Philip II's Conquest of Normandy

Timeline

1. 1202–1203Normandy frontier · NormandyPhilip II exploited the conflicts between King John and his vassals as well as with Brittany and Flanders, launching attacks on Normandy and Poitou; the French army gradually nibbled away the English king's continental domains.
2. 1204Château-Gaillard · EureAfter a siege of several months, the French army captured Château-Gaillard, built by Richard I, in March 1204; Normandy's last line of defense collapsed and the English king's forces were forced to withdraw from the continental heartlands.
3. 1204Rouen · NormandyThe cities of Normandy successively surrendered to Philip II, and the duchy was reintegrated under the direct rule of the French crown, depriving the English royal house of its most important continental domain.