Whilst he was imprisoned, Richard's brother, John, had allied against Richard with the French King, Philip II,[2] who had also wanted to capture the English king.[3] John had granted Philip much land from Richard's estates in Aquitaine. As well as various castles, this included the whole of the duchy lands east of the River Seine. During Richard's imprisonment, Philip had made attempts at physically occupying these estates, with some success, particularly around the important Channel ports of Dieppe and Le Tréport.[2] However, as soon as Richard returned to Normandy, John made his peace with him, abandoning Philip;[4] Richard proceeded to unravel much of Philip's recent gains in the region,[5] beginning with the raising of Philip's siege of Verneuil on 29 May 1194.[2] There, Philip was forced into a hasty retreat, and, foreshadowing his losses at Fréteval, abandoned his siege engines and other valuable matériel.[4]