100 Years’ War Battles

Conflict & Date: The Battle of Crécy was fought August 26, 1346, during theHundred Years' War(1337-1453).

Armies & Commanders:

England

  • Edward III
  • Edward, the Black Prince
  • 12,000-16,000 men

France

  • Philip VI
  • 20,000-80,000 men

Battle of Crécy Overview:

Seeking to invade France in 1346, King Edward III landed in Normandy that July. Quickly capturing Caen on July 26, Edward moved east towards the Seine. Alerted that King Philip VI was assembling a large army in Paris, Edward turned north and began moving along the coast. Pressing on, he crossed the Somme after winning the Battle of Blanchetaque on August 24. Tired from their endeavors, the English army encamped near the Forest of Crécy. Eager to defeat the English and angry that he had failed to trap them between the Seine and Somme, Philip raced towards Crécy with his men.

Alerted to the approach of the French army, Edward deployed his men along a ridge between the villages of Crécy and Wadicourt. Dividing his army, Edward assigned command of the right division to his sixteen-year old son Edward, the Black Prince with assistance from the Earls of Oxford and Warwick, as well as Sir John Chandos. The left division was led by the Earl of Northampton, while Edward, commanding from a vantage point in a windmill, retained leadership of the reserve. These divisions were supported by large numbers of archers equipped with theEnglish longbow.

While waiting for the French to arrive, the English busied themselves by digging ditches and laying out caltrops in front of their position. Advancing north from Abbeyville, the lead elements of Philip's army arrived near the English lines around mid-day on August 26. Scouting the enemy position, they recommended to Philip that they encamp, rest, and wait for the entire army to arrive. While Philip agreed with this approach, he was overruled by his nobles who wished to attack the English without delay. Quickly forming for battle, the French did not wait for the bulk of their infantry or supply train to arrive.

Advancing with Antonio Doria and Carlo Grimaldi's Genoese crossbowmen in the lead, the Frenchknightsfollowed with lines led by the Duke D’Alencon, Duke of Lorraine, and Count of Blois, while Philip commanded the rearguard. Moving to the attack, the crossbowmen fired a series of volleys at the English. These proved ineffective as a brief thunderstorm before the battle had wet and slackened the crossbowstrings. The English archers on the other hand had simply untied their bowstrings during the storm.

This coupled with the longbow's ability to fire every five seconds gave the English archers a dramatic advantage over the crossbowmen who could only get off one to two shots per minute. The Genoese position was worsened by the fact that in the rush to battle their pervises (shields to hide behind while reloading) had not been brought forward. Coming under devastating fire from Edward's archers, the Genoese began withdrawing. Angered by the crossbowmen's retreat, the French knights fired insults at them and even cut several down.

Charging forward, the French front lines fell into confusion as they collided with the retreating Genoese. As the two bodies of men tried to move past each other they came under fire from the English archers and five early cannon (some sources debate their presence). Continuing the attack, the French knights were forced to negotiate the slope of the ridge and the man-made obstacles. Cut down in large numbers by the archers, the felled knights and their horses blocked the advance of those to the rear. During this time, Edward received a message from his son requesting aid.

Upon learning that the younger Edward was healthy, the king refused stating "“I am confident he will repel the enemy without my help," and "Let the boy win his spurs." As evening approached the English line held, repelling sixteen French charges. Each time, the English archers brought down the attacking knights. With darkness falling, a wounded Philip, recognizing he had been defeated, ordered a retreat and fell back to the castle at La Boyes.

Aftermath:

The Battle of Crécy was one of the greatest English victories of the Hundred Years' War and established the superiority of the longbow against mounted knights. In the fighting, Edward lost between 100-300 killed, while Philip suffered around 13,000-14,000 (some sources indicate it may have been as high as 30,000). Among the French losses were the heart of the nation's nobility including the Duke of Lorraine, Count of Blois, and the Count of Flanders, as well as John, King of Bohemia and the King of Majorca. In addition eight other counts and three archbishops were slain.

In the wake of the battle, the Black Prince paid tribute to the nearly blind King John of Bohemia, who had fought valiantly before being slain, by taking his shield and making it his own. Having "earned his spurs," the Black Prince became one of his father's best field commanders and won a stunning victory atPoitiersin 1356. Following the victory at Crécy, Edward continued north and laid siege to Calais. The city fell the next year and became a key English base for the remainder of the conflict.

Battle of Poitiers - Conflict:The Battle of Poitiers occurred during theHundred Years' War(1137-1453).

Battle of Poitiers - Date:The Black Prince's victory took place on September 19, 1356.

