Crécy, 1346: When the English Longbow Rewrote Warfare.

By Chris Livemore

If medieval warfare had a moment when everyone realised the old rules no longer applied, it happened on a hillside in northern France in 1346. The Battle of Crécy should not have gone the way it did.

King Edward III's English army was tired, outnumbered and deep inside enemy territory. The French army was larger, wealthier and commanded by King Philip VI himself. On paper, the result looked obvious, the French would have been supremely confident before the battle started - there were 30,000 of them against between 9,000 and 12,000 English and Welsh soldiers, with the majority being longbowmen.

Reality had other ideas.

The English chose their ground carefully, taking up a strong defensive position on rising land near the village of Crécy. The French arrived late in the day after a long march. Rather than waiting until morning, they attacked immediately. It was a huge mistake.

The battle is often remembered as "the longbow battle," and the longbow certainly played a crucial role. English archers could shoot rapidly and accurately over long distances, creating a deadly storm of arrows. But the victory was about more than a weapon. It was discipline.

The English stood their ground. The French launched attack after attack with poor coordination. Cavalry, infantry and crossbowmen struggled to work together. Confusion spread. Momentum disappeared. Thousands upon thousands of French died, as the day wore on the French assaults became increasingly desperate.

Among the dead was John of Bohemia, a blind king in his fifties who insisted on joining the battle despite being unable to see. According to tradition, his knights tied their horses together and rode into combat at his side. It remains one of the most extraordinary stories of medieval chivalry.

Crécy demonstrated something that shocked Europe. A well-led army fighting on foot could defeat a much, much larger force dominated by mounted knights. The age of the armoured cavalry charge was not over, but its supremacy had been challenged.

The victory also helped pave the way for England's capture of Calais, which remained under English control for more than two centuries. Military historians still debate exactly why Crécy was won.

Terrain mattered. Leadership mattered. Discipline mattered. The longbow mattered.

What is certain is that after Crécy, every commander in Europe paid much closer attention to English tactics.

The rules of warfare had been rewritten.

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