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The Battle of Crecy, also called Battle of Cressy, (26 August 1346) was an important English victory during the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years' War. Coupled with the later battles of Poitiers (also fought during the Edwardian phase) and Agincourt, it formed the first of three decisive English successes during the conflict. The battle was fought on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France. An army of English, Welsh and allied troops from the Holy Roman Empire led by Edward III of England engaged and defeated a much larger army of French, Genoese and Majorcan troops led by Philip VI of France. Emboldened by the lessons of tactical flexibility and utilisation of terrain learned from the earlier Saxons, Vikings and the recent battles with the Scots, the English army, despite being heavily outnumbered by the French, won a decisive victory.〔Henri de Wailly. Introduction by Emmanuel Bourassin, ''Crecy 1346: Anatomy of a Battle'' (Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset 1987) Introduction p. 8〕〔Henri de Wailly. Introduction by Emmanuel Bourassin, ''Crecy 1346: Anatomy of a Battle'' (Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset 1987) pp. 8, 12〕 The battle saw the rise in power of the longbow as the dominant Western European battlefield weapon, whose effects were devastating when used en-masse. Crécy also saw the use of some very early cannon by the English army, shot being found on the battlefield centuries later during archaeological digs. The combined-arms approach of the English, the new weapons and tactics used, which was far more focused on the infantry than previous battles in the middle-ages (whose predominant focus was the heavily armoured knight) and the killing of incapacitated knights by peasantry after the battle has led to the engagement being described as "the beginning of the end of chivalry". The battle crippled the French army's ability to come to the aid of Calais, which fell to the English the following year. Calais would remain under English rule for over two centuries, falling in 1558. ==Campaign background== Upon the death of the French monarch Charles IV in 1328, the throne was legally supposed to pass to Edward III of England, the closest male relative. A French court, however, decreed that the closest relative of Charles was his first cousin, Philip, Count of Valois. Philip was crowned as Philip VI of France. Reluctantly, Edward paid homage to Philip in his role as the Duke of Aquitaine, which he had inherited, in 1329. Populated by Gascons with a culture and language separate from the French, the inhabitants of Aquitaine preferred their relationship with the English crown. However, France continued to interfere in the affairs of the Gascons in matters both of law and war. Philip confiscated the lands of Aquitaine in 1337, precipitating war between England and France. Edward declared himself King of France in 1340, and set about unseating his rival from the French throne. An early naval victory at Sluys in 1340 annihilated the French naval forces, giving the English domination at sea.〔Henri de Wailly. Introduction by Emmanuel Bourassin, ''Crecy 1346: Anatomy of a Battle'' (Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset 1987) p. 10〕 Edward first invaded France with 12,000 men through the Low Countries, plundering the countryside. After an aborted siege on Cambrai, Edward led his army on a destructive chevauchée through Picardy, destroying hundreds of villages all the while shadowed by the French. Battle was given by neither side and Edward withdrew, bringing the campaign to an abrupt end. Edward returned to England to raise more funds for a future campaign and to secure political difficulties with the Scots, who were at the time fighting for their independence. On 11 July 1346, Edward set sail from Portsmouth with a fleet of 750 ships and an army of 15,000 men.〔Prestwich. Plantagenet England. p. 315〕 With the army was Edward's sixteen-year-old son, Edward of Woodstock, a large contingent of Welsh soldiers and allied knights and mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire. The army landed at St. Vaast la Hogue, 20 miles from Cherbourg. The intention was to undertake a massive chevauchée across Normandy, plundering its wealth and severely weakening the prestige of the French crown. Carentan, Saint-Lô and Torteval were all razed, after which Edward turned his army against Caen, the ancestral capital of Normandy. The English army sacked Caen on 26 July, plundering the city's huge wealth. Moving off on 1 August, the army marched south to the River Seine, possibly intending to attack Paris. The English army crossed the Seine at Poissy,〔Rothero (2005), pp. 4–6〕 however it was now between both the Seine and the Somme rivers. Philip moved off with his army, attempting to trap and destroy the English force. Attempting to ford the Somme proved difficult; all bridges were either heavily guarded or burned. Edward vainly attempted to probe the crossings at Hangest-sur-Somme and Pont-Remy before moving north. Despite some close encounters, the pursuing French army was unable to bring to bear against the English. Edward was informed of a tiny ford on the Somme, likely well-defended, near the village of Saigneville called Blanchetaque. On 24 August, Edward and his army successfully forced a crossing at Blanchetaque with few casualties. Such was the French confidence that Edward would not ford the Somme, the area beyond had not been denuded, allowing Edward's army to resupply and plunder; Noyelles-sur-Mer and Le Crotoy were burned. Edward used the respite to prepare a defensive position at Crécy-en-Ponthieu while waiting for Philip to bring up his army.〔Curry (2002), pp. 31-39.〕 The position offered protection on the flanks by the River Maye to the west, and Wadicourt to the east, as well as a natural slope, putting cavalry at a disadvantage. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Crécy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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