Commanders & Armies:

England

  • Edward, Prince of Wales, a.k.a. The Black Prince
  • Jean de Grailly, Captal de Buch
  • approximately 6,000 men

France

  • King John II
  • Duke de Orleans
  • approximately 20,000 men

Battle of Poitiers - Background:

In August 1356, Edward, Prince of Wales, better known as the Black Prince, began a large scale raid into France from his base in Aquitaine. Moving north, he conducted a scorched earth campaign as he sought to ease pressure on English garrisons in northern and central France. Advancing to the Loire River at Tours, his raid was stopped by an inability to take to the city and its castle. Delaying, Edward soon had word that the French king, John II, had disengaged from operations against the Duke of Lancaster in Normandy and was marching south to destroy the English forces around Tours.

Battle of Poitiers - The Black Prince Makes a Stand:

Outnumbered, Edward began retreating back towards his base at Bordeaux. Marching hard, King John II's forces were able to overtake Edward on September 18 near Poitiers. Turning, Edward formed his army into three divisions, led by the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Salisbury, and himself. Pushing Warwick and Salisbury forward, Edward placed his archers on the flanks and retained his division and an elite cavalry unit, under Jean de Grailly, as the reserve. To protect his position, Edward arrayed his men behind a low hedge, with marsh to left and his wagons (formed as a barricade) to the right.

Battle of Poitiers - The Longbow Prevails:

On September 19, King John II moved to attack Edward's forces. Forming his men into four "battles," led by Baron Clermont, Dauphin Charles, the Duke of Orleans, and himself, John ordered an advance. The first to move forward was Clermont's force of eliteknightsand mercenaries. Charging toward Edward's lines, Clermont's knights were cut down by a shower of English arrows. The next to attack were the Dauphin's men. Advancing forward, they were constantly harried by Edward's archers. As they neared, the English men-at-arms attacked, nearly encircling the French and forcing them to retreat.

As the Dauphin's broken forces retreated they collided with the Duke of Orleans' battle. In the resulting chaos, both divisions fell back on the king. Believing the fight to be over, Edward ordered his knights to mount to pursue the French and dispatched Jean de Grailly's force to attack the French right flank. As Edward's preparations were nearing completion, King John approached the English position with his battle. Moving out from behind the hedge, Edward attacked John's men. Firing into the French ranks, the archers expended their arrows and then picked up weapons to join the fight.

Edward's assault was soon supported by de Grailly's force riding in from the right. This attack broke the French ranks, causing them to flee. As the French fell back, King John II was captured by English troops and turned over to Edward. With the battle won, Edward's men began tending to the wounded and pillaging the French camps.

Battle of Poitiers - Aftermath & Impact:

In his report to his father, King Edward III, Edward stated that his casualties were only 40 killed. While this number was probably higher, English casualties in the fighting were minimal. On the French side, King John II and his son Philip were captured as were 17 lords, 13 counts, and five viscounts. In addition, the French suffered approximately 2,500 dead and wounded, as well as 2,000 captured. As a result of the battle, England demanded an exorbitant ransom for the king, which France refused to pay. The battle also showed that superior English tactics could overcome greater French numbers.

Battle of Agincourt: Date & Conflict:The Battle of Agincourt was fought October 25, 1415, during theHundred Years' War(1337-1453).

Armies & Commanders

English

 King Henry V

 approx. 6,000-8,500 men

French

 Constable of France Charles d'Albret

 MarshalBoucicaut

 approx. 24,000-36,000 men

Battle of Agincourt: Background:

In 1414, King Henry V of England began discussions with his nobles regarding renewing the war with France to assert his claim on the French throne. He held this claim through his grandfather,Edward IIIwho begun the Hundred Years' War in 1337. Initially reluctant, they encouraged the king to negotiate with the French. In doing so, Henry was willing to renounce his claim to the French throne in exchange for 1.6 million crowns (the outstanding ransom on French King John II - captured atPoitiersin 1356), as well as French recognition of English dominion over occupied lands in France.

These included Touraine, Normandy, Anjou, Flanders, Brittany, and Aquitaine. To seal the deal, Henry was willing to marry the young daughter of the chronically insane King Charles VI, Princess Catherine, if he received a dowry of 2 million crowns. Negotiations quickly stalled on the latter issue as the French refused to offer such a large dowry. With talks deadlocked and feeling personally insulted by French actions, Henry successfully asked for war on April 19, 1415. Assembling an army, Henry crossed the Channel with around 10,500 men and landed near Harfleur on August 13/14.

