Crecy

__ The Battle of Crecy __ ** Summary of the battle of Crecy ** The battle of Crecyis a battle that took place on the 26 August 1346 at the forest called Crecy Forest. This battle is just one of the many in the war called the 'Hundred Years War' which was the English against French over the territory of northern France. The battle was against many armies combined such as an English, Welsh and Irish army and a French, Bohemian, Fleming, German, Savoyard and Luxemburger army. The leaders of this battle were King Edward III of England with his son who was known as the Black Prince and King Phillip VI of France. The English army had 4,000 knights, 7,000 Welsh and English archers and 5,000 Walsh and Irish spearmen. This was nothing compared to the French army who is thought to have had from 30,000 to 80,000 men including 6,000 crossbowmen. In the end the English won due to their discipline, formations and the archers. This was very different to the French army as having such vast numbers caused some confusion with some men retreating and then others charging. Due to the rain the French crossbowmen could not fire properly as their strings were wet. This had no effect on the English archers as they could easily take their strings off and put it in their jackets. The French had lost 30,000 men when they decided to retreat as had the French King. It was one of the most decisive battles in history and a very important one in the 'Hundred Years War'.


 * What is the significance of this battle in history? **

The battle of Crecy was a very significant battle in the hundred years war but also in history because of the change society and warfare after the battle. These include defeating the French even though they were greatly outnumbered and the benifits of winning, the change in technology and tactics and lastly the increase in peasants fighting. These three topics will be discussed in more detail below.

Firstly, one reason the battle of Crecy was significant as it was a huge win for the English/Welsh/Irish as they were significantly outnumbered by the French 1:3. The English gained a minimal amount of territory over the french at the conclusion of the battle, which would allow them to go on to besiege the city of Calais, allowing the english a strong point or base in northern france. However, this base couldn't be secured by them for the duration of the 'Hundred Years War'.

Secondly, it was very significant as it was a major change in warfare and technology. This is seen as the English army had fewer knights and were moving towards footmen and archers. this battle was the beginning of the end of the mainly used system of chivalry, which saw a less trained army of foot soldiers taking over from the highly trained knights who had been the main fighting force in medieval europe. As well as this the archers improved their bows from crossbows to longbows which enabled them to increase the number of arrows fired per minute from 1 to 12. This was a huge advantage for the English as the French still using the traditional crossbow. Using peasants as foot soldiers or infantry was a new tactic, which was far more efficient as they did not require years of training and lots of money to train and maintain them, where as peasants cheap and easy to train as well as maintain. This is evident as a peasant could be taught how to use a bow and a sword in a few days. An army could also afford to lose peasants with less loss than a highly trained Knight. This is one of the few reasons why the battle of Crecy is so significant.

Lastly, one of the biggest significances of the battle was the Contribution to the gradual end of Feudalism. This was because whilst these peasants were fighting and dying, wages went up for peasants still working the farms, because there were fewer peasants. This created more work for their labour, thus creating a rise in food prices and supplies which then led to the end of feudalism. Also, peasants began to no longer work to pay off a debt but for profit.The end in Feudalism was a major change as it had been the main system in Western Europe since the 9th century and for the peasants the end of feudalism was a great thing, because this would allow them to work for personal profit and lead to greater political rights and social changes.

In conclusion the battle of Crecy is quite a significant battle due to the small English side defeating a much larger side and what came from that battle. This demonstrates the importance of superior tactics, advanced technology, and army cohesion. It was also significant as it was marked a transition from chivalry and knights to foot soldiers and archers. Finally, this was also an important step towards the ending Feudalism, which was the major class system of Mediaeval Europe.

media type="youtube" key="lXUWToU4Z30" height="332" width="495" align="right"

A detailed video describbing what happened at the battle of Crecy

__Bibliography__

Admin, 2010, ' History, Fantasy and swords', viewed 30 March, 2012, []

'Battle of Crecy', 2008, Youtube, viewed 7 April, 2012, []

'Battle Of Crecy', 2012, Wikipedia, viewed 29 March, 2012, []

''BookRags', 2006, viewed 1 April 2012, []

Britishbattles.com', 2012, viewed 30 March 2012, []

'Toy Collector', 2008, viewed 1 April 2012, []

Turnbull, S 2001, The Knight Triumphant, Cassel & Co, London