Histories of the Hundred Years War have been written, and accounts of the famous battles, but until now no book has concentrated on the sieges that played a decisive role in the protracted struggle between England and France. Edward III’s capture of Calais in 1347 was of crucial importance for the English, and the failure of the English siege of Orléans in 1429 was a turning point for the French after the disaster of Agincourt. Throughout the war, sieges were a major weapon in the strategic armories of both sides, and Peter Hoskins’s perceptive and graphic study is a fascinating analysis of them.

He describes the difficulties faced by besieger and besieged, examines the logistics and resource implications of sieges, and provides a comparative assessment of siege warfare alongside set-piece battles and the English strategy of chevauchées. Key sieges are reconstructed in vivid detail, other sieges are summarized, and the book is fully illustrated with photographs and plans.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Maps and Plans
• List of Plates
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Glossary
• 1. The Hundred Years War
  • Causes of the Hundred Years War
  • The Outbreak of War and the English Ascendancy, 1337–1360
  • The French Recovery, 1369–1389
  • An Uneasy Truce, 1389–1415
  • A Return to War, 1415–1444
  • The Truce of Tours, 1444–1449, and the Defeat of the English
• 2. Siege Warfare
  • The Characteristics of a Siege
  • The Strategic Context
  • The Conventions of Siege Warfare
  • Costs
• 3. Fortifications – Attack and Defence
  • Fortifications
  • Siege Techniques
  • Countermeasures
  • The Politics and Economics of Defence
  • The Organization of Defence
• 4. The English Ascendancy, 1337–1360
  • Cambrai, 1339
  • Tournai, 1340
  • Aquitaine, 1345–1346
  • La Réole, 1345–1346
  • Aiguillon, 1346
  • Calais, 1346–1347
  • Breteuil, 1356
  • Romorantin, 1356
  • Reims, 1359–1360
• 5. The French Recovery, 1369–1389
  • Réalville, 1369
  • Duravel, 1369
  • La Roche-sur-Yon, 1370
  • Limoges, 1370
  • Montpon-Ménestérol, 1370–1371
  • Soubise, 1372
  • Chizé, 1373
  • Brest and Derval, 1373
  • La Réole, 1374
  • St-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, 1374–1375
  • Bergerac, 1377
  • St-Macaire, 1377
  • Cherbourg, 1378
  • Nantes, 1380–1381
  • Ypres, 1383
  • The Truce of Leulinghem, 1389
• 6. From Harfleur to the Death of Henry V, 1415–1422
  • Harfleur, 1415
  • Caen, 1417
  • Falaise, 1417–1418
  • Louviers, 1418
  • Pont-de-l’Arche, 1418
  • Rouen, 1418–1419
  • Between Rouen and Montereau
  • Montereau, 1420
  • Melun, 1420
  • Between Melun and Meaux
  • Meaux, 1421–1422
  • Cosne, 1422
• 7. From the Death of Henry V to the Siege of Orléans, 1422–1429
  • Meulan, 1423
  • Le Crotoy, 1423–1424
  • Cravant, 1423
  • Compiègne, Gaillon and Ivry-la-Bataille, 1424
  • Guise, 1424–1425
  • Mont-St-Michel, 1424–1425
  • Pontorson, 1427
  • Montargis, 1427
  • La Gravelle, 1427
  • Orléans, 1428–1429
• 8. From Orléans to the Truce of Tours, 1429–1444
  • Jargeau, 1429
  • Beaugency-sur-Loire, 1429
  • Charles VII’s Coronation Campaign
  • La Charité-sur-Loire, 1429
  • Compiègne, 1430
  • Louviers, 1431
  • St-Céneri-le-Gérei, 1432
  • Lagny-sur-Marne, 1432
  • St-Valery-sur-Somme, 1433
  • St-Céneri-le-Gérei, 1433
  • Sillé-le-Guillaume, 1433
  • Creil, 1434
  • St-Denis, 1435
  • Paris, 1436
  • Calais, 1436
  • Le Crotoy, 1437
  • Meaux, 1439
  • Avranches, 1439
  • Harfleur, 1440
  • Creil, 1441
  • Pontoise, 1441
  • Tartas, 1441–1442
  • Dieppe, 1442–1443
  • The Truce of Tours
• 9. The Expulsion of the English from France, 1449–1453
  • Verneuil-sur-Avre, 1449
  • Vernon, 1449
  • Harcourt, 1449
  • Rouen, 1449
  • Harfleur, 1449
  • Honfleur, 1450
  • The Beginning of the End
  • Bayeux, 1450
  • Caen, 1450
  • Falaise, 1450
  • Cherbourg, 1450
  • The Recovery of Aquitaine: the First Campaign, 1450–1451
  • Mauléon, 1449
  • Montguyon, 1451
  • Blaye, 1451
  • Bordeaux, 1451
  • Bayonne, 1451
  • The Recovery of Aquitaine: the Second Campaign, 1452–1453
  • Cadillac, 1453
  • Bordeaux, 1453
• Conclusion
• Appendix I: Summary of Outcomes of Sieges
• Appendix II: Duration of Sieges
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Plate section