Battle of the Herrings
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The Battle of the Herrings is the name of a military action near the town of Rouvray in France, just north of Orleans, which took place on February 12, 1429 during the siege of Orléans. The immediate context of the battle was an attempt - which would prove unsuccessful - on the part of French forces, led by Charles of Bourbon, the Count of Clermont, to intercept and divert a supply convoy which was designed to reprovision the English forces who had lain siege to the town of Orleans since the previous October. The French were assisted by a Scottish force led by the Constable of Scotland, Sir John Stewart of Darnley.
This supply convoy was led by Sir John Falstolf and had been outfitted in Paris, whence it had departed some time earlier. According to Pernoud (see reference below), this convoy consisted of "some 300 carts and wagons, carrying crossbow shafts. cannons, and cannonballs - but also barrels of herring". The latter were being sent since the meatless Lenten days were approaching. It was the presence of this latter stock of provisions which would give the somewhat unusual name to the battle.
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[edit] The battle
The actual field of battle was an almost featureless, flat plain. The French army, numbering between 3000 and 4000, confronted the much smaller English force who had set up defensive postitions by drawing up the supply wagons into a make-shift fortification. The entire defensive formation was then further protected by the placement of sharpened spikes all around to prevent the French cavalry from charging, a tactic which had been employed, with great success, at the Battle of Agincourt. The French attack began with a bombardment using gunpowder artillery, a relatively new weapon for the time and one whose proper usage was not well understood.
However, and to the detriment of their cause that day, the 400 strong Scottish infantry, contrary to the orders of the Count of Clermont (Pernoud states that "Clermont sent message after message forbidding any attack") went on the attack against the English formation. This, according to deVries, forced the premature cessation of the artillery bombardment out of fear of striking their own forces. The Scots were not well protected by armour and great damage was visited upon them by the English archers and crossbowmen who were shooting from behind the protection of their laager.
At this point, the English, seeing that the remaining French forces were slow to join the Scots in the attack (Pernoud quotes the Journal du siege d'Orléans to the effect that the remaining French forces "came on in a cowardly fashion, and did not join up with the constable and the other foot soldiers") , decided themselves to go on a counterattack. They struck the rear and flanks of the disorganized French/Scottish forces and put them to flight.
Pernoud states that the combined French/Scottish forces lost about 400 men, including Stewart, the leader of the Scots. Among the wounded was the Jean de Dunois, known also as the Bastard of Orleans, who barely escaped with his life and who would later play such a crucial role, along with Joan of Arc, in the lifting of the siege of Orleans and the French Loire campaign which followed.
[edit] Aftermath and Significance
While it is generally felt today that the Battle of the Herrings was lost because of the failure to continue the artillery bombardment to its full effect, such was not the view at the time, at least in the besieged city of Orleans. Within the city walls, as can be seen from the passage in the Journal du siege, the Count of Clermont was generally blamed for the disaster, being considered a coward and held in disdain. Soon thereafter, Clermont, together with the wounded Count Dunois, left Orleans together with about 2000 soldiers. Morale within the city and among its leaders was at a low point, so much so that consideration was given to surrendering the city.
The Battle of the Herrings was the most significant military action during the siege of Orleans from its inception in October of 1428 until the appearance on the scene, in May of the following year, of Joan of Arc. Even so, it was, to all appearances, a rather minor engagement and, were it not for the context in which it occurred, would most likely have been relegated to the merest of footnotes in military history or even forgotten altogether.
But not only was it part of one of the most famous siege actions in history, the story also gained currency that it played a pivotal role in convincing Robert de Baudricourt in Vaucouleurs, to accede to Joan's demand for support and safe conduct to Chinon. For it was on the very day (February 12, 1429) of the battle that Joan met with de Baudricourt for the final time. According to the story, recounted in several places (for example, in Sackville-West), Joan gave out the information that "the Dauphin's arms had that day suffered a great reverse near Orleans". When, several days later, news of the military setback near Rouvrey did in fact reach Vaucouleurs, de Baudricourt, according to the story, relented and agreed to sponsor her journey to the Dauphin in Chinon. Joan finally left Vaucouleurs for Chinon on the 23rd of February, 1429.
[edit] In popular culture
Polish fantasy writer, Andrzej Sapkowski described the battle in one scene of his latest novel, "Lux perpetua". The novel is a part of a trilogy, which takes place on XVth century Silesia, during the hussite wars. Short description of the battle is not connected with the main plot. Sir John Falstolf is shown as a quite comical figure. He wons the battle thanks to some rumors he have heard about the bohemian heretics and their commander, Jan Žižka (whose name he pronounces as "Sheeshka"). Falstolf, feeling quite hopeless in face of the enemy, forms his wagons with herrings into a wagenburg and surprisingly wins.
[edit] References
- Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader (Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1999), pages 65-67, ISBN 0-7509-1805-5
- Regine Pernoud and Marie-Veronique Clin, Joan of Arc: Her Story (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986, 1998), pages 228-31, ISBN 0-312-21442-1
- Vita Sackville-West, Saint Joan of Arc (New York, Grove Press, 2001, originally published in 1936), ISBN 0-8021-3816-0
