Why divide the war into phases
A conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 did not look the same at the beginning and the end. Weapons, finances, leaders and war aims changed, and the fighting was broken by pauses. Historians usually divide the war into several phases. The exact labels and dates vary among authors, and this article follows a common four-part scheme, with attention to the truces between phases and to what changed during each.
Phase one: the Edwardian war, 1337 to 1360
This phase began with Philip VI’s confiscation of Aquitaine and Edward III’s claim to the French throne. Early campaigns in the Low Countries and a naval victory at Sluys in 1340 were followed by fighting in Brittany, where the English backed one claimant in a succession dispute.
The key battles were Crecy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356, along with the capture of Calais in 1347. English armies of archers and dismounted men-at-arms defeated French forces built around mounted nobility. Raiding expeditions damaged French lands. Meanwhile the Black Death arrived in 1348 and caused a major break in activity, and both kingdoms struggled to raise money.
What changed: the English proved that a smaller, well-organized army could win; the French crown, with its king captured, faced political crisis, including a revolt in Paris and a rural uprising known as the Jacquerie in 1358. The Treaty of Bretigny in 1360 ended this stage.
Truce, 1360 to 1369
Between the two wars there was a period of comparative peace. Armies were disbanded, but unemployed soldiers formed bands known as free companies, who lived off the land and were a menace in parts of France. Some of them were sent to fight in Spain, where the Black Prince won the Battle of Najera in 1367. The peace was weakened by unpaid ransoms, resentment in Aquitaine and the unsettled question of sovereignty.
Phase two: the Caroline war, 1369 to 1389
Named after Charles V of France, this phase saw the French take the initiative. The king and his constable Bertrand du Guesclin avoided battles and used sieges, local garrisons and negotiation with towns and lords. The English still launched large raids, but these failed to draw the French into a decisive battle. By the late 1370s the English held only a few coastal strips, such as Calais and parts of Gascony.
What changed: French royal finances improved through regular taxes, and the army became more professional. England, under an aging Edward III and then the child Richard II, struggled with taxation, which contributed to the Peasants Revolt in 1381. Eventually both sides turned to truces. Talks at Leulinghen in 1389 produced a truce that was repeatedly extended, and in 1396 it was strengthened by Richard II’s marriage to Isabella, a daughter of Charles VI.
The long pause, about 1389 to 1415
For about a quarter century there was no major English invasion. Both kingdoms had internal troubles. In England, Richard II was deposed in 1399, and Henry IV spent much of his reign defending his throne against rebels. In France, Charles VI’s illness opened a power struggle between the dukes of Burgundy and Orleans, which became a civil war when the duke of Orleans was murdered in 1407.
Phase three: the Lancastrian war, 1415 to 1429
Henry V revived the English claim. He landed in Normandy in 1415, took Harfleur and won the Battle of Agincourt, a victory made possible by terrain and French disorganization. He then conquered Normandy through sieges, a slower and more lasting strategy than raiding. The Treaty of Troyes in 1420 named him heir to Charles VI.
What changed: the English aim shifted from raiding to occupation and government of French territory. Large garrisons and a permanent administration were needed, which cost money. After Henry V’s death in 1422, his brother the duke of Bedford ran the regency for the young Henry VI. English victories continued for a time at Cravant and Verneuil, but the occupation depended on Burgundy and on revenues from Normandy.
Phase four: the French recovery, 1429 to 1453
The siege of Orleans in 1428 and 1429 marked the high water of the English advance, and its failure began the turnaround. The coronation of Charles VII at Reims followed. The decisive diplomatic event was the Treaty of Arras in 1435, when Burgundy abandoned the English. Paris returned to French control in 1436.
A truce from 1444 brought a pause, and then Charles VII reorganized his forces, creating companies of paid cavalry and making use of artillery, which was by now effective against castle walls. In 1449 and 1450 the French retook Normandy, the English being defeated at Formigny in 1450. Gascony fell in 1451, an English attempt to retake it ended with defeat at Castillon in 1453, and Bordeaux surrendered that October.
Reading the pattern
Several themes run through the phases. Money decided how long campaigns could last. Alliances, especially with Burgundy, were often more important than any single battle. Warfare itself changed from open-field fights and raids toward sieges, garrisons and cannon. And truces were not failures of the war; they were part of how it was fought. The war ended without a signed treaty, though England kept Calais for another century.