Retracing the English Victory at the Battle of Crécy | Hundred Years' War

Historian Dan Jones sets out on a journey across Northern France, following in the footsteps of Edward III and his English army on their Crécy Campaign - one of the earliest and bloodiest raids of the Hundred Years' War.
On 12th July 1346, a huge English invasion fleet landed on the shores of Normandy. The King of England was here to claim the throne of France for himself.
But Dan isn’t just interested in the princes and lords in charge of the campaign, but the ordinary men of Edward’s army. In his latest project, the meticulously researched historic novel “Essex Dogs”, Dan has imagined what life would be like for these common soldiers battling through Normandy and beyond - this was an army that was notorious for destroying and pillaging everything in their path.
In the first episode Dan travels through the beautiful cities and fertile countryside of Normandy, just like Edward and his men did in 1346, smashing through towns like Valognes and Carentan. Meeting with Prof. Michael Livingston, Dan explores how the English army fought, and crucially, how it was supposed to operate in hostile lands.
Arriving in the medieval market town of St. Lo, Dan discovers the brutal tactics that the English employed during their campaign - and meets Dr. Elodie Giard to investigate their terrifying scorched-earth policy: the chevauchée.
Within weeks the English had rampaged across Normandy, and now stood at the gates of one of the most important cities in France - Caen. Going inside the medieval castle with archaeologist Alban Gottfrois, Dan learns all about the assault that the English made on the city - the burial place of William the Conqueror - and the devastating outcome of the attack.
But here are at least two sides to every story, so Dan also investigates the moves of Edward’s opponent, Philippe VI of France, and finds out that, although the campaign may have started well for the English, as they approach Rouen things will take a horrible turn for the worse… the hunters will become the hunted.
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#historyhit #danjones #hundredyearswar

[@christrobaugh2882]

Dan Jones needs to be given a Giant budget, and a netflix or amazon series, to cover the full hundred years war.

[@crochettycowlloyd5948]

Couldn’t agree more

[@topbanana4013]

Why. He twisting things for his own reconditioning. When he says half the population was killed in Carn. That's not the number taken from the full population number lol but he says it like it is. Most had run expecially the rich. This is modern propaganda

[@britishpatriot7386]

F netflix.

[@christrobaugh2882]

@@britishpatriot7386 BBC means something else on this side of the pond.

[@superbia75es]

Agreed.

[@Just-eh4fm]

Need more videos with Dan Jones, love every episode with him

[@wjquick32]

Dan is my fave for sure, I wish he did the reading for his audiobooks too

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

His review of history is childish. He thinks he is very clever, attacking the Brits and how they fought wars is silly. He should reflect on history including modern times and NATO and so forth. War is cruel and a bloody business and always ends up killing the innocent bystanders. At no time in all human history has this changed!

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

@@niconick2551 I am 72 years old and have lived in Europe as well as North America and did politics most my long life.

[@thaddeusbent9432]

More Dan Jones less Dan Snow! Genuine historian excellent presenter!

[@astonzappa]

No he pollutes history with his biased modern apologist take. His speculation on the route deliberations creates false tension that did not exist. Too many ego shots and ugly tattoos. If you learn your history from this you are receiving a false narrative, look elsewhere for your knowledge.

[@AprilLaRae]

I lived in Banbury, England when I was a kid, even have picture of me standing in front of Warwick Castle, completely oblivious to any of the historical significance 😢 because of these videos with Dan Jones I am completely caught up and wish they were available back in the 1990’s!

[@LiamGale2701]

Warwick Castle is amazing

[@JP-je6jg]

Warwick Castle isn't brilliant at telling it's own history 🤣. It's more of a theme park than a site of education, still very enjoyable though.

[@professormoore4876]

Love to see Dan Jones on History Hit!

[@jmwilliamsart]

I hope that part 2 of this story will be available soon enough? This has been a great narration by Dan Jones, he has done a fantastic job.

