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Biography

Second wire of Simon Office and his Helene wife, middle-class man of Paris, Jean Bureau was born in Semoine in Champagne. It makes its studies of right to Paris. He is police chief in Châtelet when Paris is occupied by the English under the supervision of the Duc of Bedford.

In 1434, it leaves the capital and joins the destiny of the king Charles VII. He is yet only ordinary receiver of Paris when Charles VII the main fact of artillery of France, after he was distinguished with the seat from Meaux (1439). With his younger brother Gaspard Office, lord of Villemomble, it reorganizes field artillery, by developing the use of the gun. Both personally direct artillery in all the battles of Normandy and Guyenne, where they also order the francs archers.

Jean Bureau is used with the seats of Pontoise (1441) and as Harfleur (1449), attends the catch of Bayeux, and gets busy with the capitulation of Caen. He still announces himself in front of Bergerac, and after having contributed to the rendering of the castles of Montguyon and Blaye, Libourne besieges which he carries.

He is named collecting taxes of Paris and, in 1443, general treasurer of France.

Guyenne entirely subjected, Charles VII names the lord of Montglat mayor of Bordeaux. It made there build the Castle Trumpet. But Bureau gets along badly with the Of Bordeaux one, in particular the Captal de Buch. The city is raised and the English reinvest it in 1452.

In 1453, during the second countryside of Guyenne, the English troops placed under the orders of the general John Talbot undergo a heavy defeat with Castillon-the-Battles in front of the troops of the Bureau brothers. This battle marks the end of the English domination in Aquitaine, and more generally, of the One hundred Year old War.

Louis XI the fact knight at the time of his sacring in 1461. It is in its house of Porcherons, in the North-West of Paris, which cabin Louis XI after his solemn entry in the capital. He dies in Paris the July 5th 1463.

His/her Isabelle daughter marries in 1463 one of wire of Jacques Cœur, Geoffroy.

Testimonys

Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, in Studies on the past and the future of the artillery , T. II, p. 96.

“In France, the war of Independence against the English had awaked the warlike genius of the nation, and, non-seulement the heroic Jeanne d' Arc occupied itself to direct artillery; but two eminent men left the people, the brothers Office, brought all their care to improve and the control pieces of ordnance of the seats. They started to employ, though of small number, the balls of iron instead of the stone balls, and then, a projectile of the same weight occupying a smaller volume, one could give him a greater momentum, because the part, having a less gauge, offered more resistance to the explosion of the powder.

This ball harder did not break any more and could penetrate in masonry; there was advantage to increase its speed by decreasing its mass; bombard became less heavy, though their effect was made more dangerous.

Instead of raising bastilles all around the city, besieging them established, owes the large fortresses, a park surrounded by a cutting off located in a central position, out of the range of the gun. Of this point, they led one or two bowels of sliced towards the points where they placed their batteries… We arrived at the moment when the trenches were employed like method of approach jointly with wood covers… To the brothers Bureau is allocated the honor to have the first made the most judicious use of artillery with fire in the seats. So that the obstacles fell in front of them, the struck walls did not resist their balls any more and flew in glares. The cities which the English defended and which they had put of the whole months to besiege, during their invasion, were removed in few weeks. They had employed four months to besiege Harfleur, in 1440; eight month to besiege Rouen, in 1418; ten months to seize Cherbourg, in 1418, while in 1450, all the conquest of Normandy, which obliged to undertake sixty seats, was achieved by Charles VII in one year and six days.

“the moral influence exerted by large artillery became so large that it is enough to its appearance to make return the cities.

“… Thus let us say it, in the honor of the weapon, it is as much with progress of artillery as with the heroism of Jeanne d' Arc, than France is indebted to have been able to shake the foreign yoke of 1428 to 1450. Because, fear that the large ones had of the people, the dissensions of noble had perhaps brought the ruin of France, if the artillery, skilfully led, had not come to give to the royal capacity a new force, and to provide him at the same time the means of pushing back the enemies of France and of destroying the castles of these feudal lords who did not have a fatherland.

“This period of the history announces one new era. The English were overcome by the firearms, and the king, who reconquered his throne with plebeian hands, sees himself for the first time at the head of forces which belong only to him. Charles VII, who at one time borrowed from the cities their guns to make the seats, has an enough many artillery at the same time to establish attacks in front of several places, which excites the admiration of the contemporaries rightly.

a text of time of the Basin bishop, that Bureau knew certainly, describes it like a humble man of origin, basic stature, but of a great determination and courage . According to the accounts, Bureau was a perfectionist; methodical, mathematical spirit, it was also a brilliant administrator, endowed with a sharp technical imagination which enabled him to benefit the best from the primitive weapons of the time.

