Battle of the Herrings

Battle of the Herrings 1429, episode in the siege of Orléans by the English in the Hundred Years War. The French, under Jean, comte de Dunois, attacked a supply train commanded by Sir John Fastolf . The English, barricaded behind the wagons with herring barrels, repelled the attack. The action took place at Rouvray, a hamlet NW of Orléans.

Herrings, battle of the, 1429. In October 1428 the duke of Bedford invested Orléans. On 12 February 1429 Sir John Fastolf, bringing supplies of herrings and lentils to the besiegers, was attacked at Rouvray by a superior force under the comte de Clermont. The attackers were driven off with heavy loss and the supplies got through, but Orléans was relieved by Joan of Arc in April.

J. A. Cannon

Orléans, siege of, 1428–9. On 12 October 1428, Thomas, earl of Salisbury, laid siege to Orléans as part of a strategy to advance across the Loire. He died from gunshot wounds on 3 November, but the siege continued, with an attack on the English supply lines (the battle of the Herrings) being unsuccessful. The English were already weakened and deserted by their Burgundian allies, however, by the time Joan of Arc arrived on 29 April and were forced to raise the siege on 8 May.

Anne Curry