Crècy, Battle of

(26 August 1346) The monumental destruction of the flower of French chivalry by a much smaller English force under Edward III and the Black Prince, one of the first times the new English tactics of deploying archers in force against a tightly packed enemy was used against the French. It had been first tried with great success nine years earlier at Halidon Hill, but the lesson was ignored by the French and they paid dearly for it.&nbsp