[@superbia75es]

Ah, there is a Part 2? I'm interested to see where exactly they show the battle because Livingston claims Domvast...which is compelling. I went there last year and agree with him. I put up some footage on KZbin too.

[@superbia75es]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqWmY4mcibakmbM

[@matthewsmith6197]

I can't wait to see part 2.

[@kimberlypatton205]

Yes! He is superb ! It really shows his passion and love for history!

[@michelleduplooymalherbe2837]

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THERE IS A PART 2, IT SAYS NOWHERE THAT IS IS PART ONE

[@K8E666]

I’ve visited France about 30 times over the past 47 years and seen all of Normandy and paid my respects at the cemeteries and monuments of the 1st and 2nd world wars, especially at the Welsh Dragon at the Somme battlefield (because I’m Welsh obviously..). I love Calvados for obvious reasons and paired with crepes it’s utter perfection ! The food is especially delicious here. We’ve visited Brittany many times, Paris (I stood by the Eiffel Tower but didn’t go up - it’s better seen from a distance as someone who’s deathly afraid of heights plus you get the full perspective), Rouen, Bordeaux, Champagne, Cognac, travelled through the Alps, been to Perpignan, Nice, Provence, La Rochelle (my personal favourite), Royan and La Palmyre near Les Mathes. I’ve got cousins who have a house in St Jean D’Angeley near Saintes and we visited regularly as children and as adults staying about 20 minutes away. I love Cognac and visiting the cellars and producers such as Rémy Martin and Courvoisier. We love Royan, the Charante Maritime, Vendee and the Loire and Rhone Valley as well as the Dordogne. It’s a beautiful country with incredible scenery, food and wine and the people are friendly and welcoming especially when you at least try speaking the language ! That’s where most people come unstuck, they don’t even try and often get a poor response from the French people.. If you at least try, they love it and love trying their English out on you ! I’d recommend everyone to go and see all of these beautiful places and try the wonderful food especially regional specialties that that particular region is known and celebrated for, as well as the fabulous wine, champagne, cognac and Calvados - go and enjoy it !!

[@monkeytennis8861]

Yeah, no

[@Redmond__]

Love Dan as a host, and an author. Essex Dogs is a great read.

[@MySmokingToaster]

I agree its a great story, I listened to it on Audible.

[@itsirkeel]

I have it coming to me from my library! Looking forward to reading it.

[@newyardleysinclair9960]

Is it? Usually not my fare.

[@scottibee2167]

I have his history books, The Plantagenets and The Wars Of The Roses.

[@Redmond__]

@@scottibee2167 I've been looking for some new books to read, if you had to pick one, which would you recommend?

[@katstone5932]

Love love loooooove me some Dan Jones. I could literally watch/listen to him all day! Informative, entertaining, nice voice, brilliant accent and easy on the eyes too...just yaassssss. ❤❤❤❤❤

[@martingrimwood6690]

Amazing documentary, incredible book and awesome narration. Dan Jones is the handsome historian we history buffs wish we could be

[@LiamGale2701]

Dan Jones is a class act, I love his narration in every series he does, you can't tell he loves medieval history.

[@newyardleysinclair9960]

Dan jones is such a great historical communicator. There are better historians but none better at translating history into a way your average viewer could have interest in.

[@Go-Dawgs]

Dan Jones Explains Better than Anyone!

[@moomyung9231]

Even recent balding Dan Jones is so good as a historian narrator. No bs politics, just actual passion for the past.

[@tamiwatchesstuff]

Agreed. He makes learning history cool.

[@rustywenzlawe6287]

You didn't have to throw the balding in there 😂

[@markblue777]

Cannot wait for the 2nd Essex Dogs, just finished the first and lover it. Could be a good mini tv series.

[@thomasrotweiler]

The title is misleading - should be "Retracing the ransacking and pillaging of Normandy by the army of Edward III in 1346". As the video does not cover the Battle of Crecy it shouldn't be in the title.

[@Thickcurves]

exactly. Was excited to see a video about Crecy, then it isn't shown at all. WTF?

