Joan of Arc was an aggressive military commander who always opted for offense instead of defense. In thirteen known engagements, her troops were victorious nine times. At least thirty different cities, towns, and villages surrendered without a fight when she approached with her army. Personally, she was a skilled horseman and swordsman, but tactically, she knew how to direct armies and place gunpowder artillery. She was successful when she had the troops and the cannons to either match or overpower her opponents, but when she fought in overwhelming circumstances, she could not pull off a brilliant victory. In fact, the lack of cannons to match her opponents attributed directly to all four of her losses. Historians have penned thousands of books that focus on this teenager's gender, her influence on the Hundred Years' War, and her canonization, but this paper aims to examine Joan's contribution to the battlefield. While Joan's aggressive approach to war and her skill with artillery made her a formidable opponent, they were also her greatest weakness and led to her eventual capture.

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I don't know why but I was never a really big fan of Joan of Arc. I don't think that subconsciously I have distaste for her success because she is a woman, but I cannot grasp why I am not more interested in what she did and for her country.

You're not French either. That might have something to do with it.

Actually I'm about 1/4 French I believe.

Derek, I do not think you are to blame for the lack of interest. The aspects of her that would interest you the most—battles, sieges, and conquest—tend to take a backseat to everything else. I have spent months reading about her and historians do cover her military exploits, but they tend to spend more time on issues like what her childhood was like, her theology, and why she was burned. I read one article about the Siege of Orléans and 90% of the article was about everything but the actual siege.

There is a lot to find interesting in Joan from a military aspect. Though her career was just over a year, she made great strides against the English. Out of 13 battles and sieges, she had more victories than losses. Her opponents were not just English, but also French allied with the English as well as mercenaries. When she came onto the stage, the English and their allies controlled northern France and were one victory away from moving into the south. Joan not only curbed this advance, but she liberated approximately 40 cities and advanced deep into English-held territory to execute more attacks. The most interesting aspect is not so much Joan’s gender, but that she was able to find any success at all. For nearly 15 years, the English dominated the French in virtually every engagement.

Joan was a battle-hardened commander. She was wounded in numerous battles including an arrow through the chest, another through the leg, and a projectile to the helmet. Each time, she got up and kept motivating her troops forward. In the gunpowder world, Joan took advantage of the new technology and became a master of placing artillery. Prior to this, cannons were not nearly as effective in sieges, but Joan was able to force several cities into capitulation after bombardment.

Give the article a read. It is entirely military focused. I think you will be surprised in what you find.