Picardy was the frontier province par excellence in sixteenth-century France and had come into being as a gouvernement essentially for purposes of defence. As a result, it suffered more systematic military operations than any other region of France in this period. Provence was invaded in 1523 and 1536 but was not a route amenable for invading armies; nor were the passes through the Alps into Dauphiné. Charles V's thrust into France via Saint-Dizier in 1544 was a dangerous but isolated campaign that illustrated the limitations of the war of movement in this period. Champagne was certainly a fortified frontier to the east but did not experience the intensity of operations or the scale on which Picardy was dominated by the actions of French and enemy forces.

Picardy was the most obvious route of invasion into France and consequently its most fortified area. It was a region, therefore, in which, during the forty years between 1520 and 1560, the impact of war on the peasantry and townsmen made normal life at times virtually impossible. Yet it was possible to survive. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the extent of the impact of war on the countryside in the different stages of the Habsburg–Valois conflict and to trace the increasing ferocity of destruction over the decades. An attempt will then be made to explain how it was possible to survive and live with the problems brought by continuous military operations.