The Crecy War

by Alfred H. Burne

Book Overview

Crecy, the Black Prince's most famous victory, was the first of two major victories during the first part of the Hundred Years War. This was followed ten years later by his second great success at the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1840222107
• ISBN13: 9781840222104
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Combined Publishing
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A superb story of the personalities, strategies & tactics

The Fourteenth Century is "my" century, and in my career I've been a professional military officer, Medieval historian and author. Perhaps that's why I admire Lt-Col Alfred H. Burne, D.S.O. and Fellow, Royal Historical Society, who wrote this valuable history book back in the 1950s using his own combination of skills as historian, professional military tactician in the British Army, and story-teller. After nearly 50 years THE CRECY WAR remains the best retelling I've read of the English military campaigns in France during the first half of the Fourteenth Century. No other book written in English approaches it for insight as well as information.Like certain other Medievalists who served in World War II, Burne was assigned to the Allied staff developing the strategy of "Operation Overlord" -- the Normandy Invasion -- since the landings were planned for the La Manche coast near Cotentin, a few miles from the 1346 landfall of the English army. The entire 1944 buildup to D-Day, not only the landing site but the earlier diversions, intelligence gathering and disinformation campaign, were deliberately patterned after Edward III's successful Normandy invasion of 1346. Unfortunately the WWII forward thrust through France was a great deal more difficult and costly than the 1346 chevauchee that led to England's overwhelming victory at Crecy, then to the capture of Calais in 1347.I share Burne's dubious, occasionally hostile, opinion of King Edward III of England. Edward's obsession with the throne of France caused social, economic and political upheavals throughout Europe and the unnecessary loss of tens of thousands of lives, with the suffering falling most heavily upon the poor of France. Burne even compares the English king to Hitler. Edward's motives were primarily those of self-aggrandizement, and he was not a particularly talented battle leader, commanding the Reserve division at Crecy, which meant that he stayed out of the fight and watched it from a tall windmill (rebuilt in our time as an observation tower for tourists). The king had the good luck to possess brilliant and loyal kinsmen and noblemen, and from them he chose as his field commanders some of the finest Britain has ever known.One of Edward's leading generals was his first cousin, William Bohun, Earl of Northampton (1312?-1360), 29 or 30 years old when he led the English to a stunning victory at Morlaix in Brittany in 1342. Morlaix was the first English victory in France, other than in English-held Gascony, since Richard the Lion-Heart's campaigns. At Crecy, William Bohun was still only 34 years old when Edward chose him as co-commander of the Second "Battle" (or division) during the battle. He was in fact the lead commander of the Second, since his colleague was the Earl of Arundel, a mediocre soldier whose personal scandals had made him unpopular with other magnates, but who had to be placated since his vast wealth helped to finance the invasion and the king was deeply indebted