The Battle of Kresi is the course of the battle. Disposition of the English army

The French saw the English near Crecy at approximately 16 o'clock, by which time they were already in considerable disarray: parts of all three “battles” were mixed up in places and lost contact with the commanders. The French should have waited for the next day or given themselves the trouble to line up properly. King Philip, in fact, ordered the army to stop, but the heavily armed horsemen in the vanguard had their own reasons for this. Ahead of them stood the pathetic cowards who had barely managed to escape from the noble knights the day before, and now they also showed themselves to be fools as they lined up for battle, hoping to withstand the crushing blow of the forged lava.

Presumably, the ardent and reckless knights believed that they were just a few steps away from glory, since they had no doubt that they would be able to crush the enemy with one decisive throw. The idea that infantry could even fight steadfastly and bravely - let alone win - did not seem to even occur to the knights. The despicable crowd of French infantry must have only strengthened this impression. In general, the heavily armed horsemen of the vanguard, aware that their reputation depended on heroic deeds on the battlefield, were impatient to attack. Any knight who showed uncertainty in the face of an enemy - especially one so pathetic and unworthy - risked tainting his honor with shame. Moreover, it was necessary to advance as quickly as possible, before someone robbed the vanguard of its rightful glory.

Impatiently, the heavily armed "gendarmes" rushed forward, sweeping out of the way the 6,000 Genoese crossbowmen of the vanguard. The Genoese were not very eager to go on the attack. The weapons were damaged by the rain, they themselves were tired and upset during the march, in addition, they already had experience communicating with the English shooters, who calmly waited for the moment when the enemy was within reach of their bows. On top of that, they lost their pavises - large shields that could have been used to hide behind while reloading, but which were stuck somewhere behind in the train. Despite any protests or explanations, the mercenaries received orders to attack. When the Genoese reluctantly moved forward, not all the French units had yet reached the field.

FIRST ATTACK

Meanwhile, while the Genoese crossbowmen were making their way towards the English positions, trying to bring their ranks into some semblance of order, they came under destructive “fire” from the hillside. Typically, the Welsh bows of the English were inferior in range to crossbows, but several factors - mainly moisture affecting the bowstrings and the dominant position of the enemy - provided advantages to the English side. She used them to the fullest. When the Genoese approached 150 m, that is, at a fairly confident striking distance for a Welsh bow, the British opened fire. While the Genoese only had time to reload their powerful crossbows once, the archers made several fairly well-aimed shots.

The uneven ranks of the attackers wavered under the destructive volleys. Smoke and flashes of flame from the English lines signaled the approach of the era firearms. Edward during Battle of Crecy used cannons in the field, but it was not they, but his archers who crushed the enemy. The heavily armed horsemen of the French vanguard remaining behind the Genoese fidgeted nervously in their saddles, unable to tolerate such a violation of their rights and the theft of the honor of delivering the first and deadly blow to the enemy. When the Genoese retreated, the knights were no longer able to look at what was happening indifferently. They hurried to the attack, cutting their way with their horses and not hesitating to brandish their weapons in order to make a passage through the masses of crossbowmen.

Under pressure from both sides, the Genoese finally broke the formation. Some even fired on the heavily armed "gendarmes" in self-defense, and scattered brawls broke out down the hillside as the mass of knights rushed on and on towards the real enemy.

Partly out of contempt for the pitiful archers, partly because of the defensive holes in front of the skirmishers' positions, and partly due to the "canalizing effect" of the flanking "fire", the spearhead of the dashing French attack aimed at the dismounted heavily armed "gendarmes" and Welsh pikemen. Ordinary broad-headed arrows were not particularly lethal to riders in forged armor, but they could kill a horse or cause it to go berserk from pain.

However, the British also had “awl-shaped” arrows, which had long and sharp tips capable of piercing metal plates. Volley after volley of arrows rained down on the galloping knights, stubbornly and inexorably striving for the goal. Quite a few French reached the English line, but those that broke through attacked the enemy with all their fury and pressure. The attackers were mixed up as small squads of heavily armed horsemen rushed towards the enemy, while others turned back to gather and rush into battle again. The English line stood unshakable, spearmen and heavily armed “gendarmes” fought with the advancing French.

Philip of France understood that nothing could be changed. He couldn't just abandon the vanguard without support. As soon as the rest of his army moved into position, he ordered them to deploy and threw them against the British in a series of uncoordinated attacks.

