Edward

’s War Essay, Research Paper

King Edward III’s military tactics were the sole reason for the English victory at Crecy in 1346. Not only that, he was the reason for English success overall in the early stages of The Hundred Years War. The war was started because of a feudal dynastic struggle over the Duchy of Aquitaine, and also the French throne. The first major battle was dominated by Edward, it took place at Sluys in 1340. It was a naval battle, that despite his inexperience as an admiral, Edward took the reigns and led his country to a glorious victory over the French navy. After gaining complete access to France through the English Channel Edward led his men into France, and a battle that is placed among the greatest victories of all time. The battle of Crecy took place on August 26th 1346, Edward placed his men in defensive positions in between the towns of Crecy and Wadicourt. He then waited while the Massive French army of nearly 25,000 prepared for battle. The English men, 11,000 strong watched as the first line of French began their attack, they continued to watch as they were driven away by a rain of arrows. This was the theme of the battle. Edward’s strategy was perfect, and the English suffered minor casualties. In the end, Crecy left the French questioning themselves. The Hundred Years War shifted to the favour of the English, at least during the first third of the war, in what most call, Edward’s war.

The English inheritance of the Duchy of Aquitaine began when Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Henry II in 1152. Edward III inherited it when he became king in 1327. Edward also had the right to lay claim to the French throne when King Charles IV died in 1328. Charles was the last remaining son of Phillip IV, all three of Phillip’s sons died without producing a male heir to the throne. Since Edward III was the son of Isabella, Phillip IV’s daughter, he lay in direct bloodline of the French King. Although ” King Edward III was a more direct descendent, he at first conceded the throne to the favourite among the French nobility, Phillip of Valois.” He did this under the circumstances that he would maintain ownership of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Phillip of Valois was son to Count Charles of Valois, and nephew to Phillip IV. Edward eventually decided that he would lay claim to the French throne. This caused an uproar between the French and English sides. The main French deterrent was Edward’s forfeiture of the Duchy of Aquitaine, the main English deterrent was to lay claim to the French crown itself. Both sides attempted to reach these goals, and the result was the beginning of The Hundred Years War.

By the end of the first two years of war ” Edward had merely saddled himself with a mountain of debt and constitutional crisis.” To make the English problems worse the French navy was pressing. The French raided Portsmouth and Southampton in 1338, Dover and Folkestone in 1339. By the summer of 1340 word had reached Edward that an enemy armada was located near Sluys, and was preparing to clear English vessels from the sea lanes to provide room for an invasion of England. Edward saw this as his chance to make a strike on the French navy, he decided that he would lead the attack. “His tactics were essentially military: Froissart says that he manned ships so that each vessel filled with men-at-arms was flanked by 2 of archers, his invariable procedure on land.” Edward, a great military leader simply used his ships to create a land battle of close combat. The English arrived while the French fleet was still in the Zwin Channel. This proved to be a great advantage for the English because the French had 213 ships, which proved to be far too many. They were clustering together and making it difficult for them to defend themselves. Edward invited the French to make a head on attack, because of the restricted area. Indeed the French admirals ordered a massive frontal attack. This played directly into the hands of Edward and his archers. “The decisive advantage of the English ships lay in their much larger complement of non-mariners, experienced and well-equipped men-at-arms and archers. The longbow once again proved to be greatly superior to the crossbow and their Italian auxiliaries.” The battle of the front lines began in the afternoon, the French rear lines could only watch in dismay the massacre of their front lines. They lacked the space to join or escape the fight. When the English had fought through the front lines, they found the rear ships to be smaller than those in the front line, making them easier to capture. By the end of the battle ” the French suffered a moral catastrophe on a scale unequalled until modern times. Of 213 French ships present at the battle the English captured 190.” The only part of the French fleet to escape without major casualties were the Genoese, led by Barbenera. The French fleet was nearly wiped out entirely, both admirals Quieret and Behuchet were killed along with nearly 18 000 Frenchmen. “We must admire the confidence with which Edward, a wholly inexperienced naval commander – and a man who suffered from sea sickness and was afraid of storms – embraced the opportunity to fight a fleet action.” “Sluys ended the threat of French invasion, gave the English command of sea-lanes, at least for the time, and enormously enhanced Edward’s reputation”. It also enhanced the reputation of the English archer, who emerged as the most overpowering warr