The dukes of Orléans were at the head of a political faction known as the Armagnacs, who rejected the Treaty of Troyes and supported the claims of the disinherited and banished Dauphin Charles to the French throne.

Reasoning of the late medieval established that since the city of Orléans had escalated the conflict, it forced the use of violence upon the English, justifying a conquering lord in exacting vengeance upon the citizens.

The relief of Montargis, the first effective French action in years, emboldened sporadic uprisings in the thinly-garrisoned English-occupied region of Maine to the west, threatening to undo recent English gains.

[12] These were bolstered by new levies raised in Normandy and Paris,[13] and joined by auxiliaries from Burgundy and vassal domains in Picardie and Champagne, to a total strength possibly as great as 10,000.

The bridge passed over the riverine island of St. Antoine, an optimal location for Salisbury to position English cannon within range of Orléans city centre.

But the timely arrival of the Marshal de Boussac with sizeable French reinforcements prevented the English from repairing and crossing the bridge and seizing Orléans immediately.

[18] The English suffered another setback two days later, when the Earl of Salisbury was struck in the face by debris kicked up in cannon fire while supervising the installation of the Tourelles.

[20][21] The lull in English operations following Salisbury's injury and death gave the citizens of Orléans time to knock out the remaining arches of the bridge on their end, disabling the possibility of a quick repair and direct assault.

The new siege commander appointed by Bedford in mid-November, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk resolved on surrounding the city and starving it into submission.

The French garrison sallied out repeatedly to harass the builders, and systematically destroyed other buildings (notably, all the churches) in the suburbs to prevent them serving as shelter for the English during the winter months.

Sizeable contingents of French men-at-arms could push aside the patrols and move in and out of the city, but the entry of any lighter-escorted provisions and supplies was firmly blocked, there and further afield.

Although the French still held isolated citadels like Montargis to the northeast and Gien upriver,[24] any relief would have to come from Blois, to the southwest, exactly where the English had concentrated their forces.

Should Orléans fall, it would effectively make the recovery of the northern half of France all but impossible, and prove fatal to the Dauphin Charles's bid for the crown.

A contribution of 10,000 gold crowns was to be made to Bedford for war expenses, and the English would gain military access through Orléans, all in return for lifting the siege and handing the city to the Burgundians.

According to the Chronique de la Pucelle, at this meeting with Baudricourt, Joan disclosed that the Dauphin's forces had suffered a great reversal near Orléans that day, and if she were not sent to him soon, there would be others.

Joan's first mission was to join a convoy assembling at Blois, under the command of Marshal Jean de La Brosse, Lord of Boussac bringing supplies to Orléans.

It was from Blois that Joan dispatched her famous missives to the English siege commanders, calling herself "the Maiden" (La Pucelle), and ordering them, in the name of God, to "Begone, or I will make you go".

While French skirmishers kept the English garrison of Saint-Loup contained, a fleet of boats from Orléans sailed down to the landing to pick up the supplies, Joan and 200 soldiers.

One of Joan's reputed miracles was said to have taken place here: the wind which had brought the boats upriver suddenly reversed itself, allowing them to sail back to Orléans smoothly under the cover of darkness.

Believing the garrison too small for any action, on 1 May Dunois left the city in the hands of La Hire and made his way personally to Blois to arrange for reinforcements.

Dunois's military convoy arrived via the Beauce district, on the north bank of the river, in the early morning of 4 May, in full view of the English garrison at St. Laurent.

[43] At noon that day, 4 May 1429, apparently to secure the entry of more provisions convoys, which had taken the usual circuitous route via the east, Dunois launched an attack on the easterly English bastille of St. Loup together with the Montargis-Gien troops.

The next morning, 7 May, she was asked to sit out the final assault on the Boulevart-Tourelles, but she refused and roused to join the French camp on the south bank, much to the joy of the people of Orléans.

Early in the morning, Joan was struck down while standing in the trench to the south of Les Tourelles, by a longbow arrow between the neck and left shoulder and was hurriedly taken away.

Informed of the decision, Joan went off for a period of quiet prayer, then returned to the area south of Les Tourelles, telling the troops that when her banner touched the fortress wall the place would be theirs.

On the morning of 8 May the English troops on the north bank, under the command of the Earl of Suffolk and Lord John Talbot, demolished their outworks and assembled in battle array in the field near St. Laurent.

She immediately called for a march northeast into Champagne, towards Reims, but the French commanders knew they had to first clear the English out of their dangerous positions on the Loire.

An English reinforcement army rushing from Paris under John Talbot was defeated at the Battle of Patay shortly after (18 June), the first significant field victory for French forces in years.

[56] After some preparation, the march on Reims began from Gien on 29 June, the Dauphin Charles following Joan and the French army through the dangerous Burgundian-occupied territory of Champagne.

[56] The city of Orléans commemorates the lifting of the siege with an annual festival, including both modern and medieval elements and a woman representing Joan of Arc in full armor atop a horse.