Moving to Battle:

Quickly investing Harfleur, Henry hoped to take the city as a base before advancing east to Paris and then south to Bordeaux. Meeting a determined defense, the siege lasted longer than the English had initially hoped and Henry's army was beset by a variety of diseases such as dysentery. When the city finally fell on September 22, the majority of the campaigning season had passed. Assessing his situation, Henry elected to move northeast to his stronghold at Calais where the army could winter in safety. Leaving a garrison at Harfleur, his forces departed on October 8.

Hoping to move quickly, the English army left their artillery and much of the baggage train as well as carried limited provisions. While the English were occupied at Harfleur, the French struggled to raise an army to oppose them. Gathering forces at Rouen, they were not ready by the time the city fell. Pursuing Henry, the French sought to blockade the English along the River Somme. These maneuvers proved somewhat successful as Henry was forced to turn southeast to seek an uncontested crossing. As a result, food became scarce in the English ranks.

Finally crossing the river at Bellencourt and Voyenes on October 19, Henry pressed on towards Calais. The English advance was shadowed by the growing French army under the nominal command of Constable Charles d'Albret and Marshal Boucicaut. On October 24, Henry's scouts reported that the French army had moved across their path and was blocking the road to Calais. Though his men were starving and suffering from disease, he halted and formed for battle along a ridge between the woods of Agincourt and Tramecourt. In a strong position, his archers drove stakes into the ground to protect against cavalry attack.

Formations:

Though Henry did not desire battle due to being badly outnumbered, he understood that the French would only grow stronger. In deploying, men under the Duke of York formed the English right, while Henry led the center and Lord Camoys commanded the left. The archers assumed positions on the flanks with another group possibly being located in the center. Conversely the French were eager for battle and anticipated victory. Their army formed in three lines with d'Albret and Boucicault leading the first with the Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon. The second line was led by the Dukes of Bar and Alençon and the Count of Nevers.

The Battle of Agincourt:

The night of October 24/25 was marked by heavy rain which turned the newly plowed fields in the area into a muddy quagmire. As the sun rose, the terrain favored the English as the narrow space between the two woods worked to negate the French numerical advantage. Three hours passed and the French, awaiting reinforcements and perhaps having learned from their defeat atCrécy, did not attack. Forced to make the first move, Henry took a risk and advanced between the woods to within extreme range for his archers. The French failed to strike with the English were vulnerable (Map).

As a result, Henry was able to establish a new defensive position and his archers were able to fortify their lines with stakes. This done, they unleashed a barrage with theirlongbows. With the English archers filling the sky with arrows, the French cavalry began a disorganized charge against the English position with the first line of men-at-arms following. Cut down by the archers, the cavalry failed to breach the English line and succeeded in doing little more than churning the mud between the two armies. Hemmed in by the woods, they retreated through the first line weakening its formation.

Slogging forward through the mud, the French infantry was exhausted by the exertion while also taking losses from the English archers. Reaching the English men-at-arms, they were able to initially push them back. Rallying, the English soon began inflicting heavy losses as the terrain prevented the greater French numbers from telling. The French were also hampered by the press of numbers from the side and behind which limited their ability to attack or defend effectively. As the English archers expended their arrows, they drew swords and other weapons and began attacking the French flanks. As a melee developed, the second French line joined the fray. As the battle raged, d'Albret was killed and sources indicate that Henry played an active role at the front.

Having defeated the first two French lines, Henry remained wary as the third line, led by the Counts of Dammartin and Fauconberg, remained a threat. The only French success during the fighting came when Ysembartd'Azincourt led a small force in a successful raid on the English baggage train. This, along with the menacing actions of the remaining French troops, led Henry to order the killing of the majority of his prisoners to prevent them from attacking should the battle resume. Though criticized by modern scholars, this action was accepted as necessary at the time. Assessing the massive losses already sustained, the remaining French troops departed the area.

Aftermath of Agincourt

Casualties for the Battle of Agincourt are not known with certainty, though many scholars estimate the French suffered 7,000-10,000 with another 1,500 nobles taken prisoner. English losses are generally accepted to be around 100 and perhaps as high as 500. Though he had won a stunning victory, Henry was unable to press home his advantage due to the weakened state of his army. Reaching Calais on October 29, Henry returned to England the following month where he was greeted as a hero. Though it would take several more years of campaigning to achieve his goals, the devastation wrought upon the French nobility at Agincourt made Henry's later efforts easier. In 1420, he was able to conclude the Treaty of Troyes which recognized him as the regent and heir to the French throne.

Siege of Orléans: Dates & Conflicts:The Siege of Orléans began October 12, 1428 and ended May 8, 1429, and took place during theHundred Years' War(1337-1453).

Armies & Commanders