9 Times the English Longbow Dominated the Battlefield

The English Longbow is an iconic weapon of warfare that has maintained its reputation as one of the most devastating ranged weapons in history. It dominated battlefields for centuries, creating an aura of fear and awe wherever it was used. English armies were equipped with a powerful, accurate, and long-range weapon, giving them an edge over their enemies.

The English Longbow was known for its strength, accuracy, and range. As a result, English armies had a weapon that could penetrate enemy lines and cause significant damage while also striking from a distance. The longbow was made from yew wood, which gave it great strength and flexibility, allowing for arrows to be shot with incredible speed and force. It had far greater range and penetration power than most other bows of its time.

The size of the longbow also gave it an advantage, as it was usually drawn to match the height of the archer. This meant it could store more energy and release it with greater power, making it more effective at penetrating armor or breaking through walls when shot by a skilled archer. In this post, we will be looking at nine battles where the English Longbow made its mark on history by playing an integral role in them. So, let’s take a look at the English Longbow.

So let’s dive into these engagements in chronological order.

The Battle of Falkirk (1298): Arrows Rain and Power Shifts

The Battle of Falkirk was a military engagement between England and Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence. It took place on July 22, 1298, and is considered to be one of the greatest examples of the power of the English Longbow. Scottish troops under William Wallace fought for independence from the English crown. Edward I was King of England and had set his sights on dominating Scotland. The war between the two nations had been raging for some time, and the site of Falkirk would be the next test to see who would take control of the Scottish territories.

The opposing forces numbered approximately 15,000 on the English side, with the Scottish army estimated at around 6,000. It is a significant English force that took the field at Falkirk, but their greatest advantage was the inclusion of a large number of longbowmen. These troops were deployed on the battlefield and loosed their arrows upon the Scots before the armies engaged, harrying them before the main battle began.

The longbowmen would have been vital in breaking up the schiltrons, which were circles of spearmen that had been used at the previous Battle of Stirling Bridge. These tactics worked as they once had, but the hail of arrows shot from the longbows of the English troops was too much for the Scottish soldiers to take. The effectiveness of the longbowmen was so great that the Scottish army was routed, and their leader, Wallace, fled the field.

This was a resounding victory for the English, who are estimated to have lost around 400 men, with the Scots losing as many as 2,000. This battle, although not the end of the fight for Scottish Independence, showed the true power of the English Longbow in medieval warfare.

The Battle of Wodan Field (1321): A Longbow Legacy

The Despenser War was a civil war in medieval England, a time of turmoil and unrest. The war was sparked by a series of revolts against the Despensers, favorites of King Edward II, who had gained immense power and influence at court. The conflict lasted from 1321 to 1322, and the Battle of Wodan Field, one of the most famous battles of the Despenser War, became particularly noted for the effectiveness of the English longbow.

The battle was part of a rebellion by several English barons against the Despensers. The barons were outraged by the rapid expansion of the Despensers’ lands and power, which they saw as a threat to the traditional rights and privileges of the nobility. A coalition of disgruntled barons had formed to challenge the Despensers. The Battle of Wodan Field was a significant engagement between the royal forces and the rebel barons.

The English Longbowman was the central star of the battle. Longbowmen had already gained a fearsome reputation in European battlefields. The longbow was a powerful weapon made from yew, and English archers had mastered its use, often from advantageous positions and with significant rates of fire. At Wodan Field, the longbowmen decimated the enemy ranks, their arrows flying with deadly accuracy and speed, disrupting formations and sowing panic among the enemy troops.

The rebels fought bravely, but the tactics and the longbows were too much for them. The royal forces won the day, and the defeat was a significant blow to the baronial revolt. The exact number of casualties is a subject of historical debate. Still, the rebel side suffered heavy losses, which were a direct result of the longbowmen’s effectiveness. The longbows and the tactics used at Wodan Field and other battles during the Despenser War helped cement the longbow’s reputation as a weapon of mass destruction, influencing military tactics and strategies for generations.

