HUNDRED YEARS WAR

The Hundred Years War was a conflict between England and France that lasted, on

and off, from 1337 until 1453. The war is often broken up into three phases:

The first or "Edwardian" campaign lasted from 1337 until 1360, and went well for the

English. The second or "Caroline" phase of the war lasted from 1369 until 1389 but was mixed up with several other wars in the

region and resulted in a loss of much of the territory previously gained by the English. And the “Lancastrian” lasted from 1415 until 1453

which saw the slow decline of English fortunes after the appearance of Joan of

Arc in 1429.

CAUSES OF

HUNDRED YEARS WAR

Longstanding problem of French territory held by English Kings.

English economic interest in the woolen trade with Flanders led

England to support the frequent attempts of Flemish burghers to

rebel against French rule. The war involve a succession dispute

over the French crown itself.

When the last Capet king died without an heir, Edward III, whose mother was the

daughter of the French king, claimed the throne. The Salic laws, prohibiting

succession through a female line prevented this, and Philip IV, the first Valois king was placed on the throne. Edward did not at

first assert his rights, but after ten years of minor conflicts between the two kingdoms, he eventually launched a full scale attack.

EDWARDIAN PHASE

AND THE BATTLES/OUTCOME

• Edward III was one of the longest reigning kings in English history and like his grandfather, Edward I, was a brilliant military leader as well as an effective administrator.

• First battle was a exceedingly decisive naval battle at Sluys which effectively destroyed the French navy.

• The victory at Cressy so demoralized the French that they were unable to raise the subsequent siege of Calais, and one of the largest and most important port cities on the coast of France fell into English hands, where it remained for over 200 years.

• BATTLE OF SLUYS• English defeated

French• Fought on June 24,

1340, when the English fleet of 250 sail, under Sir Robert Morley and Richard Fitzalan, attacked the French fleet of about 200 sail, under Hugues Quieret, lying in Sluys Harbour.

• BATTLE OF CRESSY• English defeated French • First major engagement

of Hundred Years War.• Fought on August 26,

1346, when a very inferior force of English under Edward III defeated the French under Philip VI.

• The French losses were 11 princes, 1,200 knights, and 30,000 of lesser ranks, a total exceeding the whole English force.

• SIEGE OF CALAIS • English defeat

French• Siege was laid to this

fortress in August 1346 by the English under Edward III. The citizens made a gallant defense, holding out for nearly a year, but at last were forced to surrender August 4, 1347.

• BATTLE OF POITIERS

• English defeat French • Second major

engagement of Hundred Years War

• Fought September 19, 1356, between 8,000 English, under Edward the Black Prince, and 80,000 French, under King John of France.

• BATTLE OF CADSAND• English defeat French-

Flemish• Fought November 10,

1357, between 2,500 English under the Earl of Derby, and 5,000 Flemings in the French service. The Flemings were defeated with a loss of 1,000 men.

THE COMMANDER• Edward III of England Reigned for nearly 50 years. Invaded France, and won

the Battles of Crecy and Calais• Philip VI of France French King who contended against Edward III in the

Hundred Years War.• Edward the Black Prince Excellent general and leader who ruled alongside his

father, Edward III. Victor at the Battle of Poitiers.• King John of France French King who was captured by the Black Prince at

the Battle of Poitiers, and died in captivity.

CAROLINE PHASE

AND THE BATTLES/OUTCOME

• Although France and England were officially at peace with each other for ten years after the Battle

of Poitiers, there was still much fighting in the region.• France and England took opposite sides of two

ongoing wars of succession going on at the time.• A king in Castile (Pedro the Cruel) had been deposed

and requested help from the Black Prince to regain his throne, and at nearly the same time, the Blois

and Montfort families were fighting it out for control of the Duchy of Brittany. Two of the major battles

fought during the 1360's, first the Battle of Auray in the north, and then the Battle of Navarette in the South, had to do with these wars of succession.

• BATTLE OF AURAY ENGLISH(MONTFORT) DEFEATED FRENCH(BLOIS)

• Fought September 27, 1364, between the partisans of John de Montfort, and those of Charles of Blois, the rival claimants to the Dukedom of Brittany.

• BATTLE OF COCHEREL• French defeat

English(Navarre)• Fought May, 1364,

between the Navarrese under Jean de Grailli, aided by a force of English mercenaries under John Joel, and the French, 10,000 strong, under Bertrand du Guesclin. Du Guesclin, who was executing a strategic retreat, was attacked by the English, who were surrounded and overpowered, Joel falling.

• BATTLE OF NÁJERA• English(Pedro)

defeated French(Henry)

• Fought April 3, 1367, between 24,000 English, under Edward the Black Prince, and 60,000 French and Spaniards, under Bertrand du Guesclin and Henry de Trastamare.

