The famous Battle of Crecy took place in 1346. It was the battle of the very first period of the long Hundred Years War between France and England.
Background
In 1337, the English King Edward III announced his claims to the French throne. He equipped a major expedition and tried to capture Paris. His first campaign took place in Flanders, a region in modern Belgium. The English army failed to invade France. This was due to the financial difficulties of the king, as well as his unsuccessful diplomacy.
After a few years, Edward III decided to make another attempt. This time his army landed in Normandy. The army was led by the king himself and his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, who bore the title of Prince of Wales. At the head of the French army was the French monarch Philip VI of the Valois dynasty. It was these commanders-in-chief who faced each other in Normandy. That campaign culminated in the Battle of Crécy.
The landing of the British in Normandy
All through the summer of 1346, Edward tried to provoke a general battle. Philip was distinguished by indecision and retreated several times at the most crucial moment. Because of this strategy, the British had already occupied all of Normandy and were threateningnorthern France, including Paris.
Finally, on August 26, Edward III took up position on a ridge near Crecy in Picardy. British intelligence failed the commander in chief. Scouts reported that the French monarch would certainly attack the wagging English. With each new month of the war in France, the economic crisis was more and more noticeable. In addition, the northern provinces were plundered by the enemy army, which was fed by the local population.
From the moment Edward landed in Normandy, he lost about a tenth of his troops. On the eve of the battle, there were about 12 thousand soldiers under his leadership. It was a formidable force. Alfred Berne wrote in detail about the English army of that type. "The Battle of Crecy" is one of his most famous non-fiction books dedicated to the Middle Ages.
Army formation
The English avant-garde was led by the heir to the crown - the Black Prince. His units were on the right flank. This formation was traditional for the medieval army. He was assisted by experienced military leaders - the Earl of Oxford and the Earl of Warwick. The right flank was on a small embankment that towered over the rest of the English army.
In general, the entire army is located on a slope that turns into a river valley. The rearguard was on the left flank. It was led by the famous military leader Earl of Northampton. In the center behind the defensive line was a reserve regiment. These parts were under the direct control of King Edward III. The mill, which stood nearby,useful as an observation post.
Edward's Army
Interestingly, the English king decided that the Battle of Crécy should be a foot battle. On the eve of the English army sent all their horses to the train. He was in the rear and carefully guarded by a reserve detachment. Edward made this decision on the advice of the Earl of Northampton. This commander offered to use his previous successful experience on foot in the Battle of Morlaix, which took place several years earlier.
Archers played an important role in Edward's army. They were indicated in advance the positions on which special recesses were dug for convenient storage of arrows and reloading of bows. During the battle, each shooter fired 30-40 arrows in a few minutes. Since the British were the first to take their positions, they managed to conduct a combat review and prepare a strategy in case the French approached.
French intelligence failures
The important battle of Crécy came as a complete surprise to French intelligence. In 1346, she was noticeably inferior to her English opponents, who always found themselves several steps ahead. First, Philip went to catch up with the enemy army in the wrong direction. When the scouts finally realized their mistake, the French communications had already stretched for several kilometers. Soon the king managed to restore discipline and go the right way, but erroneous maneuvers cost him precious time, which later affected his preparedness for battle.
Battle of Crecy 1346year was a difficult test for the heterogeneous French army, which can be divided into three parts. The first housed Genoese mercenaries and the king's personal guard. The number of this detachment was 6 thousand people. On the eve of the battle, it was he who held back the periodic attacks of the British during mutual maneuvers, so he was significantly battered.
Foreign allies
The presence of the Genoese is not surprising - many foreigners fought for Philip IV. Among them were monarchs. For example, the Bohemian king John of Luxembourg. He was old (by medieval standards) and blind, but he still came to the rescue of his longtime ally, who had to fight the English intervention. In addition, in previous years, John spent a lot of time at the French court. Also in Philip's army were numerous German mercenaries and small detachments of German dukes and other petty princes.
French militia
Finally, the third part of the French army was the peasant militia. The villagers readily responded to the call of the authorities to fight against foreign aggression. Although medieval wars never had a pronounced national character, this case is an exception. The peasants had a poor idea of military strategy. Many of them were in the army for the first time.
