The siege of Bove by the troops of Karl the Bold - took place on June 27 - July 22, 1472 during the Franco-Burgundian war .
Siege of Beauvais | |||
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Main conflict: Franco-Burgundian Wars (1471-1475) | |||
date | June 27 - July 22, 1472 | ||
A place | Bove ( bovezi ) | ||
Opponents | |||
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Commanders | |||
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1472 Campaign
During the 1472 campaign, the Duke of Burgundy attacked Picardy , taking Nel , where his troops massacred , then Rua and Mondidier , after which he moved to Normandy. Passing by Beauvais , he decided to take possession of this city, for which the vanguard of Philippe de Krevker, the lord d'Ecker , was sent on June 27 [1] .
In Beauvais there was a small detachment from the Airbahn under the command of Captain Louis de Goome, Sir de Balagny. With his forces, it was impossible to protect the city, especially since the inhabitants did not trust the captain, who came from Picardy, where the French garrisons had already surrendered several cities to the enemy. Nevertheless, the townspeople decided to defend themselves, because it was known that d'Ecker arranged reprisals even in Abbeville, who voluntarily surrendered to him [2] .
Storm on June 27
The city had strong fortifications, but the suburb of Saint-Quentin, located opposite the bishop's monastery, covered only a small fort. Balanie with 17 crossbowmen decided to hold him as far as possible, to give the townspeople time to prepare for the assault. The suburb was attacked by a squad of Jacques de Montmarten, nicknamed "The Brave Robber", who had 100 spears and 300 archers from the ordonance mouths . The French defended for some time, but they could not repel so many enemies, Balanye was wounded, after which the defenders retreated to the city [3] .
The Burgundians scattered on the outskirts, robbing houses and shouting: “The city was taken!”, But approaching Beauvais, stumbled upon a deep ditch, and then met the stubborn resistance of the townspeople who repulsed several attacks. The wounded Balanyi encouraged the inhabitants, convincing them that the king would not abandon his loyal subjects. To raise morale, the relics of the local saint Andarena were carried along the walls [4] .
Not wanting to share the fate of the citizens of Liege, Dinan and Nel, the entire population took part in the defense of the walls, including women and children who brought arrows and projectiles. During one of the attacks, the “daughter of the people”, Jeanne Lena, chopped down and threw the standard on the wall of the Burgundians into the ditch. Her services were later marked by the king, and they were turned into popular legend about a certain Jeanne Ashett , who not only cut down the enemy banner, but, seeing that a Burgundend was climbing the wall, did not lose her head and hacked the foe with an ax [5] .
D'Ecker attacked from the other side, "but he had too short ladders and could not do anything" [1] . According to Philippe de Commin , of the two guns that the Burgundians had, due to the lack of shells, only two shots were fired at the goal, but they managed to make a big breach, after which the Burgundians rushed to storm the break. D'Ecker hurried to inform the duke that the city had been taken, but when Karl the Bold arrived, it turned out that the townspeople had repelled the attack, throwing the Burgundians with incendiary shells. At the same time, the gate caught fire, and the duke withdrew his troops, hoping to easily enter the city when the fire subsided [1] .
To prevent this, the residents broke down the nearest houses, using everything that could have burned to maintain the flame. Karl Brave made a serious mistake by not blocking the road to Paris , which could be followed by reinforcements. On the pretext that the river that flowed there divided the location of his troops and units on the other bank could be attacked, the duke removed them from there [1] .
Arrival of reinforcements
The battle for the city began at ten o'clock in the morning, and by eight o'clock in the evening the first French reinforcements entered the Beauvais: the lords de Rosh-Tisson and de Fontenay with the garrison of Noyon , without stopping 15 leagues. They ordered to support the flames at the gates, and ordered the masons to build a new wall behind them [6] . According to Kommin, the city included about ten copies [1] .
By the morning of the next day the duke artillery arrived; meanwhile, in the eyes of the Burgundians, a detachment of Marshal Rouault entered the Beauvais in a hundred copies [7] . On June 29, parts of Marshal Poitou, the Seneschal of Carcassonne and Gaston de Lyon, the Seneschal of Toulouse entered the city. Also arrived senor de Torcy with Norman noblemen, senor d'Estutvil , Parisian Prevost with the army, detachment Bali Senlis and 120 horse-drawn soldiers of the famous commander of the mercenaries Jean de Salazar [6] .
Sturm July 9th
In preparation for the assault, the duke for nearly two weeks continuously subjected the city to brutal bombardment, smashing the fortifications to the extent “required that the attack could begin” [7] . On July 9, at 7 am, the Burgundians went for an attack. A bridge was built across the moat, the besiegers attacked the St. Kanten and Picardy gates and the wall space between them. For three hours a brutal hand-to-hand fight was going on in the gap; the duke left part of the troops in reserve to send them later to replace the attacker, but, unable to bear it, he threw them into battle. The Burgundians managed to seize a part of the wall and put three banners there, but soon the French knocked out the storming ones and broke off the banners [7] [8] .
Having lost from one to one and a half thousand people killed and wounded, the duke ordered to retreat. At night, the besieged made a sortie, attacking an artillery park and mortally wounding the grand master of artillery, Jacques d'Orsant [9] [8] .
Burgundian retreat
All the new forces came to the aid of the defenders: Paris sent three thousand soldiers, Rouen, Orleans and all the neighboring cities sent convoys with provisions. The troops of constable and Count de Dammarten approached [8] .
Karl Brave for some time stood in front of the city, not wanting to admit defeat. He tried to persuade the townspeople to treason, sending his agents under the guise of peasants or sailors, but they were captured and executed [8] . Then he decided to divide the army into two parts and occupy the Parisian road, but none of the military leaders supported this idea, as time was lost, and enough troops gathered in the city to attack the besiegers if their forces separated [10] .
Finally, on July 22, after nearly a month of siege, the Burgundian army turned down the camp and headed for Normandy, burning everything in its path. According to Kommin, the duke hoped that the townspeople would chase him, and then he would crush them, but the French would not take risks [10] .
Summary
The siege of Bove became the most striking episode of the war and the first serious failure of Charles the Bold, who showed his characteristic features in this case: hot temper, short-sightedness, stubbornness and excessive self-confidence.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Commin, 1986 , p. 115
- ↑ Renet, 1898 , p. 137.
- ↑ Renet, 1898 , p. 138.
- ↑ Hugo, 1841 , p. 221.
- ↑ Petit-Dutaillis, 1911 , p. 367.
- ↑ 1 2 Hugo, 1841 , p. 222.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Kommin, 1986 , p. 116.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Hugo, 1841 , p. 223.
- ↑ Commin, 1986 , p. 116-117.
- ↑ 1 2 Kommin, 1986 , p. 117.
Literature
- Hugo A. Histoire générale de la France depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours. T. iv. - P .: Delloye, 1841.
- Petit-Dutaillis Ch. Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqu'à la révolution. T. iv. 2éme partie. - P .: Hachette, 1911.
- Renet M. Beauvais et le Beauvaisis dans les temps modernes. Époque de Louis XI et de Charles le Téméraire (1461-1483). Siège de Beauvais. Jeanne Hachette. - Bouvet: Imprimerie professionnelle, 1898.
- Commun F. de. Memoirs. - M .: Science, 1986.
- Airs J. Louis XI: The Craft of the King / Trans. with fr. E. V. Kolodochkina; entry Art. and scientific. ed. A.P. Lewandowski. - M .: Young Guard , 2007. - 376 [1] p. - ( Life of remarkable people : A series of biographies; Vol. 1252 (1052)). - ISBN 978-5-235-03000-8 . .