Crécy

In 1346 Edward III led an English army across northern France while pressing his claim to the French crown. Pursued by the much larger host of Philip VI, the English chose their ground near Crécy-en-Ponthieu and prepared a defensive position built around dismounted men-at-arms and massed longbowmen. Corrigan follows the campaign to the confrontation of 26 August, where repeated French attacks failed against disciplined English formations and concentrated missile fire.

The book places the victory within the opening phase of the Hundred Years’ War rather than treating it as an isolated triumph of the longbow. It considers command, recruitment, battlefield organisation and the contrasting military systems of England and France, explaining why Crécy damaged the French nobility, strengthened Edward’s European standing and helped establish a pattern for later English victories.