The Battle of Crécy (1346): The Rise of the English Longbow

The Hundred Years’ War was fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France between 1337 and 1453. The primary reasons for war were gaining more territory, greater power, and rights to the French throne. The English and French armies clashed multiple times between these years, and some of these battles would change the way the military works in the future. The Battle of Crécy was the first major battle of the Hundred Years’ War to make our list, but it won’t be the last.

The battle took place in northern France in August of 1346 on a battlefield near the town of Crécy. King Edward III of England was leading his army and knew he faced a much larger French force led by King Philip VI of France. The English army consisted of infantry and cavalry units, but Edward’s key weapon was his longbowmen. The longbowmen were on a downward slope of a hill, and they were ready to give their enemies a painful and blood-filled surprise. 

The English longbows shot arrows at great speed and accuracy. The arrows easily penetrated the plate armor of the French knights, horses, and crossbowmen. The range of the longbow was so great, and the speed at which the longbowmen could reload, that the French forces were pelted with arrows. It didn’t take long before the English crushed the large French army.

The Battle of Crécy resulted in an English victory, and France lost about 4,000 men while the English lost a fraction of that. The blind King John “The Blind” of Bohemia, an ally of France, was killed while fighting on the battlefield of Crecy.

The Battle of Crécy would establish the deadly reputation of the English longbowman, and it would change the way the French army approached their subsequent battles.

The Battle of Poitiers (1356): A Longbow Legacy Continued

The Battle of Poitiers in 1356, like the Battle of Crécy before it, was another display of power by the English longbowman. There had been a long-simmering war between England and France, and each had its reasons for wanting more land. They also had claims against each other: England against France. They wanted to rule over them and wanted control of the trading routes. It was a long-drawn-out war of one-upmanship that led to both powers coming into conflict on various occasions. These battles would change the face of medieval warfare, both in strategy and tactics.

The Battle of Poitiers was fought in September 1356, in the fields outside the town of Poitiers in western France. The English army under Edward, the Black Prince, the son of King Edward III, was met by the French army led by King John II. The English were outnumbered, but they had the higher ground for battle in the position they had been forced to take, and they had their longbowmen.

The French pressed forward with their lines, and the English longbows were at it again. With the longer range and the ability to reload faster than the French with their crossbows, the English archers spat out volley after volley of arrows at the French. This constant barrage broke up the French lines, causing confusion and disorder in their ranks and leading to an English rout.

The English won the battle, as they had at Crécy before it, achieving a decisive victory that further crippled the French, who lost many lives and had their king captured in the process. Estimates of the French dead are between 2,500 and 3,000, whereas the English had only minimal losses. The Battle of Poitiers is another feather in the cap of the English longbow as it proved again to be an effective weapon in a war setting.

The Battle of Shrewsbury (1403): When English Arrows Clashed

Contrary to the larger scale of European battlefields, the Battle of Shrewsbury was very much an English battle. It was a civil war on home soil between the king and the subjects. In the summer of 1403, the reign of Henry IV was on shaky ground. A large-scale rebellion against the king took place with the combination of Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur for his hot-blooded nature, and other vagabonds of the same mind. They all felt the need to speak against the king over the distribution of power in the land. The rebellion was also given some anti-establishment heat due to the king’s treatment of the Scottish borders.

On the fields near Shrewsbury, both sides met to make a day of it. Both armies were English and shared a common military past. However, on this day, longbowman would meet longbowman. It was the English longbow’s deadly prowess on show, but this time, the killing would be English against English.

The archers were central to the battle and how it unfolded. Arrow after arrow was shot into the sky as both sides traded volleys. Many men would die from the rain of arrows. Both armies were decimated by the arrows flying through the air, and many men would die in the mud. It was an incredible battle with the chroniclers stating there were so many arrows that movement was complex in the aftermath.

The battle came to its conclusion when Henry IV’s forces punched through the line of Hotspur’s army. Henry Percy would die in the thick of the fighting, and without their leader, the rebels had no chance. The royalists won the day at the Battle of Shrewsbury. Both sides were decimated by the number of longbows employed in the battle. The Battle of Shrewsbury was a victory for King Henry IV, but it also showed just how deep-rooted political and social issues were at the time. It also signposted the longbow’s future dominance for the English.

