Siege of Dieppe

Siege of Dieppe
Part of the Hundred Years' War
Date 2 November 1442 – 14 August 1443 (1442-11-02 – 1443-08-14) (9 months, 1 week and 5 days) Location Dieppe, Normandy, France 49°55′N 1°05′E / 49.92°N 1.08°E / 49.92; 1.08 Result French victory
Belligerents
France	England
Commanders and leaders
Dauphin Louis Charles Desmarets Antoine de Chabannes	John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury William Peyto (POW)
Strength
Garrison: Hundreds of men-at-arms[1] Relief army: 1,600 men	600 men 200 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
100 killed Hundreds wounded	300 killed 14 executed Artillery pieces captured

The siege of Dieppe (2 November 1442 – 14 August 1443) took place during the Hundred Years War where English forces led by John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury besieged and failed to capture the French-held port of Dieppe in Normandy.

The English commander John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury marched out with a core troop of 600 men from his headquarters in Jumièges, Normandy at the end of October 1442 to besiege the French-held port of Dieppe.^[2] The French garrison of the castle of Charlemesnil surrendered to Talbot's army.^[2]

Talbot built a wooden fort on the heights of Le Pollet east of Dieppe and installed a garrison of 500 men under Sir William Peyto along with 200 artillery pieces of various make and began to bombard Dieppe's fortifications and houses with them.^[3]

On 12 August 1443 a French relief army of 1,600 men under the dauphin Louis arrived at Dieppe, which was garrisoned by several hundred men-at-arms led by Charles Desmarets.^[1] Two more French armies had reinforced the town previously.^[1] At 8 am on 14 August, the French attacked the English fort to the sound of trumpets.^[4] The French had five or six wooden bridges on wheels and cranes that hoisted the bridges into position over the English walls.^[5] The attacking French troops were repulsed by English missile and arrow fire and lost 100 killed and hundreds wounded.^[5]

The citizens of Dieppe reinforced the French army with between 60 and 80 large crossbows and the dauphin ordered the attack renewed.^[5] The English were defeated, with 300 killed and 14 French-speaking survivors hanged as traitors on the dauphin's orders.^[5] Sir William Peyto, Sir John Ripley and Henry Talbot were captured, among others.^[5] The fort was dismantled on the dauphin's orders and the artillery carried off to Dieppe's arsenal.^[5]