Crecy Culture Clash

Crecy is one of the most famous, decisive, and important battles of the whole Middle Ages.

The Hundred Years' War between England and France had been raging for nine years. It’s complicated, but to summarize: King Edward III of England had declared himself King of France. King Philip VI of France disagreed. So, war. Actually, that’s not really all that complicated. (Granted, some details may have been omitted.)

In July 1346, King Edward III of England landed his invasion force on the coast of Normandy, right next to what 600 years later would be called Utah Beach during a different Normandy landing. Edward wanted to show that he meant business, so he went medieval on France.

During this time, armies would wage war with the chevauchee, a tactic where armies tore through the countryside, looting anything of value and burning any farm or village in their path. This 1) enriched the attacking army, 2) deprived the locals of resources and the nobles of taxes, and 3) showed the peasants that their king could not protect them, so was he really worth their loyalty?

King Philip VI of France gathered all his nobles in Paris to coordinate his attack on the enemy invaders. Together they were the most feared army in Europe. France had been the dominant military power for centuries, and its army was built around the mounted and armored knight.

Chivalry glorified an image of a genteel knight who showed courage on the battlefield. The knight held the highest status in society and further increased his status by fighting other noble knights in battle.

Peasants were not invited to this party. Sure, they could fight on foot and shoot arrows, but only the nobles fought mounted on horseback. And it was the strength of armored knights that decided who won or lost almost all the important battles since the time of Charlemagne.

Over in England, King Edward III had changed the game with the longbow. This new technology would disrupt the dominance of the mounted knight. These arrows were loosed by mere peasants, but powerful enough to pierce a noble’s plate armor.

A noble knight ready to fight would cost a king 100x what it cost to put a peasant archer on the battlefield. So, Edward made a law that his peasants had to practice the longbow for two hours every Sunday, not waste their time playing football. Archers were elevated to a higher status in the army and became a huge part of the fighting force.

On August 26, 1346, the armies gathered for the fight. The English were the underdogs, away from home, outnumbered 3-to-1 by the richer and more powerful French troops. The English dug in behind wooden stakes on a hill and waited.

Then came the rain. Rain is bad for bowstrings. Wet strings can’t shoot arrows as far as dry ones. The English archers kept theirs under their hats, where they stayed dry and ready to use.

Philip ordered his crossbowmen to advance and attack. He wanted to soften the English up for the real attack of the cavalry charge. The crossbowmen had shields to protect them from enemy arrows, but those shields had been left behind in the baggage train, and the king wanted to fight today. Quit whining about the rain, you loser peasants.

The crossbows fired their first volley. Because of the rain, their bolts fell well short of the English ranks up on the hill. The English arrows rained down in return, obliterating the crossbow contingent. The mercenaries never fired a second volley, instead choosing to flee the battlefield.

Philip was enraged. He had hired these Genoese peasants for only two reasons: 1) to shoot their crossbows at the English and 2) to absorb English arrows in return. Fleeing for one’s life was not part of the plan. He shouted to his knights,

“Ride down this rabble who block our advance!”

The French knights disdained the peasants, only wanting to fight other noble knights. They tried to outdo each other to claim glory. So, they charged. Over their own crossbowmen. Uphill. In the mud. Into a wall of English arrows. It did not go well.

Again and again, the noble French knights charged the line of English peasants. Again and again, they were brought down by an unending stream of arrows. Honor demanded that they continue to advance. Knights wanted to fight knights, not bloody peasants.

Philip’s ally, King John of Bohemia was a paragon of chivalry. He didn’t want to miss out on the action. However, he was blind. Chivalry demanded that he attack, so he did. It didn’t matter if he could see or not. He tied himself to his fellow knights and charged into the fight.

Eventually, a few French knights managed to break through and surround Edward’s 16-year-old son, the Black Prince. He sent word to dad to ask for help, but King Edward III refused, saying,

“Let the boy win his spurs, for I want him to have all the glory!”

Supported by English knights, the prince was victorious and earned a fearsome reputation.

Philip was wounded and forced to retreat. By nightfall, the result was clear. 14,000 French lay dead, including 1,500 knights. The English lost less than 300 men.

The Battle of Crecy shifted not only the momentum of this war, but would ripple into all future battles. The sun was beginning to set on the medieval knight.

Crecy is one of those really big battles, not just in human carnage, but in cultural significance. The medieval knight had been knocked off his horse. England was no longer the inferior of France.

The longbow was a technological improvement on the old-school bow and arrow, but Edward’s change in the military culture was the real innovation.

For centuries, the knight had dominated the battlefield. But seeing that new weapons could change the game, Edward adapted to the change. He recruited and trained thousands of archers, creating the most lethal force in Europe.

Philip was slow to see the change. The knight had decided victory for centuries. He had three times the knights of his enemy. Why change?

The underdog is much more likely to experiment with disruptive technologies. What do they have to lose? Might as well take a risk. The dominant player usually must be disrupted. They have more to lose, so are more averse to risk.

What will you do the next time a new technology threatens to disrupt the way you do things? Will you embrace the change and use it to your advantage, or disdain it on your high horse?