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

There is a part II I think. Nonetheless, the constant talk about how violent wars are is just silly now. Historians should be grown ups who understand that humans do wars because we can and we will and this is perfectly normal. No wars leads to social collapse which is very peculiar. Humans do poorly during peacetime. Namely, they fight each other at home! Best to take this to someone else!

[@dwaynefoley1020]

@@emsnewssupkis6453it’s just fashionable these days to pretend England and Britain were the only countries to ever wrong people 🙄 Good video on the whole though and doesn’t stop me being extremely proud of being English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

@@dwaynefoley1020 It is highly annoying! No one remembers a zillion wars where the same thing happens over and over and over again.

[@thaddeusbent9432]

@@dwaynefoley1020 I think that's a bit silly boys. If this is a video about the Crecy (a famous English victory) campaign then its pretty reasonable for them to cover the cheveches leading up to it. I'm sure in their 1066 videos they cover Norman/French atrocities. The past is a different country, where broadly everyone was pretty unpleasant compared to now. And if you are proud of that then good luck to you!

[@outdooradventuresuk8008]

Is there going to be an episode on the actual battle of Crecy? A bit disappointed that it wasn’t included.

[@gregedmand9939]

Yes we need a full exploration of this conflict! Add to the excellent narrative some of the practical explanations of tactics and the weapons... Tod's Workshop would be a great start.

[@vickywitton1008]

I love Dan Jones, he always comes across so well and I love his tattoos! ❤

[@brynnesantos9817]

I have been looking forward to watching this ever since I was waiting for Essex Dogs to come out, and I have to say, I was not disappointed!

[@Cristaynful]

I love you Dan Jones! Your exquisite style of storytelling. If only you were my "History" teacher, I dont know what Id become.

[@user-xc4wk9ps7s]

I waited so long for a good Crecy documentary, with Dan Jones I'm even more happy. Thanks so much for the upload

[@njorogefred150]

Thanks to all who work on this amazing Channel, no doubt they are the best suppliers of accurate History.

[@CrowGB]

Fantastic storytelling - I will check out the book from Dan. The background ambience horn sounds you used throughout this documentary are they accessible publicly?

[@markberman6708]

Did a report on this once particularly in regards to tactics and technology changing the nature and thus outcomes of warfare... fascinating how this repeats itself

[@TheVaughan5]

Great presentation by Dan Jones, no stupid infantile jokes, just intelligent dialogue. Historians generally agree that the 14th c was overall the most violent in the history of Europe and this campaign was typical of what the citizens constantly faced. Part 2 please?

[@kaiserflanderson2632]

Dan's the best, love the vid great work guys

[@loupowell4442]

I love to listen to Dan and history. Thanks.

[@vanessadebrino7231]

Finally some new content. Not the same documentaries disguised with new titles and thumbnails. Thank you !

[@bradleyrocks618]

Love you Dan watch every video you are in!

[@castlesandlegends]

Fantastic and powerful documentary

[@MegaWatsonator]

just finished essex dogs so loving this

[@TheLoathsomeCowboy]

Wonderful, very absorbing documentary, thoroughly enjoyed it! However, I’m still waiting to be told about the battle of Crécy.

[@kelseylogas1580]

Really like this presenter, animated and so knowledgeable. But holy crap his sleeves are amazing ! More please! Someone said there's a part 2? Looking forward to that!!

[@astonzappa]

He is biased and presents a warped view of history through a modern lens. Caveat emptor.

[@vickywitton1008]

I LOVE his tats! I wish I could get a closer look at them! So far only spotted a butterfly, two roses and a snake on his chest

[@edwardmortimer8643]

Dan Jones is a freaking legend !!

[@jliller]

William T. Sherman furiously scribbling notes.

[@GM-fh5jp]

Great episode 1...we the people demand episode 2 as soon as possible...please :) Subscribed!

[@alextapley7642]

His book Essex Dogs is fantastic!

