Phases of the 100 Yrs War

5) Phase One

English Success Under Edward III

(1337-1360)

a) 1340 – Sluys (Sluis) : June, Naval

Battle

- English attack the French to pre- empt and invasion

- 9 hr battle featuring archers & hand-to-hand combat

- Losses: 200 ships, 16,000 men, almost all French

- Result: Kiss invading England good-bye

b) 1345 – Edward III invades Normandy, Philip raises a HUGE army to repel

c) 1346: Crecy

- English cut-off on way to Flanders

- Aug. 26th: 12,000 Eng. Versus 30-40,000 French

- Fr: armored knights Eng: ye olde long bow

6 ft – 6 in, 105 lbs draw force

- Fr: 16 cavalry charges

0 worked

- Lesson: long bows can penetrate armor

- Results: 150-1000 Eng. k/w

6000-20,000 Fr. k/w

Misericorida, 11 in x 1 in blade

d) 1347:

- English capture Calais

- English capture David II of Scotland

(Battle of Neville’s Cross)

e) 1348+:

- Black death in both Eng & Fr

- Eng could not finance offensives

- John II takes throne in Fr (1350)

f) 1356:

- Black Prince invades Gascony

- September: Battle of Poitiers

- Crecy, all over again BUT

this time King John is captured

g) 1357+:

- England gains more land

- France has a peasant revolt

- England re-invades

- Treaty of Bretigny:Ed III “renounces” his claimto the throne in return for all the seized land

6) Phase Two

French Drive Out the English

(1360 – 1400)

a) Charles V retakes Ed’s territory as soon as he took the throne

b) Black Prince was occupied in Spain

(and will die there)

c) Richard II takes throne –

the foundation for the War of the Roses is laid and occupies England

until ~1400

(Lancaster v. York)

7) Phase Three

English Victories Under Henry V

(1400 - 1429)

a) 1415: Henry lands in Normandy, demanding the throne

b) Oct 25th: Agincourt

- English cut off on way to Calais

- 6000 Eng v. 20,000+ French

(5000 Archers) v. (Lots of knights)

(Lots of nobility)

- Terrain: deep mud

- Motivation: Henry’s speech

- Weapon of Choice: Longbow, again

6 ft – 6 in, 105 lbs draw force

- Result: 100+ English dead

6000+ French dead

(Including at least

5000 nobles & 1000

nobles as prisoner)

- Result: 100+ English dead

6000+ French dead

(Including at least

5000 nobles &1000

nobles as prisoner)

c) 1416+

- Henry retakes Normandy, allies w/ Burgundians (who had captured Paris)

– Treaty of Troyes hands the French throne to Henry

–After Henry’s death (1422) English armies remain victorious

– Includes beating Scottish forces so badly they no longer land in France

8) Phase Four

France Unites Under Valois Kings

(1429 - 1453)

a) Disputes over throne/regents =

reopening of war

(The King is crazy, the heir is young,

the Dukes of Burgundy…. Etc)

Charles VI

b) 1429: Orleans

- Eng. had seized in 1428

- Joan of Arc leads relief force =

first real French victory in 80 yrs.

- Charles VII is crowned at Reims

c) 1430:

- Burgundians capture Joan, sell

her to English, they execute her

d) 1435+:

- Burgundians switch allegiance, give Paris back to French

- Charles VII uses time to reorganize country and army

- Battles continue…..

- English drove out, except for Calais, and worry about War of the Roses

9) Results:

a) Change in Warfare

- paid, professional armies have replaced feudal armies

- new goal: kill opponents, not capture for ransom

- new tactic: knights are out, foot soldiers are back in

- new weapons: the long bow and the start of gunpowder

b) Change in Power

- feudalism is dying if not dead

(and so is the Middle Ages)

- Kings gain power as sole leaders

Why?

i) a central power is needed to protect the (new) nation(s)

ii) & only 1 person can consolidate enough tax $ to

pay for it

- Europe is now Nation States

c) Focus

- Both nations will not turn inward

- France will build/reform/catch-up with England

- England will resolve the War of the Roses

- end -