• BATTLE OF PONTVALLAIN• French defeated English• Fought 1370,

between the French, under du Guesclin, and the English, under Sir Thomas Granson. The French surprised the English camp, but the English rallied, and a severe conflict followed, in which the French attack was at first repulsed.

• BATTLE OF LA ROCHELLE• Fought June 22, 1372,

when an English fleet, under the Earl of Pembroke, intended for the relief of La Rochelle, was intercepted by a greatly superior Spanish fleet, under Don Ambrosio Bercenegra, and after very hard fighting was entirely destroyed or captured.

THE COMMANDERS• Simon de Montfort French nobleman who led resistance to

Henry III and laid foundations of English Parliament.

• Charles Blois French noble who contended with the

Montfort family for control of Britany.• Pedro of Castile King of Spain reputed to be a shifty and

murderous tyrant.

• Edward the Black Prince Excellent general and leader who ruled

alongside his father, Edward III. Victor at the Battle of Poitiers.

• Bertrand du Guesclin French commander during the Hundred Years

war, who harassed the English rather than seeking pitched battles.

• John of Gaunt Third son of Edward III, and father of Henry

Bolingbroke. Extremely influential 14th century noble.

LANCASTRIANPHASE

AND THE BATTLES/OUTCOME

• The final phase of the Hundred Years war began with a tremendous victory for the English, against great odds, at the Battle of Agincourt.

• In spite of their losses, the English were still optimistic about their prospects in France, when in 1435, the Burgundians deserted the English and allied themselves instead with Charles VII, the hereditary king of France. This dramatically changed the balance of power in the area, since England had depended on their Burgundian allies to hold territory that they had conquered. Although in terms of military tactics, weapons, and organization, England was clearly superior, France was too large and heavily populated to be occupied permanently unless England was allied with local interests.

• BATTLE OF AGINCOURT• English defeated

French• Fought October 25,

1415, between the French, numbering 50,000, under the Constable d'Albret, and about 15,000 English, mostly archers, under Henry V.

• SIEGE OF ROUEN • English defeated

French• After a gallant

defense the garrison surrendered January 15, 1419, the city paying a ransom of 300,000 crowns.

• BATTLE OF BEAUGÉ• French defeated

English• Fought March 22,

1421, between the English under the Duke of Clarence, and the Armagnacs, aided by the Scottish mercenaries, resulting in one of the few defeats sustained by the English during the French wars.

• BATTLE OF CRAVANT• English defeated French• Fought July 31, 1423. A

force of Armagnacs under Buchan, Constable of France, with some Scottish mercenaries under Sir John Stewart, was advancing upon Craonne, the capture of which town would secure Charles VIIs communications with Champagne.

• BATTLE OF VERNEUIL • English defeated

French• Fought August 18,

1424, between 3,000 English, under the Duke of Bedford, and 18,000 French and Scots, under the Constable Buchan and the Earl of Douglas.

• SIEGE OF ORLEANS • French defeated

English• The turning point of

Hundred Years War• In April, 1429, a

French force, 7,000 strong, under Dunois and Joan of Arc, succeeded in entering, it having been found impossible to invest the place completely.

• BATTLE OF THE HERRINGS • English defeated French• Fought at Roncray-St.-Denis,

February 12, 1429. Sir John Fastolfe was in charge of a convoy of salt fish for the English army before Orleans, and hearing of the approach of a French force, under the Bastard of Orleans, intrenched himself at Roncray. Here the French attacked him, and were repulsed with heavy loss, the Bastard being severely wounded.

• BATTLE OF PATAY• French defeated

English• Fought June 18,

1429, between the French, under Joan of Arc and the Duc d'Alenpon, and the English, under Talbot and Sir John Fastolfe.

• BATTLE OF FORMIGNY• French defeated

English• Fought April 15,

1450, when the newly landed English reinforcements under Kyrielle were totally defeated, and almost annihilated, by the French under the Comte de Clermont.

• SIEGE OF CASTILLON• French defeated English• This was the last battle of

the Hundred Years' War, and was fought July 17, 1453. The English under Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, marched to the relief of Castillon, and attacked the lines of the besiegers, but were taken in flank by a sortie from the French entrenchments and totally defeated, Talbot being slain.

THE COMMANDERS• Henry V of England Led a victorious army of long bowmen against

France at Agincourt.• Joan of Arc Led the French Army to Victory at the Siege of

New Orleans. Burned at the stake by English.

• The Hundred Years war, therefore, effectively ended the age of Chivalry and brought the Middle Ages to a close.

• The succession of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War ended on October 19th, 1453, when Bordeaux surrendered, leaving Calais as the last English possession in France.