[@peterneijs387]

So what happed to the battle ?

[@nikkimorrow774]

Dan Jones has a great podcast called "This Is History", I am impatiently waiting on season 3.

[@otteotte7698]

This music is pretty great.

[@fearlessfreap8093]

I may have missed it but there should have been some discussion of follow-up videos regarding what happened next.

[@ACD54]

I love that the chapter titles give "Chevrolet" for "Chevauchée"!

[@fuferito]

The trope of a king stumbling upon coming ashore, and turning it into a positive omen is fairly common; Alexander the Great and William the Conqueror just off the top of my head, before Edward.

[@osr4152]

Makes me think the story is apocryphal

[@charliereader3462]

Heard it about Henry V as well

[@topbanana4013]

It was the norm in thst era. Woke has been added here to make the English look bad again. Can't stand this man crap twisting history

[@ozzzer1]

The Archers Tale by Bernard Cornwell gives a good imagined look at the sack of Caen and the 1346 campaign in general.

[@markusrantanen6086]

Awesome 👍

[@9er..]

Dan Jones…You’re my hero 🤣🤣🤣🤣Actually, I bought my Belstaff Trailmaster because I saw him wearing one in another series.

[@josephcollins6033]

Thanks for these!!!!!! WHERE do these soldiers PUT all the loot during this long campaign? I picture the horses and knights and all the soldiers traveling rather "light" for this. Where do they put their stuff until it is over? AND, I imagine those soldiers had plenty of deadly fights when the "stuff" of one was challenged by the other! This is wonderful!!!!!

[@RiverNihil]

everytime i watch me some Dan Jones then i get the urge to play chiv 2 really hard

[@larryheystek4166]

Wanted to learn about the Battle Crecy as the title listed. Still wanting. Kind of false advertising. If there are multiple parts, it should be listed as such. I enjoyed "Part 1". He is a good story teller.

[@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont]

Will you make a video about the French victories during the Hundred Years War?

[@mattr543]

I think there's quite a few to be fair.

[@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont]

@@mattr543 Yes, it's always interesting to have the other side's point of view.

[@BrokenBackMountains]

Will you cover the Franco - Scottish victory at the Battle of Bauge?

[@mattr543]

@@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont Of course. History is history and it's all fascinating.

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

Thanks to the Maiden of Orleans Jeanne D'Arc. She successfuly beat the English by leading the Blue Army to Army. Put I praised the tenacity and courage of the red army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🟥👑 🇫🇷🟦⚜️

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

A wonderful historical coverage episode about crecy wars in 1346 AD in Normandie led by English Edward King ...what a dirty,crucial political business beneath a brilliant smartness framework of an English (Edward ) King

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

Good grief. I descended from 'chivalry' class of people (after voting to behead the King our family fled to Flanders and then to New Holland in the New World). We fought all the time, fought in France, fought in England and then fought in the New World. We made history and history always was and is a bloody business. Being all wimpy about this business is irritating. Good grief. Wars are human events. Humans have been at wars since we first used rocks attached to sticks for crying out loud.

[@dustingreen9075]

Crecy, 1346. And then the Black Death in 1348 -1349. Not a good time for anyone in Normandy..

[@Ericotheriault]

No one tells this amazing history like Dan Jones…… Mary Beard & Darius Arya have ancient Rome covered … Dan Jones has this!

[@njgrandma3519]

I like the inclusion of the medieval accounts and illustrations. Are the colors really that vibrant?

[@DorchaEagla]

Is there a following episode to be uploaded please? Would love to hear more

[@HistoryHit]

You can find episode 2 on History Hit TV

[@DorchaEagla]

@@HistoryHit thabk you

[@katherinecollins4685]

Really interesting

[@matthewsmith6197]

I am wondering when part 2 is coming out.

[@allanchurm]

that wa sbrilliant the way it was told by Dan Jones

[@vercingetorixavernian8978]

Yooo I was watching that bro. Where is part 2?

