[citation needed] The previous year, Henry V had successfully taken another important city in Normandy following the siege of Caen.

When the English reached Rouen, the walls were defended by 60 towers, each containing three cannons, and six gates protected by barbicans.

[8] By December, the inhabitants were eating cats, dogs, horses, and even mice and the streets were filled with starving citizens.

Following ten days of negotiation, the defenders decided they would surrender on 19 January 1419 if no help had arrived,[10] on the agreed terms that the surviving French would be allowed to keep their homes and property if they gave up 80 hostages, paid 300,000 gold crowns, and swore allegiance to the English.

[7][10] Rouen became the main English base in northern France, allowing Henry to launch campaigns on Paris and to the south.