The Siege of Harfleur (1415): The Onset of a Campaign

The Siege of Harfleur was an integral step towards fulfilling the young English king’s plans for the invasion of the neighboring French territory. The Hundred Years’ War was a series of intermittent conflicts between the two powers, marked by a blend of military, political, and economic strife that continued for almost 100 years. During this time, both kingdoms were frequently at war with each other.

King Henry V of England was determined to press on with his claim to the French throne and was ready to meet his enemies head-on. In addition, many Englishmen at the time shared Henry’s enthusiasm for the opportunity to fulfil their Christian destiny by following their king into battle and by conquering the enemy’s lands. Harfleur was a strategically vital port town, and Henry wanted to use it as a launch point for the invasion of enemy territory.

The city’s fortifications and the surrounding region were not particularly vulnerable to attack. The besieging forces had to employ all the skills at their disposal to capture the city finally. The English army had made great use of longbowmen by this time and had an advantage in this regard. However, during the siege, they did not use them in their traditional role of shooting volleys at the opposing forces in open battle.

On the contrary, they were employed to pin the defenders of the town down so that the besiegers could form a tight blockade that would not be broken easily. The defenders were shot at until they were finally driven out of their positions by English and Welsh bowmen and others. The longbowmen were then allowed to fire, thereby keeping the remaining troops in the city pinned down. Sappers and artillery were also used to break up the city’s defences and contribute to the slow defeat of the enemy.

In the end, the town was forced to surrender after six weeks. However, a substantial portion of the English force was lost, primarily to disease. The close quarters of the besieged city made it a breeding ground for dysentery, and many of the English were weakened or killed by it. The campaign allowed English longbowmen to prove their versatility and usefulness in different kinds of combat, and Harfleur’s fall was a significant morale and strategic victory for England before the next, even more famous, battle of Agincourt.

The Battle of Agincourt (1415): The Longbow’s Crowning Glory

The Battle of Agincourt is considered one of the most famous in the long and bloody history of warfare. This epic conflict, whose anniversary fell on October 25, 1415, is a small part of the protracted dynastic struggle between England and France, known as the Hundred Years’ War. King Henry V of England, who sought to seize the French throne, faced the full force of French power. In the politically complex and territorially unstable environment, both sides had to repeatedly prove who was the strongest and the winner. On the early autumn morning, in a field near the Azincourt village, two armies, England and France, approached each other.

After a difficult siege of Harfleur, the English troops were outnumbered and suffering a multitude of sicknesses and vastly outnumbered by the enemy. But they had the longbow: a whole regiment of English longbowmen. Commanded by Henry V, in a defensive position, they opened an unexpected and merciless fire against a hail of French arrows. Knights and infantry, unable to withstand such a downpour, were stunned by volleys of arrows.

Riding in tightly packed formations, the French cavalry was caught off guard and found itself in a vulnerable position, bogged down in the mud after several days of rain. After several unsuccessful attacks on English positions, French cavalry found themselves under a deadly hail of arrows and wooden stakes that the longbowmen had set up.

As a result of a desperate attack, the French army was decimated, and the English gained a resounding victory. It is believed that 6,000 to 8,000 French soldiers were killed and only 400 Englishmen, but this is a general discussion of all the famous battles dominated by the English longbow. The Battle of Agincourt, in which 1,500 English longbowmen triumphed over the entire French army, is the most famous and discussed battle, which to this day remains in the memory of mankind.

The Battle of Verneuil (1424): A Sequel in Longbow Dominance

A little less than ten years after Agincourt, the Battle of Verneuil on August 17, 1424, would again demonstrate the devastating power of the longbow on the medieval battlefield. This engagement was also part of the Hundred Years’ War. The Battle of Verneuil in particular was a confrontation between English forces under the Duke of Bedford and a combined French, Scots, and Milanese army, the primary goal of which was to halt English aggression and advance in France.