[@transvestosaurus878]

22:16 the chapter title is 'Chevrolet', as in the cars, not 'Chevauchée'.

[@lorihenderson673]

His novel dogs of War is ×××××

[@matthewsmith6197]

Is there any chance of putting part 2 of this video online?

[@HistoryHit]

You can watch part 2 on History Hit TV!

[@v.g.r.l.4072]

What a wonderful programme, withthe usual mastery of Jones on his subject and the beauty of images that makes you drool. Congratulations! Now, the shade of revisionism concerning the cruelty of war in the past is absurd. History must not be a vindication of present conceptions on pacifism,

[@Hiltok]

It's not about pacifism. It's about looking honestly at what lies beneath the supposed glory of medieval kingship - ruling over extreme brutality while seeking to profit from it.

[@dogwithwigwamz.7320]

I love history; especially Medieval European History. But I could never have been an Historian. What kind of memory would one have to have in possession of in learning such a vast amount of knowledge ? History has no rules. This is what I find so difficult, to remember. Mathematics is for me. It`s not easy, but at least it has rules.

[@dickschreiber3584]

When is the continuation? Feel like we were left hanging.

[@philipryan25]

Very Good 👍

[@HistoryHit]

Thank you 👍

[@sc2320]

like it 💯💪

[@secretagent7888]

I'm sorry, this was normal war practice in the time; but congrats on a good documentary.

[@Dirty20Gaming]

The chevauchee period is very interesting. the idea of pillaging rather than taking territory makes me wonder what might have been if they'd committed to an actual invasion and populated that area earlier than they did

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

One of my ancestors was at the Battle of Hastings. It didn't take much to take over. All the successful soldiers got land and peasants and horses so they merrily lived it up for several hundred years! Whoopee! This didn't require a huge invading force, just men in armor and boats and horses taking over the top parts of the systems and then being 'police' to keep things running afterwards! We left England when the Civil War broke out and we were on the losing side and fled to the New World. And resumed fighting over there! here in America.

[@luapnosboh7421]

Keep tekin ya meds

[@OldieBugger]

The chevauchee is still used today, in Ukraine.

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

So as ours 🇫🇷🟦⚜️

[@borisrusov2383]

By the ukrainians

[@hugereductions]

I seem to have missed the actual battle of Crecy!!!??? He goes from Caen to Rouen? When's the actual Battle of Crecy mentioned?

[@Aspett0]

Do Patay next !

[@user-dg2gj4su7n]

I liked it .BUT IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO tell us about the 100years war and the decline of the feudal system

[@njgrandma3519]

Wait! Is there Part 2?

[@mariannefournier1679]

I seek out history videos and watched a Dan Jones/Dan Snow program on the Crusades and liked it. I did not stay with this one though because of Dan Jones’ heavily tattooed arms which distracted me too much. ;(

[@a.z.5979]

Good.

[@julianbarber4708]

Was the story about Edward stumbling on the sand, also used for William 1? Might have got mixed up!

[@cryptotimes1583]

Guy makes history look cool....

[@patrickpierce1635]

Why the hell would you burn down the place you're trying to take over? Speaking of William of Normandy, I saw a study that a LOT of people in the UK are descended from the Plantagenets, like a shocking number. It makes sense, tiny island, not many people, they'd have to be related. Like in Iceland, they have a dating app to ensure that you're not TOO closely related to your potential partner.

[@mmhthree]

If your last name is Pierce; I believe you come from the de Percy family, and they have a fabulous English history. A wealthy, leading family in the middle ages.. Henry "Hotspur" Percy is one to look up. He is probably a great grandfather of yours.. and yes, you'd be from William the Conqueror as well.