Due to the scarcity of sources of that era, researchers still cannot determine the exact size of Philip's troops. For example, English chroniclers even cited a figure of 100,000 people. However, such datahard to believe. The winning side often overestimated their own merits. But one thing is for sure: the French army was at least twice the size of the English (at least 30 thousand people). This difference gave Philip self-confidence. However, the battle of Crécy did not end at all as the king had planned. The winner was already waiting for him in carefully prepared positions…
Difference in organization
August 26, 1346 at 4 p.m., the French army reached the valley of the small river Meie. The army was seen by guards at the mill. The urgent news was immediately reported to Edward III. The English army immediately took up their positions. Knights, men-at-arms, archers - they all closely followed the picture on the opposite side of the valley. The French army was lined up there.
Even before the Battle of Crécy (1346) began, the British realized that they had an undeniable advantage. It was about discipline. A well-trained English army was selected for a long time before being on the ships headed for Normandy. All the orders of Edward and the Black Prince were carried out as quickly as possible.
At the same time, the French army could not boast of such training and discipline. The problem was that the militias, royal troops and foreign mercenaries did not understand each other well. The ranks pressed on the neighbors. In the French ranks, even before the start of the battle, confusion and chaos were observed, which was noticeable to the British.
Unexpectedstart of battle
Among other things, Phillip was again let down by intelligence. He was not informed about the real location of the enemy army. The king, being not far from Crecy, was not going to give battle on the same day. When he realized that the enemy squad was only a few kilometers away, he had to convene an urgent military council, at which the question was posed point-blank: to go on the offensive or not to go on the offensive that day?
Most of the high-ranking French officers were in favor of postponing the battle until the next morning. This decision was logical - before that, the army had been on the road all day and was rather tired. The soldiers needed rest. Philip also did not rush anywhere. He agreed with the advice and gave the order to stop.
However, there was a human factor that started the Battle of Crécy. In short, the self-satisfied French knights, seeing their superior numbers, decided to attack the enemy that same evening. They were the first to go on the offensive. The formation of the army was such that Genoese mercenaries stood in front of the knights. They also had to move forward in order not to be hit by their own reckless comrades. Thus began the Battle of Crécy. Opponents and the winner decided that it would take place only in the morning, but the frivolous behavior of part of the French army hastened the denouement.
French defeat
The first serious losses of the army were suffered after there was a skirmish between the English archers and the Italian crossbowmen who served Philip. Its outcome wasnatural. The British shot more efficiently than the enemy due to the high rate of fire of longbows. In addition, it rained before the battle, and the Genoese crossbows got very wet, which made them unusable.
The Battle of Crécy took place in the era of the birth of artillery. The English guns made several volleys towards the French. There were no nuclei yet - the guns were loaded with buckshot. In any case, even this primitive technique frightened part of the French army.
After the crossbowmen, the cavalry went on the offensive. Philip's knights had to overcome a lot of natural obstacles, including a steep climb, on top of which were the British. The French made more than 16 bloody attacks. None of them were successful.
Losses were huge. They numbered in the tens of thousands of human lives. Philip himself was wounded. So the year 1346 ended unsuccessfully for him. The Battle of Crécy confirmed the British advantage. Now Edward could continue his campaign in the north of France. He headed towards the important coastal fortress of Calais.
The reasons for the British victory
The result of the battle was shocking for the French. So why did the British win? You can formulate several reasons, which eventually will result in one. Between the two enemy armies lay a huge organizational gap. The British were well trained, armed and knew what they were getting into. They were fighting in a foreign country, with only the sea behind them, which meant they had nothing to lose.
The French army consisted of barely trained soldiers, as well as mercenaries,recruited from different countries. This huge human tangle was full of contradictions and internal conflicts. The knights did not trust the Genoese, the peasants were suspicious of the feudal lords. All this was the reason for the helplessness of King Philip IV.
Consequences
Many lives were taken by the Battle of Crecy. The date of the battle became a day of mourning for all of France. Philip's ally King John of Luxembourg of Bohemia also died in the battle. The battle showed the effectiveness of the longbows used by the British. This new type of weapon completely changed the tactical science of the Middle Ages. The year 1346 became the prologue of all these changes. The Battle of Crécy was also the first battle where artillery was used en masse.
Success on the battlefield allowed Edward to freely occupy all of northern France. Soon he besieged and captured the important port of Calais. After a break caused by the plague, the English army defeated the French several times. In 1360, the first phase of the Hundred Years' War ended. As a result, the English crown received Normandy, Calais, Brittany and Aquitaine - more than half of France. But the Hundred Years' War did not end there. The Battle of Crécy was just one of many episodes of the longest bloodshed in medieval Europe.
