 In 1307, the town of Belfort was first chartered by the Counts of Montbéliard.During the next century, France was to be militarily shattered by the Hundred Years' War, which prevented for a time any further tendencies in this direction.After the conclusion of the war, France was again free to pursue its desire to reach the Rhine and in 1444 a French army appeared in Lorraine and Alsace.