Bapaume

Bapaume stood in Artois on a much-contested route between the French kingdom and the Low Countries. Repeated wars brought destruction to the town and gave its fortifications a lasting importance. The medieval castle and walls were later adapted to an age in which artillery could batter high masonry defences.

Under Charles V, the old defences were replaced by a lower circuit of walls with seven projecting bastions around the town. The town was burned during the wars between Charles and Francis I, and again in 1543. In September 1641 a French army commanded by the marshals Brézé and La Meilleraye besieged Bapaume; the garrison surrendered after eight days. The surrounding country remained exposed to French and Spanish armies in the years that followed.