Qualla: Battle of Beaugency (1429)

Battle of Beaugency (1429): Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Snowheron, CC BY-SA 3.0. The bridge at Beaugency still stands. Nearly six centuries after Joan of Arc's army fought to recapture it, vehicles cross the Loire on the same span that once determined whether France would remain a kingdom or dissolve into English occupation. In June 1429, virtually all of France north of the Loire lay under foreign control. Every river crossing had been lost. The siege of Orléans had just been broken, but the bridge there was destroyed, and the English still held the crossings at Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency. Retaking those bridges was not a symbolic gesture. It was the precondition for everything that followed -- the march to Reims, the coronation, the survival of the French crown.

Image: Snowheron | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Beaugency (1429): The Loire Campaign's Furious Logic

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit GIRAUD Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0. The French campaign along the Loire in the summer of 1429 consisted of five engagements executed in rapid sequence: the relief of the Siege of Orléans, then the battles of Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, Beaugency, and finally the decisive Battle of Patay. The speed was the point. Joan...

Image: GIRAUD Patrick | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Beaugency (1429): A Constable's Gamble

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit GIRAUD Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0. French recruitment swelled after the miracle at Orléans, and during the assault on Beaugency one volunteer caused a stir that threatened to unravel the command structure. Constable Arthur de Richemont had been in disgrace at the court of Charles VII for two years, but he appeared...

Image: GIRAUD Patrick | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Beaugency (1429): Two Days on the Loire

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit GIRAUD Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0. On June 15, 1429, French forces captured the bridge at Meung-sur-Loire. Rather than pressing an attack on that town's castle, Joan and d'Alençon pivoted to neighboring Beaugency the following day -- another break with convention, since the prevailing doctrine demanded that a capt...

Image: GIRAUD Patrick | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Beaugency (1429): The Road to Patay

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit GIRAUD Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0. The surrendered garrison at Beaugency joined Fastolf's approaching relief force, but the combined English army no longer had defensible positions to retreat to. On June 18, French cavalry caught them in open terrain near Patay. The Battle of Patay destroyed the English field army...

Image: GIRAUD Patrick | CC BY-SA 3.0