The Battle of Verneuil is often compared with Agincourt, as the English victory was won almost exclusively through the deployment of English longbowmen, using a tactic very similar to that which had been so successful at Agincourt 9 years previously. English longbowmen were deployed in front of the English lines to provide a defensive line before the main infantry lines, in a strategy similar to that at Agincourt.

In addition, English forces deployed many stakes to provide additional defense for their longbowmen and to harass the enemy’s approach. After longbowmen had launched multiple volleys into the approaching coalition troops, the opposing forces repeatedly attempted to charge against the English lines. Each time, the English troops would first bring their lines to a position of rest to allow the archers to fire as many arrows as possible at the enemy troops, then counter the attack.

In the end, the English forces had a resounding victory against their opponents. The combined coalition forces may have lost up to 7,000 men, including up to 4,000 Scots who were utterly defeated. In comparison, the English had a much lower casualty rate, with a more conservative estimate of around 1,000 casualties. The Battle of Agincourt is often better known and is the more famous example of the longbow’s supremacy in medieval warfare. Still, the Battle of Verneuil is a strong example of how the longbow continued to dominate the medieval battlefield.

The Battle of Blore Heath (1459): An Archer’s Stand in the Wars of the Roses

England was drawn into the all-too-tangled mess of the Wars of the Roses, which led to a number of smaller battles across the country. One of these is the Battle of Blore Heath, an instance of the infamous longbow’s effectiveness, but also a good example of a hard-fought battle where one side is vastly outnumbered and, even so, manages to achieve a victory. Blore Heath was fought as part of the feud between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne.

The Lancastrians supported King Henry VI and were currently trying to quell the Yorkists, who had been gaining in momentum and popular support. The Yorkists were led by Richard, Duke of York himself, and his supporter and close friend, Richard Neville, the Earl of Salisbury.

On September 23rd, 1459, the Yorkist army of the Earl of Salisbury numbered far less than the Lancastrian army of Lord Audley. Still, despite that, and because of some advantageous factors, it was the Earl who was victorious. As Salisbury advanced on Ludlow, he was met and intercepted by Lord Audley on Blore Heath. Salisbury’s army, with English longbowmen at the fore, began its defense, taking position behind a line of wagons serving as a makeshift barricade.

The longbowmen rained down arrows on the advancing Lancastrians, and their multiple charges were repelled. The conditions of the battlefield and the English longbow combined to decimate and demoralize the Lancastrian troops. After what was a good number of casualties on the Lancastrian side, with reports putting them at about 2,000 men, including Lord Audley himself, the battle was essentially over. The Yorkists lost fewer men than the Lancastrians by several orders of magnitude, yet still gained a victory.

As already mentioned, several battles happened during the Wars of the Roses, but none have been as remembered as the one at Blore Heath, and no other saw the effective use of the English longbow as during the Battle of Blore Heath. For one outnumbered side to successfully withstand the attack of a much more numerous one was a feat enough on its own. Still, the unwavering stance and unparalleled skills of the longbowmen during one of the bloodiest periods of English history, that is, the civil war, only elevated the weapon’s stature to even greater heights.

From Bows to Bullets: The Decline of an Empire’s Weapon

English longbow warfare is notable for its presence in many decisive conflicts in history. The battle of Agincourt was not the only one in which the English longbow demonstrated its unrivaled superiority. In fact, there were numerous occasions during which English archers did their duty in defense of the realm. As well as in attacking the field and ambitions of England’s enemies abroad. In foul weather and on muddy battlefields, the longbowmen carved out a place for England as the world’s leading military power. It built an empire upon which the sun famously never set.

The development of gunpowder and the cannon, though, as is the way with weapons development, caught up with the longbow. In range and raw destructive power, these new weapons outclassed the humble longbow. Arrow, while never officially replaced, became a secondary weapon to the guns of war.

The English longbow has had its day and would eventually be replaced by the thunderous pounding of the cannonade and the sharp crack of musket fire.