Joan of Arc Breaks Siege at Orléans
Joan of Arc was wounded in the chest by a crossbow bolt during the assault on the Tourelles fortification at Orleans on May 7, 1429. She pulled the bolt out herself and returned to the fighting. The English garrison, demoralized by the ferocity of the French assault, withdrew from Orleans the following morning. The siege had lasted 209 days. Joan was 17 years old and had been given command of a French relief force just weeks earlier, after convincing the Dauphin Charles VII that she carried divine messages. The relief of Orleans reversed the trajectory of the Hundred Years' War. Within three months, Joan led Charles to his coronation at Reims Cathedral, legitimizing his claim to the French throne and shattering English political strategy in France.
May 7, 1429
597 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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