In 1424, John, Duke of Bedford, the younger brother of Henry V, won the victory, continuing the story of England's conquest of France with astonishing success. However, his greatest threat was the peasant maiden Joan of Arc
Accidental Regency
In 1422, Charles VI of France died, and Henry V was supposed to succeed to the throne as king of England and France. Most ironically, however, the 36-year-old warrior king died of dysentery a few months before Charles VI's death, leaving his son Henry VI to take his place.
Unfortunately, the new king was only 9 months old, and the English government divided his territory into two parts. Henry V's youngest brother Humphrey ruled England, and John, Duke of Bedford, was made regent of France. John was on the verge of death and had a long way to go, and had to face stubborn resistance and continue his brother's conquest of France, because those people believed that Charles VI's son the crown prince was the truly king of France.
In December 1431, Henry VI was crowned King of France at Notre Dame Cathedral. This is arguably the pinnacle of the Duke of Bedford's life achievements
Under John's command, the English army sang triumphant songs all the way in France. In July 1423, the Combined England-Burgundy army defeated the numerically superior French-Scottish Confederate army at Cravant. Subsequently, John intended to expand the size of his army and deal a devastating blow to the crown prince. His plan was to capture Picardy and drive french troops out of the main towns along the Somme as a way to strengthen normandy's border defenses. To this end, John besieged the town of Ivry, about 48 km west of Paris, but in August 1424 the French immediately captured the Norman border town of Vernaye. On 14 August, Evely surrendered, and John hurried to lead his army to retake Vernayette. The battle, which took place outside the city, preserved John's reputation.
"Agencourt II"
On August 17, John's army of about 9,600 men assembled on the North Road. He lined up his army in an "Agencour" formation, with armored warriors in the formation and famous archers on the flanks. In addition, a reserve of 2,000 archers formed a vehicle formation to defend the weight. The British were met by a "French" army of 14,000 to 16,000 men, 6,000 of whom were Scottish armies commanded by the Counts of Douglas and Bouquene. Scotland was a staunch ally of France, and the Crown Prince even appointed Bukan as commander of the French knights, so Scotland has been a thorn in the eyes of the English for decades.
Viscount d'Aumale was the commander of this coalition, but the Scots played a pivotal role in it. For John, the battle was also a personal vendetta, for it was this Scottish army that killed his brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence, at the Battle of Boge in 1421. Jean deWavrin, a Burgundy eyewitness who served the British, described the hostility between England and Scotland in the battle: "The Scene of British archers and Scots fighting alongside the French began to shoot arrows at each other fiercely, killing each other and then quickly. After a series of confrontations, the two sides engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. ”
DeWavlin, who had fought in the Battle of Agencourt, said the Battle of Vernaye was more intense: "There is no doubt that I have never seen so many nobles in such a sophisticated army show a strong desire to fight." I've seen Agencourt's battles, but the platoon at the Battle of Vernayette was stronger. He went on to say: "This battle lasted about 45 minutes, extremely bloody and terrifying, two powerful teams met in a narrow way, and in a short period of time they fought inextricably, and it was difficult to distinguish between victory and defeat, which was unprecedented in human history..."
However, the balance of victory eventually fell to the British. Similar to the Battle of Agencourt, the archers played an important role, except that the Battle of Vernaye was more intense and the casualties were heavier. The British lost 1,600 men, while the French-Scottish coalition suffered at least 7,000 casualties, the vast majority of whom were nearly exterminated Scots. Two days after the war, John confirmed that "scots have never survived".
Five years after the Battle of Vernayette, the English faced little resistance from the French until 1428-1429, when John first heard of his famous enemy, Joan of Arc, and they began to besiege Orléans.
The Prince Regent and the Maiden
Joan of Arc was an illiterate peasant girl in Lorraine. She claimed to have obeyed God's command to liberate France from England and to help Break the Siege of Orléans. Before arriving in Orléans, her famous "Letter to the Englishmen" was written directly to the Duke of Bedford: "King of England, and you, Duke of Bedford, who prides himself as regent of France,...... Joan, the maiden, was sent by God to quickly present the keys to all the towns in France that you have occupied and encroached upon. Duke Bedford, this maiden warns you not to kill yourself. ”
After the siege, the French defeated the British, and the Crown Prince was crowned Charles VII at Reims Cathedral in July 1429. For the first time in years, the British were at a disadvantage. However, John, who was in charge of the English government in Paris, neither participated in the siege nor witnessed the subsequent defeat. He was outraged by Joan's appearance, describing her as "a woman dressed in men's clothes, in a promiscuous state, debauched."
Joan of Arc's military victory led to the coronation of Charles VII at Reims Cathedral, thus posing a direct provocation to the English regime of the Duke of Bedford
After the coronation, Charles VII and Joan took to the streets of Paris. In August, John led his army to an encounter with the French at Montépilloy. The two armies faced each other for two days, but neither attacked, which was highly unusual for both John and Joan. John did not attack because his men were hesitant about Joan's previous achievements, and in Joan's case, it is recorded that she was "always undecided, sometimes anxious to go to war, sometimes calm and relaxed". Joan's hesitation shows that she does not want to repeat Vernayette's mistakes. On August 16, both armies retreated. Joan immediately marched forward to attack Paris, but John had already strengthened his defenses and the siege was thwarted. In May 1430, Joan was captured by the Burgundians and subsequently betrayed to England. In May 1431, she was burned at the stake for heresy.
Whether besieging the city on all sides or fighting on the battlefield, John was the only English general in front of Joan of Arc who had not suffered defeat. If john, Duke of Bedford, is remembered today, it is because he "burned Joan of Arc to death." This perception is inaccurate, as Joan of Arc was primarily tried by the Church court in France in support of Burgundy, although John ultimately disagreed with their verdict. The English invasion of France may have been delayed, but it was not until the death of John 46 in 1435 that France began to recover lost ground, and finally expelled the English from their territory in 1453.
John was recognized as a great man during his lifetime.
(Source: Plantagenet Dynasty)