What weapons and tactics did the English army use in the battle of crecy?

Answer 1

Facts about the Battle of Crecy are sketchy with the passage of time. The precise tactics the English army used are guesswork. The work that is most often quoted (Froissart) was written many years after the event, and was a present to Philippa of Hainault, Edward III's queen. Over the years, the English in their wars against the Scots,had worked out a defensive system based on organised infantry and huge numbers of archers. Most historians think these archers were armed with the longbow. But even this is not certain. It is true that Englishmen of certain rank were required to practise with "the bow" Sundays and holidays. However, the word "longbow" does not appear until 1449, 103 years after Crecy. Furthermore, the stipulation that a man had to practise with a bow as tall as he, did not appear until 1465. For these reasons, the often repeated claim that the English archers were all armed with longbows is not a proven fact.

Owing to the terrain, (There is a huge steep-sloped bank at the French end of the battlefield.) The French army arrived piecemeal, with little or no time to appraise the battlefield. The first unit to engage the English were Genoese mercenary crossbowmen. According to the aforementioned Froissart account, the crossbowmen were put to flight by the English archers. The French then charged down their own crossbowmen. The orthodox reason given is that they were dissatisfied with them. However, the Genoese banner is a red cross on a white background - the same as England's St George's cross - and the French may have attacked their own men because they thought they were English.

The English fought defensively. They had chosen their own hill, and rested there until the arrival of the French. The English fought on foot, probably armed with spears and other pole weapons. There is some doubt as to how their archers were deployed, but most military historians think they were arranged in wings on either side of their men-at-arms ranks. It is suspected that their men-at-arms interacted with crossbowmen and elite archers, a tactic the English had been using since the 1280s. The English had brought a small number of cannon with them to knock down castle walls. These took part in the battle, although they were not particularly effective. It is not known where they were deployed.

As the French approached, they first had to endure arrows, then pottes and calthrops placed in front of the men-at-arms to impede the French, before they were able to engage in hand-to-hand fighting. It is said that the English had to endure sixteen onslaughts by cavalry and infantry before the French withdrew. Edward III forbade pursuit, because the valley below them was still full of huge numbers of French soldiers.