Weapons

During XVe century, the activity of the Bureau brothers evolves/moves with the progress of technologies.

the Gunpowder: towards 1429, a great technological advancement is carried out with the invention of the mill with powder; this one is prepared before on the battle field. It is a mixture which contains a measurement of vegetable coal, a measurement of sulfur and six measurements of Salpêtre, receipt coming from China. At the beginning, the powder is used rather as agent flamer that of explosive, from where the expression: firearms . A step ahead is taken when it is discovered that the powder explodes better when it is crushed enough. At the origin of the Artillery, the progress of the explosives also facilitates the work of the sapper S.

guns: there is a rapid evolution in the foundry of the guns in Bronze, Laiton and more rarely, out of iron. It often sometimes happens at the guns to explode. During the head office of Cherbourg, one celebrates the fact that four guns only burst.

the gun with hand or Couleuvrine S with points acting one like relaxation and the other like a wick. Although they cost half less than one crossbow, these weapons were not used much, because of their weights. Despite everything, used out of bastion, they proved their effectiveness during the seats. -->

Release of Normandy

The July 31st 1449, Charles VII tackled Normandy, occupied then by the English, with three armies, a total staff complement of 30 000 men. They attacked in three directions: north, south and are. The English commander, the Duke of Somerset, instead of concentrating his troops to try to fight the French separately, divided them by several garrisons, with the order to resist more the possible for a long time, while the reinforcements were requested in the neighborhoods. To north, Pont-Audemer, Pont-l'Ev4eque cheese and Lisieux fell mid-August. In the center, Verneuil, Mantes, Vernon and Nickel silver, at the beginning of October; and with the south, Coutances, Carentan, Saint-Lo and Valognes.

The October 9th, Charles and the Bâtard of Orleans (now Count de Dunois) were installed on the edges of the the Seine a little above Rouen. The 16, a great French attack exceed the external ramparts, but it is pushed back by the English. However, three days after, the French population raised and opened the large doors for its compatriots, obliging the English garrison to take refuge in the citadel. Somerset had only 1 200 soldiers and was practically without provision. The October 22nd, Charles attacked the citadel with the guns of Bureau Master by forcing the English to require a truce. After twelve days of discussion, rendering was agreed: Somerset was authorized to withdraw itself with Caen, by leaving like hostage his under-commander Lord Talbot, like guarantee of a substantial compensation. Charles VII returned to Rouen escorted by his Scottish Guard and immediately after it amnestied all the noble ones, the clergy and the middle-class men which had collaborated with the English, while all the properties and goods of the enemy were confiscated.

During the winter, the French released Harfleur, Honfleur and Fresnoy, the artillery of Office having destroyed the ramparts of these cities and supported the victory of the Fleur de Lys. At the beginning of the spring of 1450, the English were wedged in the peninsula of Cherbourg. The invasion of Normandy took the English by surprise. There was a shock with the loss of Rouen. It is only the March 15th which reinforcements from England unloaded. Sir Thomas Kyriel ordered hardly 2.500 men. The April 12th, with Sir Matthew Gough like its immediate commander, it went to the head of 4.000 English to raise the seat to Bayeux. Charles sent two forces, making about 4.500 men then, under the orders respectively of the Connétable of Richemont and the Count de Clermont.

to be moved in Battle of Formigny

In the morning of the 15, Kyriell was quite close to the town of Formigny, on the way for Bayeux, when the English sentinels saw the troops of Clermont. Very quickly, they formed their troops, composed above a hill, by forming a long line (the English knights, since Crécy fought always dismounted) with the archers divided between the center and the sides (they trenched small and inserted pointed stakes ahead of of their positions). There was, behind the English, a forest where a small river ran which their rear-guard protected. Ironically, the device was identical to that of Crécy and Azincourt. Clermont which came with 3.000 men, dismounted them and tested a frontal attack, easily rejected. After three hours of indefinite combat, the French brought two coulevrines (of the small guns) to dislodge the English archers. The archers, by receiving the first shootings, instead of moving back, attacked and captured the two guns. At this time, if Kyriell had attacked in all the line perhaps it would have been the winner. Its indecision facilitated the French counter-attack. They attacked the archers on the sides, recupété the two guns and they engaged the English in a combat on all the line. The English could still have overcome, but at this time the constable appeared, coming from the south, with the head of 1.200 men. Clermont left free its combatants, in order to prepare an attack together with the constable. Kyriell joined together its troops in half-circle, while preparing to receive an attack of the south and west. The English were already weakened and when the attack arrived. In spite of a strong resistance, they were rejected towards the river where they were destroyed. Mattew Gough was captured. In the following morning the riders counted 3.774 dead English. Formigny was the first decisive battle that the English lost, since Bannockburn, against the Écossais, in 1314.

