and counterattack, but he now realized that the initial hail of arrows had had little effect, so he ordered his archers to fire over the men with shields in the front line to target the unprotected rear ranks of the English army. This had a considerable effect. Indeed, Harold himself was struck in the eye by an arrow.
The English were beginning to weaken and break ranks behind the wall of shields. So William ordered another attack, and this time the Normans broke through and finished off Harold. Without a leader, many of the English began to desert and flee. Soon the fight was over and the English had a new king; William was crowned on Christmas day, 1066, at Westminster Abbey.
The main thing the battle demonstrated was the effectiveness of archersâthe Norman army had taken the field with about eight thousand.
Disagreements between the English and the French continued for years. One of the major problems was that William, now the king of England, also remained duke of Normandy. Thus, English kings owed homage to the king of France. But in 1337 Edward III of England refused to pay homage to Philip VI of France, and this led to a series of wars that lasted for over one hundred years (from 1337 to 1453). Known as the Hundred Yearsâ War, this period yielded one of the greatest advances in weaponry. It first appeared in the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and it was called the longbow.
The English army was led by Edward III, and the French army was led by Philip VI. The French army was about twice the size of the English army, which consisted of about 5,000 foot archers, 3,250 mounted archers, and 3,500 other troops. The French had about 6,000 crossbow men as well as a large infantry. The battle took place near the forest of Crécy. 5
Philip placed his crossbow men in the front line, with the cavalry behind. Strangely, they left their wooden shields (their only defense) in carts at the rear of the formation. The battle began with a series of volleys from the French crossbow men, which proved to inflict little damage. The English had a new longbow, and while the crossbow men could only shoot at the rate of one to two shots per minute, the longbow men could fire five or six shots in the same time.Furthermore, the longbows had a much greater range and a deadly penetrating power. To make things worse, the crossbow's strings had been weakened by a rainstorm just before the battle. The longbow men had unstrung their bows and protected them.
A longbow of the type used at Agincourt.
The hail of crossbow darts fell short, but the barrage of English arrows that followed didn't, and it was effective. The barrage continued, and, as a result, the crossbow men couldn't get close enough for their bows to be effective. Seeing their situation, many of the crossbow men began retreating through the lines of French knights behind them. Angered by the retreat, the knights began hacking at their own men, killing many of them. Then they decided it was time to charge. They forced their horses forward over the retreating crossbow men, trampling many of them. The English bowmen continued firing at the knights, and to the surprise of the French, many of the arrows penetrated their armor. As a result, many of them began to fall, and as more and more fell, they began blocking the men behind, and bodies began falling upon bodies.
When the battle was over the French had suffered tremendous casualties. According to one estimate, four thousand French knights were killed and as many as two thousand French archers. The English, on the other hand, suffered few casualtiesâmost estimates were under three hundred. The decisive factor was the new longbow, and it would continue to play an important role for another hundred years or more.
The longbow was also decisive in the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415. By this time it had become even more effective. Again the English and the French were involved; this time the English army of about six
The English were beginning to weaken and break ranks behind the wall of shields. So William ordered another attack, and this time the Normans broke through and finished off Harold. Without a leader, many of the English began to desert and flee. Soon the fight was over and the English had a new king; William was crowned on Christmas day, 1066, at Westminster Abbey.
The main thing the battle demonstrated was the effectiveness of archersâthe Norman army had taken the field with about eight thousand.
Disagreements between the English and the French continued for years. One of the major problems was that William, now the king of England, also remained duke of Normandy. Thus, English kings owed homage to the king of France. But in 1337 Edward III of England refused to pay homage to Philip VI of France, and this led to a series of wars that lasted for over one hundred years (from 1337 to 1453). Known as the Hundred Yearsâ War, this period yielded one of the greatest advances in weaponry. It first appeared in the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and it was called the longbow.
The English army was led by Edward III, and the French army was led by Philip VI. The French army was about twice the size of the English army, which consisted of about 5,000 foot archers, 3,250 mounted archers, and 3,500 other troops. The French had about 6,000 crossbow men as well as a large infantry. The battle took place near the forest of Crécy. 5
Philip placed his crossbow men in the front line, with the cavalry behind. Strangely, they left their wooden shields (their only defense) in carts at the rear of the formation. The battle began with a series of volleys from the French crossbow men, which proved to inflict little damage. The English had a new longbow, and while the crossbow men could only shoot at the rate of one to two shots per minute, the longbow men could fire five or six shots in the same time.Furthermore, the longbows had a much greater range and a deadly penetrating power. To make things worse, the crossbow's strings had been weakened by a rainstorm just before the battle. The longbow men had unstrung their bows and protected them.
A longbow of the type used at Agincourt.
The hail of crossbow darts fell short, but the barrage of English arrows that followed didn't, and it was effective. The barrage continued, and, as a result, the crossbow men couldn't get close enough for their bows to be effective. Seeing their situation, many of the crossbow men began retreating through the lines of French knights behind them. Angered by the retreat, the knights began hacking at their own men, killing many of them. Then they decided it was time to charge. They forced their horses forward over the retreating crossbow men, trampling many of them. The English bowmen continued firing at the knights, and to the surprise of the French, many of the arrows penetrated their armor. As a result, many of them began to fall, and as more and more fell, they began blocking the men behind, and bodies began falling upon bodies.
When the battle was over the French had suffered tremendous casualties. According to one estimate, four thousand French knights were killed and as many as two thousand French archers. The English, on the other hand, suffered few casualtiesâmost estimates were under three hundred. The decisive factor was the new longbow, and it would continue to play an important role for another hundred years or more.
The longbow was also decisive in the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415. By this time it had become even more effective. Again the English and the French were involved; this time the English army of about six
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