The Siege of Orléans

This article is about the scenario in Age of Empires IV. For the scenario in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, see The Maid of Orleans.

The Siege of Orléans
Scenario information
Game	Age of Empires IV
Campaign	The Hundred Years War
Civilization	French
Color	Blue
Scenario no.	5
Previous	The Battle of Pontvallain
Next	The Battle of Patay
Setting information
Year	1429
Map

The Siege of Orléans is the first scenario in the Desperation chapter and the fifth scenario of the The Hundred Years War campaign in Age of Empires IV. It depicts the Siege of Orléans by the English in 1428-1429, particularly the assault on the Tourelles gatehouse in October of 1428.

Intro

The French won an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Pontvallain. It was the first time the English had been utterly defeated during the war. But the triumph was short-lived. As England spent the next 60 years amassing French territory through alliances and victories and great battles such as Agincourt.

It seemed that nothing could stop England. Who, then, could have foreseen that a teenaged girl was about to change the course of history?

In 1429, France was in dire straits. Nowhere was it more evident, than the besieged city of Orléans. The city was completely surrounded by English held forts. But just a few days ride away, here in Chinon, there was potential help. The French royal prince, the Dauphin Charles, was held up in his fortress and under pressure to ride out to save Orléans. As Charles hesitated, a young peasant girl arrived at his court. Her name was Jeanne D'Arc.

She claimed to have received saintly visions, giving her a divine task: to help Charles becoming king and drive the English out of France forever. Charles was skeptical - but was soon convinced of her divinity. And he charged this 17-year old with the near-impossible mission, to liberate Orléans.

To Jeanne, this was the first step in realizing her God-given destiny! In April 1429, she rode out from Chinon at the head of her army to confront the hated enemy of France!

Scenario instructions

Starting conditions

• Age: Castle Age
• Units:
  • Jeanne d'Arc
  • 18 Royal Knight
  • 24 Arbalétrier
  • 18 Villager
• Resources: 300 food, 300 wood, 300 gold, 300 stone

Objectives

• Defend Orléans
• Destroy the Keep at Les Tourelles
• Optional: Protect the supply convoy

Players

• Jeanne d'Arc: The player starts in the walled city of Orléans with a good-sized force of Veteran Royal Knights, as well as Arbalétriers guarding the walls, and a substantial economy with 10 Villagers on various resources. The gold and stone will eventually run out, however, forcing the player to rely on convoys of allied Traders to supply them with gold. The river Loire separates the city from the English-held fortress of Les Tourelles, and the bridge directly next to Orléans is damaged, forcing the player to find another way to cross the river.

Allies

• Traders (French): The allied traders will dispatch supply convoys to Orléans every two minutes or so from the north of the map. Each convoy consists of five Traders, which head to the player's Market at the eastern end of the city. The player receives 100 gold for every Trader that arrives at the Market safely.

Enemies

• John Talbot (English): The English have the city of Orléans surrounded from all sides by groups of Men-at-Arms, Veteran Spearmen, Veteran Longbowmen, and Crossbowmen. They will periodically send groups of units, which may additionally include Veteran Horsemen, accompanying siege engines (such as Battering Rams, Siege Towers, and Springalds) to assault the city's walls. They will also dispatch small groups of Horsemen to the wooded area northeast of the city in order to intercept and destroy the allied supply convoys before they can reach Orléans. In addition, the English control two camps along the river which guard access to the intact bridges across the Loire. On the other side, directly across the bridges, are two more camps, guarded by Outposts in addition to units of Men-at-Arms and Longbowmen. In the center of the map, directly across from Orléans, is the English Keep of Les Tourelles which must be destroyed to complete the scenario. It is surrounded by both Stone and Palisade Walls, and is protected by Spearmen, Longbowmen, Horsemen and Knights, as well as two Outposts.