- Date:
- August 26, 1346
- Location:
- France
- Context:
- Hundred Years’ War
- Key People:
- Sir John Chandos
- Edward III
- Edward The Black Prince
- On the Web:
- BBC - In Our Time - The Battle of Crecy (Oct. 24, 2026)
Battle of Crécy
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What was the Battle of Crécy?
The Battle of Crécy occurred on August 26, 1346, and was a significant English victory during the Hundred Years’ War against France. The English army, though smaller, shocked Europe by defeating the finest European cavalry. King Edward III's forces, numbering around 4,000 men-at-arms and 10,000 archers, landed in Normandy and adopted a defensive position at Crécy-en-Ponthieu.
The French cavalry's assault was decimated by the English and Welsh archers, who wielded longbows with greater speed and accuracy than the French crossbows. The battle was one-sided, with the French suffering heavy losses, including notable figures like Charles II of Alençon and King John of Bohemia. This outcome disrupted the balance of power in Western Europe and demonstrated the effectiveness of English archers against traditional cavalry tactics.
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Which countries fought in the Battle of Crécy?
The Battle of Crécy on August 26, 1346, was fought between the Kingdom of England and France. Edward III of England landed in Normandy with around 4,000 men-at-arms and 10,000 archers. Philip VI of France advanced against him with approximately 12,000 mounted men-at-arms and numerous other troops. The English forces, comprising English and Welsh archers, achieved a decisive victory against the French, who also had Italian crossbowmen in their service.
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When and where did the Battle of Crécy take place?
The Battle of Crécy occurred on August 26, 1346, in Crécy-en-Ponthieu, France. As part of the Hundred Years’ War, the battle pitted a relatively small but disciplined English force against the finest cavalry in Europe. King Edward III of England landed in Normandy with roughly 4,000 men-at-arms and 10,000 archers. Philip VI of France advanced against him with approximately 12,000 mounted men-at-arms and other troops. The English took a defensive position at Crécy-en-Ponthieu, posting dismounted men-at-arms in the center and archers on both wings. The battle resulted in a shocking victory for the English, who mowed down wave after wave of French cavalry with their longbows.
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Why was the Battle of Crécy important in European history?
The Battle of Crécy on August 26, 1346, was a significant English victory during the Hundred Years’ War that shocked European leaders. Edward III's smaller, disciplined English force overwhelmed the finest cavalry in Europe.
The English longbowmen decimated the French cavalry, demonstrating the effectiveness of new military tactics and upsetting the balance of power in Western Europe. The scale of the French defeat was immense; their losses numbered around 14,000, while the English suffered only around 200 casualties. The battle was utterly one-sided, upsetting the balance of power in Western Europe.
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How did the English longbow influence the outcome of the battle?
At the Battle of Crécy, English longbows played a pivotal role in securing victory against the French. The English army, though smaller, was well-disciplined, with a significant portion comprising longbowmen. These archers unleashed a barrage of arrows that decimated the French cavalry, which was the finest in Europe at the time.
The longbows had a greater rate of fire and accuracy compared to the crossbows used by the French. This superiority allowed the English archers to disrupt the French charges, mowing down waves of horsemen. The effectiveness of the longbow at Crécy challenged the conventional wisdom that superior cavalry would always prevail, altering the balance of power in Western Europe.
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What were the long-term effects of the Battle of Crécy on warfare in Europe?
The Battle of Crécy on August 26, 1346, was a significant English victory against the French during the Hundred Years’ War. The long-term effects of the Battle of Crécy shocked European leaders because the English, though small in number, defeated the finest European cavalry.
The English army, which had a considerable number of archers, utilized longbows that could be fired more rapidly and just as accurately as the French crossbows. This tactic allowed them to mow down successive detachments of French horsemen, which upset the balance of power in Western Europe. The Battle of Poitiers in 1356 is considered the most significant engagement of the early war after the Battle of Crécy.
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Battle of Crécy, battle on August 26, 1346, that resulted in victory for the English in the first decade of the Hundred Years’ War against the French. The battle at Crécy shocked European leaders because a relatively small but disciplined English force fighting on foot had overwhelmed the finest cavalry in Europe.
Edward III of England, commanding an armada of an estimated 1,000 or more ships, landed some 4,000 men-at-arms and 10,000 archers (longbowmen) on the Cotentin peninsula near Cherbourg in mid-July 1346. It was the largest shipborne invasion in European history until the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy in 1944. Edwards’s forces had ravaged lower Normandy west of the Seine and gone as far south as Poissy, just outside Paris, when Philip VI of France, uncertain of the direction that Edward meant ultimately to take, advanced against him with some 12,000 mounted men-at-arms and numerous other troops, constituting what was likely the largest army in Europe at the time.
Edward then turned sharply northeastward, crossing the Seine at Poissy and the Somme downstream from Abbeville, to take up a defensive position at Crécy-en-Ponthieu. There he posted dismounted men-at-arms in the center, with cavalry to their right (under his son Edward, the Black Prince) and to their left (under the earls of Arundel and of Northampton) and with English and Welsh archers on both wings. Italian crossbowmen in Philip’s service began the assault on the English position, but they were routed by the archers and fell back into the path of the French cavalry’s first charge. More and more French cavalry came up, to make further charges at the English center; but while the latter stood firm, the archers, deploying longbows that were capable of being fired three times more quickly than and just as accurately as the French crossbows, wheeled forward, and the successive detachments of horsemen were mowed down by arrow shots from both sides. Those few who managed to reach the English lines died in fierce fighting, while many of the French wounded on the battlefield were crushed by waves of retreating French knights. Some 15 or 16 further attacks continued throughout the night, each one mowed down by the English archers.
The battle was utterly one-sided, upsetting the balance of power in Western Europe. Small engagements were the order of the day, but large-scale battles were rare, and it was received wisdom that the superior cavalry force would prevail. Edward’s archers disproved that wisdom. By the end of the day Philip’s brother, Charles II of Alençon, and his allies King John of Bohemia, one of the most famed horsemen of the age, and Louis II of Nevers, count of Flanders, as well as 1,500 other knights and esquires were dead. Philip himself fought bravely but evacuated from the battlefield after being wounded. “The battle was fierce and long-drawn out, because the enemy bore themselves nobly,” recalled one of Edward’s commanders. Edward’s army went on northward to besiege Calais.
Losses: French, 14,000 of 35,000; English, 200 of 16,000.