Battle of the Herrings

File:Battle of Herrings.jpg, written c. 1477–84, held by Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)]]

The field of battle was an almost featureless, flat plain. The French army, numbering between 3,000 and 4,000, confronted the much smaller English force who had set up defensive positions by drawing up the supply wagons into a makeshift fortification.{{cite book |first=Kelly |last=Devries |title=Joan of Arc a military leader |publisher=The History Press 2003 |isbn=978-0752460611|year=2011 }}{{rp|61}} The entire defensive formation was then further protected by the placement of sharpened wooden stakes all around to prevent the French cavalry from charging, a tactic which had been employed with great success at 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 although it was damaging to the wagons and caused English casualties.{{rp|61–62}}

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") attacked the English position. According to deVries, this 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 wagon fort.{{rp|62}}

French cavalry went in to support the Scottish infantry but were stopped by the archers and stakes. At this point, the English, seeing that the French infantry 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 to counterattack. They struck the rear and flanks of the disorganized French/Scottish forces and routed them.{{rp|62}}

The convoy reformed and proceeded to supply the besieging English force. The morale effect of the battle affected both sides.

There are two places called Rouvray in the region in question. In his biography of Sir John Fastolf, Stephen Cooper gives reasons the battle probably took place near Rouvray-Sainte-Croix, rather than Rouvray-Saint-Denis. Pernoud states that the combined French/Scottish forces lost about 400 men, including Stewart, the leader of the Scots. Among the wounded was Jean de Dunois, known also as the Bastard of Orléans, who barely escaped with his life and who would later play a crucial role, along with Joan of Arc, in the lifting of the siege of Orléans and the French Loire campaign which followed.

While it is generally felt today that the Battle of the Herrings was lost by the French 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 Orléans. 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 Orléans together with about 2000 soldiers.{{rp|62}} 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 Orléans from its inception in October 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 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 (12 February 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{{cite book |last1=Sackville-West |first1=Victoria |title=Saint Joan of Arc : born, January 6th, 1412, burned as a heretic, May 30th, 1431, canonised as a saint, May 16th, 1920 |date=1936 |publisher=Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. |location=New York |page=105 |url=https://archive.org/details/saintjoanofarcbo00sack/page/105 |access-date=31 December 2024 |ref=Archive.org}}), Joan gave out the information that "the Dauphin's arms had that day suffered a great reverse near Orléans". When, several days later, news of the military setback near Rouvray 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 23 February 1429.

Polish fantasy writer, Andrzej Sapkowski described the battle in his novel, Lux perpetua. The novel is part of the Hussite Trilogy, which takes place in 15th-century Silesia, during the Hussite Wars. The short description of the battle is not connected with the main plot. Sir John Fastolf is shown as a comical figure who wins the battle thanks to rumours he may have heard about the Bohemian heretics and their commander, Jan Žižka. Fastolf, feeling hopeless in the face of the enemy, forms his wagons into a wagenburg and surprisingly wins.

The Battle of the Herrings also appears as a vignette in Robert Nye's novel, Falstaff, told through the eyes of the English commander himself.

• Hundred Years' War
• Siege of Orléans
• John Fastolf
• English claims to the French throne
• Cod Wars

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last= Barker |date=2012 |first=J. |title=Conquest: The English Kingdom of France 1417–1450 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-06560-4 |author-link=Juliet Barker }}
• {{cite book |last=DeVries |date=1999 |first=K. |title=Joan of Arc: A Military Leader |publisher=Sutton Publishing |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780750918053/page/65 65–67] |isbn=978-0-7509-1805-3 |author-link=Kelly DeVries |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780750918053/page/65 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Pernoud |date=1998 |last2=Clin |first1=R. |first2=M. |title=Joan of Arc: her story |url={{google books|s9cJN6C0XbEC|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |place=New York |orig-year=1986 |pages=228–31 |isbn=978-0-312-21442-5 |author-link=Régine Pernoud }}
• {{cite book |last=Sackville-West |date=2001-06-22 |first=V. |title=Saint Joan of Arc |publisher=Grove Press |place=New York |orig-year=1936 |isbn=978-0-8021-3816-3 |author-link=Vita Sackville-West |url=https://archive.org/details/saintjoanofarcbo00sack }}
• {{cite book |last=Cooper |date=2010-09-20 |first=Stephen |title=The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |isbn=978-1-84884-123-9 }}
• {{cite book |last=Wavrin |date=1891 |first=J. |title=A Collection of the Chronicles and Ancient Histories of Great Britain, Now Called England, From A.D. 1422 to A.D. 1431 |volume=3 |translator=Edward L.C.P. Hardy |publisher=HMSO |place=London |oclc=925498 |author-link=Jean de Wavrin |url=https://archive.org/details/acollectionchro02hardgoog }}

{{Commons category|Battle of the Herrings}}

• {{cite web |author=Xenophon Group |date=21 December 1999 |title=Battle of the Herrings |url=http://xenophongroup.com/montjoie/rouvray.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925035358/http://xenophongroup.com/montjoie/rouvray.htm |archive-date=25 September 2017 |access-date=4 May 2008 }}

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Battles of the Hundred Years' War

Category:Conflicts in 1429

Category:1429 in England

Category:1420s in France

Category:Military history of Centre-Val de Loire

Category:History of Eure-et-Loir

Category:Battles between England and Scotland

Category:15th-century military history of Scotland

Category:Hundred Years' War, 1415–1453