[@gigmcsweeney8566]

Unfortunately, despite making great headlines at the time (Yay! We're all descended from kings of England), claims that most of us are descended from Edward III are total nonsense, based on mathematically modelled computer projections using iffy statistical values, many of which are demonstrably incorrect, rather than good old fashioned painstaking research. There are plenty of known historical and genealogical facts that appear to dispel this claim, such as the extinction of the paternal Norman lineages, the mtDNA survey to discover living descendants of Cheddar Gorge Man, the genealogical search for living ancestors of Cecilly Neville, and the Marquis of Ruvigny's research into the number of possible living descendants of Edward's in 1907, which identified a possible 80,000-100,000 descendants - which can be extrapolated to a maximum of around 2m indivduals today, which is a far cry from the claims made by Millard, Rutherford, and a few others, that we are all descended from Edward.

[@DorchaEagla]

Hey so the Plantagenet line does not start with William but rather with his great-grandson, Henry II, who was the son of Empress Matilda (granddaughter of William)

[@gigmcsweeney8566]

@@DorchaEagla And ends with Richard III, regardless of what Dan Jones seems to think.

[@DorchaEagla]

Actually Henry VIII mother was a plateganant, so the line continues

[@CheifR0cka]

32:30 ...300 year old earth and timber walls? Sounds helpful.

[@PeterIsotalo]

The part about an opposed landing is purely for drama. There was no reason for it to ever happen in medieval warfare. The attacker would simply land where the enemy wasn't. And certainly never against prepared positions. This is why raiders were so effective; pop up with fast ships, strike an easy target and get away before any land forces could catch them.

[@Spielkalb-von-Sparta]

24:10 In my opinion Dr. Elodie Giard does some unfounded generalisations about the mindset of people in the medieval age. All right, her focus is the hundred year war in which such atrocities like the _scorched-earth policy: the chevauchée_ were executed without a doubt. But you simply can't extrapolate this kind of warfare to the whole medieval age.

[@Mr456sb]

Must have been wonderful

[@darylcheshire1618]

Where I live it a small town called Cressy.

[@Tsumami__]

The ideal man

[@iansmith5174]

Crecy was the first battle where the use of cannons was recorded.

[@ahairystick6304]

before the Chinese?

[@iansmith5174]

@@ahairystick6304 Maybe it was the first recorded use of cannons in the western world.

[@jannazam5483]

Nonsense .

[@thesnoopmeistersnoops5167]

I thought the French trialled them in sieges before the war broke out proper? When Edward II was still king. I could be wrong.

[@thebagelsproductions]

When did the Chinese start using canons?

[@beepboop204]

[@stevegrim]

So what happened? Looking for another vid.

[@HistoryHit]

You can find Part two on History Hit TV!

[@jamesdumazel5099]

At the end of his book, the Essex Dogs.

[@DidierDidier-kc4nm]

great as usual with Dan Jones. about looting an raping and all the bad thing they did , Edward ' s army was men of their times .I red some reports about the eastern campaign of La Hire ,Xantraille (friends of joan arc ) on french side and it was spicy as well ! anyway thumb up

[@amh9494]

Even these days urban young men are violent due to the inequalities they live in, things were even worse back then.

[@Ealdorman_of_Mercia]

I retrace this battle often immersively in Total War or Bannerlord.

[@mark-matthijskattenberg7122]

When is part 2?

[@scottibee2167]

I had no idea Dan Jones was so tatted up!

[@tomtaylor6163]

Lord Humongous of the middle ages

[@ianp7206]

Wherea part 2 ??

[@zoso8thegreat]

This title is misleading. The Battle of Crécy is not featured here at all. Everything in the video preceded the battle. I suggest the title should be modified to, 'King Edward Invades Northern France' or 'The Campaign towards Crécy' or something of the like. I like the video. The title does not entirely match with the content is all.

[@matthewjames1114]

I've cancelled my History Hit subscription cause they just put it all on here anyway

[@s.williamc.]

This is such a great documentary! Where is the rest of it? Where is part two?

[@ibonarzua2811]

"Heroism against the perfidious french" is not the usual view. Its the view of the anglosaxon world, mind you.

[@kevinrogers4747]

i thought it was william the conqueror who tripped on his landing in England