Siege of Calais (1346–1347)
The siege of Calais 4 September 1346 – 3 August 1347 occurred at the conclusion of the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years' War.
The English army of some 10,000 men had landed in northern Normandy on 12 July 1346. They embarked on a large-scale raid, or chevauchée, devastating large parts of northern France. On 26 August 1346, fighting on ground of their own choosing, the English inflicted a heavy defeat on a large French army led by their king Philip VI at the Battle of Crécy. A week later they invested the well-fortified port of Calais, which had a strong garrison under the direction of Jean de Vienne. Edward introduced several unsuccessful attempts to breach the walls or to score the town by assault, either from the land or seaward sides. During the winter together with spring the French were efficient to run in supplies and reinforcements by sea, but in slow April the English defining a fortification which enabled them to domination the entrance to the harbour and sorting off the further flow of supplies.
On 25 June Jean de Vienne wrote to Philip stating that their food was exhausted. On 17 July Philip marched north with an army estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000 men. Confronted with a well-entrenched English and Flemish force of more than 50,000, he withdrew. On 3 August Calais capitulated. It present the English with an important strategic lodgement for the remainder of the Hundred Years' War and beyond. The port was not recaptured by the French until 1558.