| Siege of Compiègne | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theHundred Years' War (1415–53 phase) | |||||||
 Siege of Compiègne byMartial d'Auvergne | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of France | Burgundian State Kingdom of England | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Joan of Arc (POW) Guillaume de Flavy Louis I, Count of Vendôme Florent d'Illiers Poton de Xaintrailles | Count of Ligny Earl of Huntingdon[2] Earl of Arundel[2] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| More than the English[citation needed], Joan of Arc captured | Less than the French[citation needed] | ||||||
  Location within France | |||||||
Thesiege of Compiègne (1430) was conducted by DukePhilip III of Burgundy after the town ofCompiègne had refused to transfer allegiance to him under the terms of a treaty withCharles VII of France. The siege is perhaps best known forJoan of Arc's capture byBurgundian troops while accompanying an Armagnac force during a skirmish outside the town on 23 May 1430. Although this was otherwise a minor siege, both politically and militarily, and ultimately ended in a defeat for the Burgundians, the capture of Joan of Arc was an important event of theHundred Years' War.
During this era, late in theHundred Years' War, the politically independentPhilip the Good, Duke ofBurgundy, was allied withEngland under the regency ofJohn, Duke of Bedford (who was the uncle of the child King,Henry VI). These two allies had conquered most of northern France during the preceding ten years. Theysuffered stunning losses in 1429 to a reinvigorated French army under the joint command of Joan of Arc and DukeJohn II of Alençon.[citation needed]
The French had defeated the English atPatay on 18 June 1429 and hadproceeded northeastward to crown KingCharles VII of France atRheims without further resistance, accepting the peaceful surrender of every town along their path. Compiègne was not along that road – its location is north of Paris – but along with several other cities it declared allegiance to Charles VII shortly after his coronation. It had previously been under Burgundian control.[3]
In March 1430 the French court learned thatPhilip the Good, duke ofBurgundy, planned to lay siege to the city. Thecount of Clermont delivered a message to the city that Compiègne was his according to legal treaty[note 1] and demanded a surrender. Residents of the city expressed strong opposition to the demand and the French garrison commanderGuillaume de Flavy [fr;it] readied the city for action.[4]
CountJohn of Luxembourg departed for the expedition in command of the vanguard on 4 April. Philip the Good departed fromPéronne on 22 April. Meanwhile, the Duke of Bedford was waiting atCalais for the arrival of KingHenry VI of England, a nine-year-old boy who had recently been crowned king of England.[5]
According to Régine Pernoud and Marie-Veronique Clin, Philip the Good planned to retake command of the cities that controlled theOise river. Bedford supported the strategy in order to protectÎle-de-France and Paris, which was then under Anglo-Burgundian control. KingCharles VII of France had been hoping for a peace treaty with Burgundy but realized on 6 May that he had been duped by false promises.[5]
Joan of Arc had realized the danger before the king did, and began meeting with a few Royal commanders in the area in an attempt to convince them to come to the city's aid. By April she had convinced several commanders, includingFlorent d'Illiers [fr] and an Italian mercenary commander named Bartolomeo Baretta, resulting in a company of about 300–400 volunteers. She departed for Compiègne, possibly without the king's knowledge, and arrived at the city on 14 May.[6]
Several minor actions took place in the days that followed. Two days later CaptainLouis de Flavy fled artillery bombardment atChoisy-au-Bac and took refuge at Compiègne. On 18 May Joan of Arc's group, which by that point includedRegnault of Chartres and theCount of Vendôme, attempted to surprise the Burgundians atSoissons. Residents of Soissons refused them entry and declared allegiance to Burgundy the following day.[7]
On the morning of May 23, the defenders of Compiegne launched an assault against the Burgundians atMargny, attacking an outpost while it was separated from the main force. Count John of Luxembourg noticed the action by chance while taking a survey of the territory and called in reinforcements. These reinforcements outnumbered the attackers and the Armagnac commanders ordered a retreat over the objections of Joan of Arc, who urged them to stand and fight. They refused, and ordered a rearguard to screen the rest of the force as it retreated toward the town. Joan of Arc chose to remain with the rearguard, carrying her banner on her horse.[8]
The next moments remain a source of scholarly debate. The city gate closed before the rearguard could return to the town. This was either a reasonable action to prevent the Burgundians from entering the city after they had seized the end of the bridge; or an act of betrayal by Guillaume de Flavy. In the words ofKelly DeVries, "both the accusers and defenders must in turn either indict or vindicate the character of Compiègne's governor, Guillaume de Flavy, and the role he played in shutting off any escape possibility for Joan of Arc on that day." The French rearguard that remained outside had no means of avoiding capture.[9]
According to the Burgundian chroniclerGeorges Chastellain and other sources, Burgundian troops soon surrounded the rearguard and shouted at Joan of Arc to surrender, eager to capture such a famous figure. She refused. Finally, a Burgundian crossbowman, "a rough and very sour man", maneuvered his horse behind her and "grabbed the edge of her cloth-of-gold doublet, and threw her from her horse flat to the ground".[10]
She then surrendered to Lionel, Bastard of Vendôme, who was in the service of theCount of Ligny.[11]
Guillaume de Flavy was blamed by some sources for allegedly ordering the drawbridge raised behind the rearguard. Although the defense of Compiègne was eventually successful several months later when the Burgundian army was forced to withdraw, nonetheless accusations of misconduct regarding Joan of Arc's capture caused the decline of de Flavy's career.[12]