Hearing that the Flemish had turned back, and having temporarily outdistanced the pursuing French, Edward had his army prepare a defensive position on a hillside near Crécy-en-Ponthieu.

[16][17] The French were aware of Edward's efforts, and to guard against the possibility of an English landing in northern France, relied on their powerful navy.

On 29 July Edward sent his fleet back to England, laden with loot, with a letter ordering that reinforcements, supplies and money be collected, embarked and loaded respectively, and sent to rendezvous with his army at Crotoy, on the north bank of the mouth of the River Somme.

Their main army, commanded by John, Duke of Normandy, the son and heir of Philip VI, was committed to the intractable siege of Aiguillon in the south west.

[32] Edward was determined to break the French blockade of the Somme[33] and probed at several points, vainly attacking Hangest and Pont-Remy before moving west along the river.

[note 2] A computer analysis in 2017 by Warsaw University of Technology demonstrated that heavy bodkin point arrows could penetrate typical plate armour of the time at 225 metres (738 ft).

Regular resupply of ammunition would be required from the wagons to the rear; the archers would also venture forward during pauses in the fighting to retrieve arrows.

Contemporary accounts and modern historians differ as to what types of these weapons and how many were present at Crécy, but several iron balls compatible with the bombard ammunition have since been retrieved from the site of the battle.

[58][59][60] The exact size of the French army is even less certain, as the financial records from the Crécy campaign are lost, although there is consensus that it was substantially larger than the English.

"[65] According to modern estimates, 8,000 mounted men-at-arms formed the core of the French army,[65] supported by two to six thousand mercenary crossbowmen recruited by and hired from the major trading city of Genoa,[note 4] and a "large, though indeterminate, number of common infantry".

[68] How many common infantrymen, militia and levies of variable levels of equipment and training, were present is not known with any certainty, except that on their own they outnumbered the English army.

[50] They were mounted on entirely unarmoured horses and carried wooden lances, usually ash, tipped with iron and approximately 4 metres (13 ft) long.

[76] Edward deployed his army in a carefully selected position,[77] facing south east on a sloping hillside, broken by copses and terracing, at Crécy-en-Ponthieu.

[82] While waiting for the French to catch up with them, the English dug pits in front of their positions, intended to disorder attacking cavalry, and set up several primitive gunpowder weapons.

[83][84] Edward wished to provoke the French into a mounted charge uphill against his solid infantry formations of dismounted men-at-arms, backed by Welsh spearmen and flanked by archers.

[90] The King's son, Edward, Prince of Wales, aided by the earls of Northampton and Warwick (the 'constable' and 'marshal' of the army, respectively), commanded the vanguard[91] with 800 men-at-arms, 2,000 archers and 1,000 foot soldiers including Welsh spearmen.

[94] Each division was composed of men-at-arms in the centre, all on foot, with ranks of spearmen immediately behind them, and with longbowmen on each flank and in a skirmish line to their front.

Following was a large battle of mounted men-at-arms led by Count Charles of Alençon, Philip's brother, accompanied by the blind King John of Bohemia.

[95][100] After reconnoitring the English position, a council of war was held where the senior French officials, who were completely confident of victory, advised an attack, but not until the next day.

[107] Philip's plan was to use the long-range missiles of his crossbowmen to soften up the English infantry and disorder, and possibly dishearten, their formations, so as to allow the accompanying mounted men-at-arms to break into their ranks and rout them.

[110] The French army moved forward late in the afternoon, unfurling their sacred battle banner, the oriflamme, indicating that no prisoners would be taken.

[125][134] Ayton and Preston write of "long mounds of fallen warhorses and men ... add[ing] significantly to the difficulties facing fresh formations ... as they sought to approach the English position.

[141][143] There are accounts of entire English battles advancing on occasion to clear away broken French charges milling in front of them, then withdrawing in good order to their original positions.

The next morning substantial French forces were still arriving on the battlefield, to be charged by the English men-at-arms, now mounted, routed and pursued for miles.

[85][154] It was reported that English deaths comprised three or four men-at-arms and a small number of the rank and file, for a total of forty according to a roll-call after the battle.

[154][159] According to a count made by the English heralds after the battle, the bodies of 1,542 French noble men-at-arms were found (perhaps not including the hundreds who died in the clash of the following day).

A disproportionate number of magnates featured among the slain on the French side, including one king (John of Bohemia), nine princes, ten counts, a duke, an archbishop and a bishop.

[166] The result of the battle is described by Clifford Rogers as "a total victory for the English",[167] and by Ayton as "unprecedented" and "a devastating military humiliation" for the French.

[115] The battle was reported to the English parliament on 13 September in glowing terms as a sign of divine favour and justification for the huge cost of the war to date.

"[171] Edward ended the campaign by laying siege to Calais, which fell after eleven months, the Battle of Crécy having crippled the French army's ability to relieve the town.