In June, Caen was besieged. After three weeks of bombardment by the guns of Office, Somerset went. One of the balls of Office reached the room occupied by the wife and the children of the duke, who fortunately did not wound anybody, but was used for to accelerate its decision. Again the withdrawal of Somerset for Calais was authorized. Little time after fell Vire, Bayeux and Avranches. Falaise went the July 21st, in exchange of the release of Lord Talbot and ten days later, of Domfront. Last resistance was with Cherbourg. Thomas Gower ordered a garrison of 1.000 men. Office placed its batteries at the beach, beside the city. The guns were waterproofed with grease not to need not to be removed during the full sea, by thus allowing its constant use. According to the chronicle of Monstrelet, one did not see a bombardment like this one. Gower fought with a great courage and the number of deaths, so much on a side like other, was important including the French naval commander the Admiral Prigent de Coëtivy, deceased during the combat. In England one hopelessly tried to form a new army under the order of Sir John Fastolf, but the August 12th 1450 Cherbourg went. Normandy was released by the French.

The final fight - Castillon

The English had evil to believe that they had lost Normandy. A great number of refugees arrived from the continent and of the false noises of treason were reasons for dizzy spell of the population. Since Crécy, there was already more than 100 years, the English always overcame the French by creating a belief absurdity: “An English in battle is worth more than two French”. This myth of invincibility is sung in prose and worms by Shakespeare, in Henry V :

“ O noble English, that could entertain

With half to their forces the full pride off France,

And let another half stand laughing by,

All out off work, and cold for action ”.

(“Oh! noble English, you who, with half of your forces,

could maintain great pride France,

and to let other half laugh without stop,

without having anything to make, anxious to act! ”)

The last great area occupied by the English was the duchy of Guyenne (the English had been in this area for 300 years!) who included/understood what is the south-west of France today. In north, Calais and a small area around the city were also English. In April 1451, the Bastard one of Orleans invaded Guyenne by bringing with him main Bureau and all its artillery. Very quickly, Blaye, Fonsac and Saint-Émilion was released by leaving isolated the ducal capital, Bordeaux. After a courageous resistance of the English and its allies of Bordeaux, the city went the June 30th. In last place, one sees Bayonne falling the August 20th.

Heavy taxes perceived by the French pained the population and this one obliged the Gascons to require of the assistance of the English. The Duke of Somerset then began the preparations for a new invasion.

The October 17th 1452, Lord Talbot unloaded in the Médoc with 3.000 men. The French were informed of the unloading, but they thought that this one would be carried out in Normandy. Then, they were not prepared to await them Guyenne. With the assistance of its Gascon allies, the English immediately took again the cities which the French had taken. Bordeaux, the capital, became English again the October 21st, about a year and three months after its release by the Bastard one and the guns of Office. Charles VII having been taken by surprise, spent all the winter has to organize the counter-attack for the following year. With the end of the year, Talbot received reinforcements: 3.000 men under the direction of his own son, the Viscount of Lisle. In spring of 1453, three French Armies tackled the North-East, is and of south-east, while converging all on Bordeaux. The plan of Talbot was to try to engage each army separately. In July, the French who advanced east besieged the town of Castillon, near to Libourne, at the edges of the river the Dordogne, 55 kilometers above Bordeaux. The French took into account a force of 9.000 men and did not have any appointed commander. Despite everything, all obeyed Bureau Master who exerted a natural authority on all the other commanders. According to the routine, Bureau built an artillery park strengthened apart from the range of the batteries closer from/to each other, all connected to the park by trenches of communication. This measurement was used as protection with the batteries in the event of exit of the defenders or an attack of a troop of reinforcements. The park, built by 700 workmen of Office, was a deep ditch, having by behind a very thick dry land wall, strengthened by sections of tree trunks. Its format was irregular, while making thus possible a mortal crossfire, rather known technique of Office. Its dimensions were thousand meters length and two hundred meters of width. The park remained parallel to the Dordogne which ran about two thousand meters of distance, while one on the two sides was protected by the river Lidoire, an affluent of the Dordogne. Office brought 300 parts to fire, of which as a majority of the coulevrines and the serpentine one. The weapons were placed at the top of the ground walls.

