Hundred Years War

1337 – 1453

Overview

The Hundred Years War was a series of conflicts between England and France over the French crown and English territorial claims in France. It is one of the most weapons-significant conflicts in medieval history — the English longbow devastated French chivalry in multiple battles before plate armor and early artillery ultimately ended English dominance and drove the French to develop the first standing professional army in Western Europe.

The English Longbow at Its Peak

The early phases of the Hundred Years War produced three of the longbow's greatest victories:

Crécy (1346)

Edward III's English and Welsh longbowmen destroyed a much larger French army. French crossbowmen (Genoese mercenaries) were outranged and outpaced by English archers firing 10–12 arrows per minute. French knights charging into massed arrow fire suffered catastrophic losses. The Genoese crossbows, with wet bowstrings from rain, were unable to respond effectively.

Weapons lesson: Rate of fire and range defeated superior numbers and heavier armament.

Poitiers (1356)

The Black Prince's forces defeated and captured the French King John II. English longbowmen again destroyed French cavalry attacks, while dismounted English men-at-arms held the defensive line.

Agincourt (1415)

Henry V's heavily outnumbered army destroyed a much larger French force. Stakes planted by the archers prevented French cavalry from overrunning the longbow line. French knights in full plate armor, exhausted from crossing muddy ground, were cut down by archers and men-at-arms.

Weapons lesson: Even full plate armor could not protect against massed longbow fire at the flanks, legs, and horses.

The French Response: Plate Armor and Artillery

Plate Armor Improvement

French knights responded to the longbow with increasingly complete plate armor — reducing the vulnerable areas between mail sections. By the mid-15th century, full plate armor was common enough that Agincourt-style longbow dominance became less reliable.

Artillery and Siege Warfare

French Bureau brothers (Jean and Gaspard) developed highly effective artillery in the 1440s, using cannon to rapidly reduce English-held fortifications across France. The same artillery defeated the last English field army at Castillon (1453) — the first major battle in Western history decided primarily by artillery fire. An English counterattack into prepared French gun positions was devastated.

Joan of Arc and the Transition

Joan of Arc's campaigns (1429–1431) broke the English siege of Orléans partly through aggressive use of French artillery alongside infantry assaults — a combined-arms approach that foreshadowed later doctrine.

Weapons Summary

| Period | Dominant Weapons | Victor | |--------|-----------------|--------| | 1337–1360 | English longbow | England | | 1360–1415 | Consolidated plate armor | Stalemate | | 1415 | Longbow + defensive stakes | England (Agincourt) | | 1429–1453 | French artillery | France |

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