66
1000–1500
On July 13, 1346, Edward III of England landed at La Hogue in
Normandy on the north coast of France, determined to pursue his
claim to the French crown. He had previously invaded in 1337 and
won a naval victory over the French at Sluys in 1340, but had failed
to capitalize on these conquests due to a lack of money, and having
diverted resources to put down uprisings on the Scottish border. This
time, however, Edward brought a larger force of around 15,000 men.
Edward’s army sacked the city of Caen on July 26 and seized a large quantity of treasure,
before moving decisively southward. Blocked by the French army under Philip VI within
striking distance of Paris, the English king instead headed north, crossing the Seine and
the Somme, all the while pursued by the French defenders. Then, on August 26 at Crécy,
in Ponthieu (now the province of Picardy in northern France), Edward turned his forces
towards his pursuer and fought. Deployed along a 1,640-ft (500-m)-long ridge, his soldiers
red volley after volley of arrows, disrupting a series of French mounted charges, which
became more disorganized as casualties mounted. This continued until Philip VI was utterly
defeated, and a large number of French noblemen lay dead upon the eld. The following
month, Edward lay siege to Calais: as a result of the decimation of his forces, Philip could not
send reinforcements, and Edward took the city in August 1347. The English then occupied
large stretches of land in northern France, which they would go on to hold for over a century.
Crécy
1346
◼
NORTHERN FRANCE
◼
ENGLAND VS. FRANCE
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR
4
LONGBOWS BATTLE
CROSSBOWS AT CRÉCY
In this illustration from
Jean Froissart’s early-
15th-century account
of the battle, English
longbowmen arrayed
ahead of the main English
line face o against
Genoese crossbowmen.
A Genoese soldier is
shown struggling to
reload his weapon
while a French
knight plows through
the crossbowmen’s
disordered ranks.
Edward III became king in 1327 after his
mother Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of
France, deposed her husband, Edward II.
Roger Mortimer, Isabella's lover, initially
took power, but Edward III overthrew
him. Edward made the rst of several
invasions of Scotland in 1329, which
distracted him from his claim to the
French throne inherited via his mother.
After Crécy, the territorial concessions he
extracted from the captive Philip VI were
too much for the French nobility, who
rejected them. The latter half of Edward’s
reign was marked by decline. The Black
Death in 1348 was followed by economic
troubles, and after unsuccessful
campaigning in France in the 1360s–70s,
he lost most of his territorial gains there.
4 This later portrait of Edward III dates
from the early 17th century.
KING EDWARD III 131277
US_066-069_Battle_of_Crecy.indd 66 09/04/2018 11:46
67
CRÉCY
◼
1346
US_066-069_Battle_of_Crecy.indd 67 09/04/2018 11:46
68
1000–1500
3
ORDER OF BATTLE
The English formed up in three divisions, or
“battles,” with Edward, Prince of Wales, in the van together with the
Earl of Northampton, and Edward III commanding the reserve in the rear.
A line of archers screened each battle. The French set the Genoese
crossbowmen in front, with three battles of heavy cavalry behind them,
the rearmost led by King Philip himself.
In detail
After crossing the river at the Somme via a secluded ford,
the English army marched to Crécy. There, on the morning of
August 26, Edward formed up his army on a forward position
across a long ridge, accompanied by his 16-year-old son, Prince
Edward of Wales. The French army arrived around midday; it
was at least double the size of the English force and included
5,000 Genoese crossbowmen. Against the advice of his nobles,
Philip VI of France ordered an attack. The crossbowmen stood
to the front of the French force, but their strings were wet with
rain, reducing their rate of re. As a result, they suered heavy
casualties from the English longbowmen's arrows.
Impatient, the French knights charged, and became entangled
with the crossbowmen as they oundered up the muddy, corpse-
strewn slope. Although some reached the English ranks, they
were rapidly cut down. Throughout the day and into the night,
the French made 15 increasingly desperate charges. trying and
failing to break the English lines. Five English ribaulds (an early
form of cannon) red into the melee, scattering the cavalry.
Finally, deep into the night, Philip ed. Behind him he left
around 2,000 knights and men-at-arms dead on the eld,
and the French royal banner captured.
KING PHILIP
KING EDWARD
EARL OF
NORTHAMPTON
COMTE
D’ALENCON
EDWARD,
PRINCE OF WALES
R
i
v
e
r
M
a
y
e
Fontaine
Crecy
Estrées
Wadicourt
Windmill
Baggage and
wagon park
Church
English forces
French forces
French cavalry
English Longbowmen
Genoese crossbowmen
French advance
€
French cavalry
charge into
path of
retreating
Genoese
¡
English and Welsh
longbowmen disperse
Genoese crossbowmen
0.50 miles
0.5
0 km
N
US_066-069_Battle_of_Crecy.indd 68 12/06/2018 16:53
69
CRÉCY
◼
1346
1
LONGBOWMEN IN FORMATION
Here, the French army (left) is shown
arriving with the Oriamme—the red-and-gold royal standard that was lost
in their defeat—while the English longbowmen (right) prepare to unleash
a volley. Edward selected the battleground at Crécy, occupying the higher
ground, which forced the French into an disadvantageous assault.
1
ENGLISH INVADERS AND FRENCH FORCES
This 16th-century
French Illumination depicts the battleground at Crécy, with Edward III's
eet in the background. Edward III's army consisted of 15,000 men
and longbow archers, while Philip VI elded an army of 12,000
mounted knights and Genoese crossbowmen.
2
BASCINET AND AVENTAIL
This
bascinet, a helmet with a pointed top,
is typical of the head protection worn by
French knights at Crécy. The visor, which
rst appeared around 1330, gave better
protection and comfort for the wearer.
The chain aventail protected the
vulnerable neck area.
Visor protects
exposed face
Riveted leather band
attaches aventail
to helmet
English kings had held land in France since WilliamI took
the English crown in 1066, and acquired more through Henry II’s
marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152. When Charles IV
of France died without a male heir in 1328, Edward III tried
to claim the French throne, being the closest male relative.
However, the French nobility awarded the throne to Charles’s
cousin, Philip of Valois. Edward was forced to pay homage to
Philip in 1329 for his lands in Aquitaine. This aront, and Philip’s
declaration in 1337 that Aquitaine was forfeit, led to war.
THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 13371453
1 This 19th-century illustration depicts the recovery
of Aquitaine by the French during the Hundred Years' War.
US_066-069_Battle_of_Crecy.indd 69 12/06/2018 16:53
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.