English victories
Crécy, Calais and Poitiers show the effectiveness of an army combining archers, defensive positions and operational mobility, but territorial gains remain costly to hold.
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War
Hundred Years’ War
1337 — 1453
An intermittent war in which armies must follow taxation, strongholds and alliances
Military history
The strategic problem
The Hundred Years’ War is not a continuous front line but a succession of campaigns, truces and dynastic crises. The English exploit the longbow, chevauchées and port strongholds; the French learn to avoid certain battles, retake fortresses and make taxation an instrument of reconquest.
The French reconquest
Charles V and his captains favour sieges, harassment and the methodical recovery of strongholds. Great English chevauchées yield booty without always producing a political decision.
From occupation to expulsion
After Agincourt, the English monarchy gains dynastic advantages, then French resistance and artillery gradually recover ground until almost all continental possessions are lost.
Explore
5 published battles, in chronological order
CrecyOn 26 August 1346, Edward III meets Philip VI’s army near Crécy. His men-at-arms fight on foot, supported by archers and troops in depth. The French arrive without coordinating their attacks. Their failure leaves the field to the English, who then move towards Calais.PoitiersOn 19 September 1356, John II catches the Black Prince near Poitiers. The Anglo-Gascons defend approaches narrowed by hedges and ditches. French attacks follow one another without lasting support. A counterattack eventually breaks the royal battle line and John II is captured.AgincourtOn 25 October 1415, Henry V’s army, weakened after Harfleur, finds its road to Calais blocked. Between two woods, French attacks converge on the English archers and men-at-arms. Mud, missile fire and crowding compound one another. The English victory is followed by the execution of many prisoners.PatayOn 18 June 1429, after French successes on the Loire, the English army retreats north. The vanguard under La Hire and Xaintrailles catches it before it can organize its defence. The shock and pursuit break its cohesion, and Talbot is captured. The longbow remains effective, but needs time to deploy.CastillonOn 17 July 1453, Talbot comes to relieve Castillon, which the French are besieging. He drives off an outpost, then attacks an entrenched camp equipped with artillery. Fire and obstacles stop his men; the arrival of the Bretons enables a counterattack. Talbot is killed and the French reconquest of Guyenne continues.
Military history
Sources
Indirect medieval sourceJean Froissart, Chroniques
Court and battle narratives, valuable but marked by noble perspectives.
General historyJonathan Sumption, The Hundred Years War
Political chronology, campaigns, finance and the evolution of the balance of power.
Specialist studyAnne Curry, Agincourt
Agincourt, armies, sources and the limits of narratives of numerical superiority.
Translated primary source, specialised institutional compilationEnguerrand de Monstrelet, récit de Patay dans After Agincourt: A selection of contemporary sources
PDF de la Historical Association, section 14 “Battle of Patay 18 June 1429”, pp. 25–26, lignes 767–814 : éclaireurs, cerf et cri, haies, préparation interrompue, choc, captures et chiffres de cette version.
Cross-check of Wavrin’s account against another chronicle; the translation and figures are explicitly treated as a narrative version, distinct from a final count. Limited to the case of Patay; this reference does not cover the whole conflict.
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