article for April 1, 2019

Article of the day for April 1, 2019 is Siege of Aiguillon.
The Siege of Aiguillon commenced on 1 April 1346 during the Hundred Years' War, when a French army commanded by John, Duke of Normandy, laid siege to the Gascon town of Aiguillon. The town, with strategic command of the rivers Garonne and Lot, was defended by Anglo-Gascon forces under Ralph, Earl of Stafford. The garrison, some 900 men, sortied repeatedly to interrupt the French operations, while Henry, Earl of Lancaster, concentrated the main Anglo-Gascon force at La Réole as a threat. Duke John, the son and heir of Philip VI, was never able to fully blockade the town. By August, the seriously harassed French supply lines had broken down, there was a dysentery epidemic in their camp, desertion was rife, and Philip was demanding that John's force join up with the main French army. On 20 August the French abandoned the siege and marched away. Six days later Philip's army was decisively beaten by the main English army in the Battle of Crécy, two weeks before John's force arrived in the north.