APOGEE OF THE BATTLE OF CRESY

French attacks in Battle of Crecy were disorganized due to the difficulties associated with managing the battle, as well as problems generated by the need to begin assaulting enemy positions directly from the march. Nevertheless, the attackers were not short of courage and pressure. The determination to achieve victory and the enthusiasm of the French reached such a high level that they continued to rush into battle for several hours. The hand-to-hand fighting became more and more fierce, and Godfrey Harcourt, whom the king ordered to guard Prince Edward, began to seriously worry not only for the safety, but also for the life of the young man.

Harcourt galloped to the nearest English detachment on the left flank and asked its commander, Earl of Arundel, to launch a counterattack in order to weaken the enemy’s pressure on the sovereign’s young son and his squad, and also sent a messenger to Edward III asking for reinforcements. Seeing that Arundel was already coming to the rescue of the prince, King Edward refused to commit a reserve to the battle.

Instead, he made the brave and wise decision to give the young man the opportunity to “earn his spurs.” The warriors of the Earl of Arundel cut into the flank of the French attacking the “battle” of young Edward, and with joint efforts both detachments repelled the onslaught with big damage for the enemy. Even before the moment when reinforcements from the reserve managed to reach the threatened area, everything was already over, and the prince’s entourage could be proud of what they had done. It was then that Edward, Prince of Wales, began to earn his reputation as a formidable warrior. In history he remained as the Black Prince because of the color of his armor, although some hinted that it was not the armor at all, but the character traits of this outstanding commander.

CONTINUATION AND END OF THE BATTLE OF CRESY

And yet the French Battle of Crecy they did not stop desperate attacks, spurred on by the examples of commanders, including the blind king John of Bohemia (1296 - 1346), whose horse was led in battle by two knights. Spurring their horses again and again, the attackers forced them up the slope under showers of arrows from the Welsh archers. It is difficult to determine exactly how many attempts the French made that day. Basically, experts agree on the figure 15 or 16, but this does not take into account, so to speak, attacks of a local nature, launched by individual detachments, which - having been thrown back - regrouped and again entered into battle.

The persistent actions of the French cannot but attract attention, first of all, by their highest courage, as well as by their lack of common sense. Why did the French continue their costly and fruitless attacks? The answer is probably worth looking for in social structure French troops. The “gendarme” learned one thing from birth - to fight. He was distinguished by self-confidence and assertiveness and sought to gain fame for himself best fighter or at least have reason to talk about yourself as an experienced soldier who has been in many fights and skirmishes.

Victory was his goal, but admitting defeat was not his custom. He was part of the military elite, where he strived to stand out - to become at least an inch, if not a head, taller than its other representatives. Each “gendarme” was concerned about personal honor, and therefore the stake in the battle was his social position. To be defeated by the peasants - the infantry - or to leave the field before the trumpets sounded for the end of the battle meant to cover oneself with shame forever. In short, until the battle is over, the knight cannot stop fighting. The French commanders reasoned in exactly the same way. At that time in the West, it was customary for commanders to fight on the front line or at least close to the front line. The situation forced the detachment commander to continue attacking until victory or until the moment when the king, who was often himself in the thick of the battle, orders to withdraw from combat contact. The duty of the less eminent knights and simply heavily armed horsemen was to follow the examples of the leaders. Thus, seeing the enemy in front of them and being bound by the bonds of worldview and traditions, the French simply had no choice - only to attack and attack.

Among other things, the situation on the field Battle of Crecy , perhaps, did not seem hopeless for the French. Only small areas the battles were visible to them through the narrow viewing slits of their helmets. Not imagining the true state of affairs, the “gendarme” could only, responding to the sound of trumpets and the calling cries of the commanders, gallop forward under the banner of the one among whose warriors he happened to be at one time or another. Apparently, the leaders themselves were no more capable of assessing the situation.

Chaos reigned on the field, which was not at all exceptional by the standards of that time. In the gathering twilight, the French might have really thought that they would defeat the British. One more throw, a little more pressure, and the French courage and pressure would overcome the skill of the English archers. However, this was not destined to happen.

Closer to midnight, when King Philip was gathering people for another attempt, one of his close associates, Sir Jean d'Hainaut, dissuaded the sovereign from a hopeless undertaking. Reluctantly, Philip nevertheless agreed to cancel the attack, and the remnants of the French army retreated under the cover of darkness. There was no pursuit. The exhausted Englishmen lay down to sleep in the same place where they had just fought. They routed an army three times their size without retreating an inch from their original positions. The King did not even have to commit a reserve to the battle.