subsequent trial she was accused
Orléans carrying a holy banner and wearing of witchcraft, heresy and cross-dressing
a suit of armour. Joan soon energised the but she amazed her accusers with her
town and garrison into taking the ght to spontaneous eloquence and intelligent
the English and the siege was lifted on de ance. She was burned at the stake
8 May 1429 – just over a week after her for relapsed heresy aged only 19 in May
arrival. The spell of English invincibility had 1431. A posthumous trial in 1456 declared
been broken and shortly afterwards they her innocent and she has since become a
were driven from the Loire region in a series patron saint of France.
of sieges and battles that Joan either took Left: Joan was famous for wearing a suit of
part in or helped to inspire. armour and carrying a distinctive white banner

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