After the pyrrhic loss at the town of Dreux the remnants of Condé's army, now under the command of Gaspard II de Coligny whilst he was captive, fled south, the cavalry managing to retreat into the city in good order with the captured Anne de Montmorency. Coligny would not however stay in Orléans long, departing on 1 February for a planned lunge into Normandy, leaving Andelot in charge of the cities defences. Coligny hoped he would be able to link up with the English, who had established a foothold at Le Havre, and there receive money that he could use to pay his mutinous troops. Andelot meanwhile was left to face the duke of Guise, who arrived to invest the town on 5 February.