OK, so they weren’t firearms at all. But absent English longbows, we might all be cheese-eating surrender monkeys. Remembering “this day in history”—
The Battle of Crécy, fought on Saturday, August 26, 1346 was the first of several significant battles during which the longbow triumphed over crossbowmen and armoured knights. (Other battles were Poitiers, in 1356 and Agincourt, in 1415.)_*_
Be sure to brush up on this pivotal battle fought on Saturday, August 26, 1346. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the English forces prevailed, as at Agincourt, because of better tactics and… superior “firepower”. There were roughly as many French (really Genoese) archers as English, but superior weaponry (the English longbow) and tactics (the expenditure of about a half a million arrows, field position, etc.) won the day.
Thank God for superior “firepower.”
[Note: the Battle of Poitiers referred to above is NOT the 732 Battle of Tours, also sometimes referred to as The Battle of Poitiers, in which Charles Martel handed Muslims their first significant setback in their efforts to conquer Europe. The Battle of poitiers referred mto above is the 1356 battle between the forces of Prince Edward “the Black” of England and Jean II of France.]
Veeeeery interesting. Thanks for making me read up on this.