Key Facts
- Duration
- 31 Aug 1440 – 24 Jun 1442 (~22 months)
- Theater
- Gascony, southwestern France
- Key condition
- Albret to switch allegiance if Charles VII failed to aid him
- Resolution
- English withdrawal before approaching French army
Strategic Narrative Overview
The siege began on 31 August 1440 but progressed inconclusively through its initial phase. By early 1441 both sides agreed peace terms, with a notable clause: if Charles VII of France failed to relieve Albret, the nobleman was obligated to switch allegiance to England. This arrangement briefly raised the prospect of southwestern French nobility defecting en masse to the English cause. The ceasefire was extended repeatedly through mid-1442 as each side awaited reinforcements.
01 / The Origins
During the late stages of the Hundred Years' War, Charles II of Albret, a powerful nobleman in southwestern France, maintained a hostile stance toward English-held Gascony. His presence destabilized the English position in the region, compelling English forces and their Gascon subjects to mount a siege against him at Tartas. The broader geopolitical context was one of English decline in France and growing French royal authority under Charles VII.
03 / The Outcome
Charles VII dispatched a French army to relieve Tartas, and the English, undermanned and outnumbered, withdrew on 24 June 1442. The potentially transformative defection of Albret and the Gascon nobility never materialized. England gained nothing from the prolonged siege, and French royal authority over Gascony was effectively reaffirmed, foreshadowing the eventual English loss of the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Charles II of Albret, Charles VII of France.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.