3. Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt

4.  August 26,1346  Edward III vs. Philip VI  Edward the Black Prince (born 1330)  50,000 French troops attacked 17,000 English

5.  The English were well positioned, and the French tactics were antiquated. As a result, the French suffered a great defeat.  The key to the English victory was their use of the longbow, which had been developed by the Welsh. As the French attacked the English positions, the Welsh longbowmen rained volleys of arrows upon the French knights and broke up their charging cavalry formations.  By the end of the battle, the French had lost over 5,000 knights and the English 300. It was said that the flower of French chivalry perished at Crecy.

7.  According to Jean Froissart, the chief chronicler of these wars, when several nobles sent a messenger to the King requesting reinforcements, Edward replied:  Go back... to those who have sent you and tell them not to send for me again today, as long as my son is alive. Give them my command to let the boy win his spurs, for if God has so ordained it, I wish the day to be his and the honour to go to him and to those in whose charge I have placed him.

9. In June 1356, French forces numbering 16,000 attacked the English at the city of Poitiers.

10.  The Battle of Poitiers was the Black Prince's finest hour. Standing at the head of his troops, urging them on when they despaired in the face of the vast French army, he fought with an inspiring ferocity.  By the end of the battle, having lost only 60 knights, the English had slain 2,500 French knights and 5,000 ordinary soldiers.

11.  The English also captured 2,000 French knights, including John II (John the Good), the king of France. The following year, the Black Prince triumphantly entered London with his captive.  King John II was then held for ransom.

12.  The English gained land  Edward III ended his vassalage and gave up claims to the French throne  France paid $3 million for John II’s ransom  Kept the peace for 9 years

13.  October 25, 1415  King Henry V vs. the French The English had very little food, had marched 260 miles in two-and-a-half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and faced much larger numbers of well equipped French men at arms.dysentery

14.  Henry advanced the longbow archers who were to prove his master weapon. The French had few bowmen; every English archer carried a quiver of 50.  The muddy ground also favored Henry. The dense pack of French knights was so burdened with armor and equipment that they sank into the quagmire and could hardly move. Those who fell from their horses could not remount, while those who advanced on foot staggered and fell, sometimes piling up on top of one another and dying from suffocation or drowning rather than from English blows.

15. His victory led to the Treaty of Troyes in 1420

16.  Edward, IV, Prince of Wales (1330-1376). DISCovering World History. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003.  Edward, III, King of England (1312-1377). DISCovering World History. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003.  Henry, V, King of England (1387-1422). DISCovering World History. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. www.britishbattles.com/.../agincourt.htm