Joan of Arc lifts the siege of Orléans

Joan of Arc, then about 17, joined French forces at Orléans, and the English siege was lifted in May 1429. The victory helped the French cause, and Charles VII was crowned at Reims that July.

Her exact birth year is uncertain, so her age is approximate.

Context

The English siege began on 12 October 1428 under the Earl of Salisbury, who died of a wound on 3 November. His successor, the Earl of Suffolk, was slow to act until John Talbot and Thomas Scales arrived in December. The city's defender was Jean, Count of Dunois.

Britannica says Dunois was considering surrender when Joan persuaded Charles VII to send a relief army. She set off in March 1429 and entered Orléans with supplies on 30 April after a diversionary attack. The following week the main English forts were stormed and Suffolk abandoned the siege.

Britannica calls the siege the military turning point of the Hundred Years' War. Charles VII was crowned at Reims in July 1429, which strengthened his claim to the throne against the English-backed rival claim.

Joan was captured at Compiègne in spring 1430 and handed over to the English, who held her at Rouen. She was tried on about 70 charges, including heresy, and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about 19.