Siege of Harfleur

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Siege of Harfleur
date August 18, 1415 to September 22, 1415
place Harfleur
output English victory
Parties to the conflict

Royal Arms of England (1399-1603) .svg Kingdom of England

Blason France modern.svg Kingdom of France

Commander

Royal Arms of England (1399-1603) .svg Henry V , Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Arms of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, svg

Jean d'Estouteville ,
Raoul de Gaucourt

Troop strength
8000 400
losses

unknown

unknown

The siege of Harfleur began on August 18th and ended on September 22nd, 1415 when the city surrendered to the English. The siege of Harfleur marked the beginning of the campaign of King Henry V of England through northern France in 1415 and was part of the Hundred Years War .

Invasion and preparations

On Tuesday, August 13, 1415, Henry V landed at Chef-de-Caux at the mouth of the Seine . He immediately attacked Harfleur with 2000 armed men and 6000 archers . The French garrison at Harfleur, consisting of 100 men , had previously been reinforced with two experienced knights , Jean d'Estouteville and Raoul de Gaucourt , who had arrived with a further 300 armed men.

siege

On August 18, Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, had part of the army set up another camp on the east side of the city. The city was completely sealed off. Shortly thereafter, a French supply convoy with gunpowder and weapons, bows and crossbows was intercepted.

Little is known about the siege itself, but it appears to have followed the usual pattern of a medieval siege. After the city ​​walls were badly damaged by fire from the twelve English cannons and various other siege weapons that were carried along , Henry had an assault attack prepared. This was to take place exactly one month after the city was enclosed. The two French city ​​commanders , however, requested a negotiation with the English beforehand. It was agreed that the city should be handed over to the English if a French relief army did not arrive by 23 September . When this did not happen, the city finally surrendered to the English on the evening of September 22nd. The two knights were released on their word of honor in order to raise a ransom for their release. The townspeople had to swear allegiance to Henry and were also allowed to stay there. The remaining and non-resident men of the French garrison were forced to withdraw.

consequences

During the siege, the English army had been badly hit by the dysentery , which later continued to rage in the army. Henry left a small garrison in the city and left Harfleur with the rest of the army on October 8th, 1415. His goal was the city of Calais , which he hoped to be able to reach by crossing the Somme quickly and unobserved . This failed, and so Henry finally had to face a superior force of the French army at Azincourt .

literature

Remarks

  1. Agincourt is also called Agincourt named
  2. Depending on the sources, the French are three to five times more powerful