The July 16th, Talbot leaves Bordeaux with all its army, almost 10.000 men. He traversed 36 kilometers, while arriving at Libourne at laying down sun before his infantry, strong of 500 knights and 800 assembled archers. With the rising sun, it tackled and exterminated a French detachment, near to a monastery. At this point in time it was informed of the artillery park and sent Sir Thomas Evringham to examine it, while it awaited the remainder of their troop. A messenger of Castillon informed that the French fled. Downtown, the English saw the cloud of dust raised by the French detachments moving of rout. Imagining that all the French Army beat a retreat, Talbot gave the order to attack the park immediately. Talbot was the largest English warrior still in life, veteran of the large campaigns, quite bearing in spite of its 75 years. It was distinguished like the single assembled rider, because the other English, according to the tradition, descendèrent of their mounting for the attack. With the cries of “Talbot! George saint! ” they ran towards the artillery park. Some ones managed to cross the ditch and others, well very few, climbed the ground wall including the carry-flag Sir Thomas Evringham, immediately died of a shooting of coulevrine. The French weapons drew without stop almost with burns-pourpoint on the English who had just been destroyed. With measurement that the other English units arrived, the attack was renewed. After one hour of cruel combat, the blow came from mercy: while arriving of the south, where they had crossed Lidoire, 1000 Breton attacked the English on their right-sided with an extreme violence. According to the Monstrelet chronicler, even without the attack of Breton, the weapons of Office could have destroyed the English. They started to flee in direction of the Dordogne, which was with the rear-guard, while Talbot and its son tried to withdraw themselves with an small group of combatants. Several English could cross the river with the Passage of Rozan and arrive at Bordeaux, but the old hero was an easy target on his large war-horse, which was reached by a shooting. By ground, Talbot was killed by a French archer, called Michel Perunin, with blow of axe. His/her son, who came to his help, was also killed. The English were continued to Saint-Émilion. Its army had been completely destroyed. At the end of September, only Bordeaux still resisted. The city was completely besieged and the blocked Gironde river. There was no possibility of help of England and, in October 19th 1453, the capital of Guyenne went unconditionally. The first act of the king Charles VII was that to name Bureau mayor of Bordeaux, with life. It would have been said that nobody had realized that the One hundred Year old war was finished…

The same year (1453), the king of England, Henry VI, became insane, while having in a fight to seize the power, finishing in a civil war between the House of York and that of Lancaster. Also in the same year, formidable defenses of Constantinople fell in front of the guns from Mahomet II, which marked the end of the Middle Ages then. Another remarkable fact this same year, came to completely change the life in planet: the first printed document appears, created by Johannes Gutenberg, with Mainz…

Conclusion

The wars deteriorate, since the beginning of times, the destiny of humanity. The great empires follow one another in the command, always by the force of the weapons. Their success is due always to the technological advancements which make the weapons invincible until it of fresh progress replace them. Thus it arrived with the Greek phalange, the Roman Légion and the Mongolian cavalry.

At the beginning of XIVe century, France was largest and the richest country of Occident. England, small, poor and with a reduced population, did not seem to be a threat with the French domination. Nevertheless, England had a military innovation.

The arc, of Welsh origin, started to be developed during the reign of Edouard Ier of England to be used during the war against the Scot. The English and Welsh archers experienced drew from 10 to 12 arrows per minute, about of a distance of 300 meters. In comparison, the crossbow, very much used by the armies of the time, drew two arrows at the same time. The 90 cm length arrows were used with arcs of 1.80 m, on a distance of 200 m and almost always one struck the goal. Edouard III of England, before the invasion of France, prohibited, under penalty of death, any sport except the shooting with the arc and he forgave the debts of all the manufacturers of these manufactured goods. Moreover, it was cheaper to form a troop of archers than a grouping of riders with heavy and expensive armours, with its enormous rider and war-horses dear. The archers were equipped with blouses with a leather protection and, in addition to the arc and arrows, a scraping-knife, and some carried also hatchets. The troops, normally went to foot and they were the group more of the English army. The French Army had also a quota of archers. However, its arcs were larger and heavier, and its frequency of shootings was slower. Another factor against the French archers was the tradition which prevented its use with large scales. It was a question of honor for the riders with their heavy armours, to have the main role in the battles. The result was the meutrier effect of the clouds of the fatal and right arrows on the French knighthood, by reversing the horses and knights, because the heavy armours penetrated and reached well once the areas of the body not protected. The shock of this innovation was similar later with what also arrived, of the centuries, in French territory, with German divisions Panzer which, by introducing the innovation of the use of the armoured tanks with large scales, did not have on them any protective defense. Only after more than 100 years of suffering and devastation, the French could react with a new technical thing which came to overcome English invincibility, the use of artillery with large scales. The result of this war modified all the destiny of humanity. The Anglo-Saxon empire, except for short periods, dominated the world until our days. Plunderings which exhausted the richnesses of France were used as bases for this domination. England left the extremely rich and powerful war. It was common in England to see peasants leaving to the war having only one arc and the arrows and later to have its retirement and to live castles built almost entirely with the materials plundered at the enemy. The process was very well organized with quite detailed laws explaining how to make with plundering and how to define the commissions to be paid with all to the king.

If you visit the Sainte Vault, in Paris, with its marvellous stained glasses, you will see several with the inscription of them: “this stained glass is a copy, the original is with the castle…, in England”. -->

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