Although this was otherwise a minor siege, both politically and militarily, and ultimately ended in a defeat for the Burgundians, the capture of Joan of Arc was an important event of the Hundred Years' War.

They suffered stunning losses in 1429 to a reinvigorated French army under the joint command of Joan of Arc and Duke John II of Alençon.

[citation needed] The French had defeated the English at Patay on 18 June 1429 and had proceeded northeastward to crown King Charles VII of France at Rheims without further resistance, accepting the peaceful surrender of every town along their path.

[5] According to Régine Pernoud and Marie-Veronique Clin, Philip the Good planned to retake command of the cities that controlled the Oise river.

[5] Joan of Arc had realized the danger before the king did, and began meeting with a few Royal commanders in the area in an attempt to convince them to come to the city's aid.

This was either a reasonable action to prevent the Burgundians from entering the city after they had seized the end of the bridge; or an act of betrayal by Guillaume de Flavy.

In the words of Kelly DeVries, "both the accusers and defenders must in turn either indict or vindicate the character of Compiègne's governor, Guillaume de Flavy, and the role he played in shutting off any escape possibility for Joan of Arc on that day."

Although the defense of Compiègne was eventually successful several months later when the Burgundian army was forced to withdraw, nonetheless accusations of misconduct regarding Joan of Arc's capture caused the decline of de Flavy's career.