The hundred years war actually lasted around 116 years in all and was a series of battles between the feuding English and French Kings. This war had disastrous outcomes including the decimation of populations, famine, and plague (Black Death).
Various historians divide the war into three phases
The hundred years war started when King Charles the IV of France died and Edward III of England noticed there was no heir to the French throne and wanted to claim it for himself, it was fought between France and England over who controlled France, with successive English Kings claiming their right to the French throne and its lands.
In the initial battles of the hundred years of war, the English were more successful as they used superior battle tactics which brought them famous victories in the battles Battle of Agincourt, Crécy, and Poitiers.
Battle Agincourt King Henry
In particular, it was the use of Longbowmen in tightly packed formations of around 1000 soldiers that destroyed the French Knights, in these battles the normally dominant French Knights had no answer to the constant stream of arrows that rained down on them from the English longbowmen.
Longbowmen *Battle of Agincourt
One of the most famous battles during the hundred years of war was the battle of Agincourt, Henry V had become the King of England in 1413 and he immediately set about renewing the claim of Edward III for the French throne.
King Henry V
The French thought they had the superior army with around 30,000 French Knights amassed in a muddy field in France. The English army only numbered 6000 many of which were longbowmen.
English longbowmen
However the French had underestimated how the English would use their longbowmen during many battles of the hundred years war, groupings of up to 1000 longbowmen would unleash a hail of arrows upon the French Knights who were virtually sitting ducks.
French Knights prepare for battle during the battle of Agincourt
The French Knights also got stuck in the mud as arrows rained down on them, and the French Knights fled back through their own advancing foot-soldiers.
This caused chaos in the French ranks and the English were able to take advantage, the longbowmen dropped their longbows and joined the attack with the English Knights and the French Knights were massacred.
Edward III’s son was known as the Black Prince, he was a skilled military man and won a famous battle at the battle of Crecy he was also able to capture the French King in the battle of Poitiers and was responsible for seizing the French town of Calais.
In 1360 the English had captured a large amount of French land, however, most of this land was won back by the French in later battles of the hundred years’ war.
Henry V captured Harfleur in 1415 from the French army, he also won the battle of Agincourt with his superior battle tactics and in particular the way he used his archers during the hundred years war.
English longbowmen
Crossbowmen
Henry V thought that he was going to be the next King of France and he was probably justified in this opinion at the time, however, the French King had different ideas and this caused fighting to break out yet again during the Hundred Years War.
At the age of 16 young peasant woman called Joan of Arc claimed that she heard voices telling her that it was her mission to liberate France during the hundred years of war.
Joan of Arc was a legendary figure in medieval France
France had lost many battles to English armies during the Hundred Year’s War and in 1429 the English had won a lot of French lands.
The rise of Joan of Arc from a peasant girl to a commander of French troops was nothing short of spectacular and she helped to inspire the French army who were successful in breaking English dominance.
Joan of Arc
It was under her guidance that the siege of Orleans was broken in 1429 by the French army. Unfortunately for the French, her leadership was short-lived however and just over a year later Joan of Arc was captured by the English army, she was then accused of being a witch and burned at the stake.
Siege of Orleans
The hundred years war lasted approximately one hundred and sixteen years and there were many advances made by the English who at one point had captured vast amounts of French land, however, they were constantly beaten back by French armies and at the end of the hundred years war were finally driven out France.
In 1453 the French finally captured the town of Bordeaux from the English and this led to the eventual end of the hundred years of war
Battle of Crécy Edward III counting the dead on the battlefield of Crécy
The Battle of Castillon was an important battle in the 100 years war between England and France
There were many victories for both sides in the 100 years of war but ultimately France was able to take back all the territories that the English had conquered.
The 100 years of war actually lasted for 116 years from the year 1337 to 1453.
The 100 years war took place in Medieval Europe and was a series of battles between England and France over 100 years from 1137 to 1453.