The Anglo-French conflict that came to be called the Hundred Years War was based on rival claims to land and leadership. The death of Charles VI of France in 1328 left a void in the French monarchy. The Capetian dynasty had ruled most of France since 987, but there was now no direct male heir. The best legal claim came from Edward III of England, grandson of Philip the Fair (1285-1314), but the French nobility could not conceive of a foreigner as king. Instead, they chose Philip VI Valois, ending the Capetian dynasty. Edward resisted this choice, not only because he wanted the throne for himself, but also because he was technically a vassal of the French king. Since he controlled some territory in France, he might be called on to obey his liege lord with actions detrimental to England. Further, the French had supported the Bruces of Scotland in their struggle for independence from the English. Finally, England coveted Flanders, nominally under French control but tied to England via the wool trade. Add to all this the traditional dislike the French and English have always harbored for each other, and war seemed inevitable.

Although possessed of a larger and wealthier population, France did not have a strong central administration to direct military operations or collect the taxes necessary to pay for a war. England was better organized, had more consistent military leadership, and had superior weaponry in the form of the longbow. The war was fought in three phases over the space of 116 years. First, Edward provoked trouble in Flanders by instituting an embargo on English wool, placing the merchants and trade guilds in economic jeopardy. The cities of Flanders were obliged to recognize Edward as king of France in order to reopen trade. They signed a treaty of alliance with England, but proved to be less than faithful to it. With this foothold on the Continent, Edward organized an invasion force. He drew first blood with a naval victory over the French at the battle of Sluys in January 1340, a battle that gave him control of the English Channel. He was unable to follow this up because of a lack of Flemish support, so he was forced to conclude a truce with France.

Edward ended the peace in 1346 when En-glish forces invaded Normandy and won a series of victories culminating in their triumph at Crecy. He did not want to fight the French at the time but, since his ships had left Calais to evacuate the wounded and booty, he could not escape. While marching for Flanders he met French forces at Crecy and had to stand and fight. Edward's army of knights and longbowmen faced a French army much superior in numbers of mounted knights and foot soldiers. He won by defense and poor French leadership. Philip attacked late in the afternoon of 26 August, and by midnight the French army was in tatters. In the wake of this victory, Edward retreated to Calais with an exhausted army.

Calais is located near the border with Flanders and had major fortifications constructed in the thirteenth century. The English Channel and Calais harbor lie on the northern side, while a double moat and strong walls surrounded the remainder of the town. In the northwest corner of the city was a citadel with its own walls and moat. Making the position even stronger was the natural defenses of marshy terrain, across which siege engines could not be moved. Just before the English arrived, Lieutenant Governor of Artois Jean de Fosseux brought in last-minute reinforcements and took command of the defense.

When Edward's troops approached the city on 4 September 1346, they immediately saw the futility of a direct assault. They therefore began digging trenchworks for a prolonged siege. Luckily for them, this campaign proved sufficiently popular among the population and aristocrats of England that a steady stream of supplies arrived from across the Channel, through Gravelines, and across causeways to the troops. It was an amazing administrative feat for its time. Only a mid-September raid by Genoese ships allied to Philip interrupted the convoys sailing regularly from southeastern England. In spite of a commanding sea presence, the English failed through the fall of 1346 to keep French ships from revictualling and reinforcing Calais. On land, however, the French king seemed paralyzed. He sent a few troops to keep an eye on the English from a distance as well as to watch the border with Flanders, but did nothing to interfere with the English supply lines.

Increasingly frustrated by the French defense, Edward tried to assault the city. In mid-November fifty fishing vessels carrying long ladders arrived. Other boats brought stone-throwing catapults and several cannon. With these the English tried to scale and batter the walls, but without success. The last recorded assault took place on 27 February, after which Edward decided to let hunger do its work. Although his army remained well supplied, the damp, cold winter coupled with the marshy ground produced a huge number of sick. Others despaired of the situation and deserted.

In the spring of 1347 the French launched a major resupply fleet out of Normandy, which delivered perhaps 1,000 tons of supplies in early April. The English did almost nothing to stop this convoy, but it proved to be the last to aid the garrison. Later attempts were turned back by serious English naval power. Meanwhile, there continued to be no pressure at all from the landward side.

By June the defenders were reduced to eating what animals they could find in the city, and fresh water also became scarce. When a resupply convoy failed to break through on 25 June, second-in-command Jean de Vienne wrote King Philip that soon the only meat available would be that of the dead people in the city. Edward intercepted the letter, but having read it he added his royal seal and forwarded it on to Philip. In mid-July the king sent an eight-barge convoy filled with supplies but the English captured all of them. In the wake of that failure, the French commanders expelled 500 children and old people. The English would not let them approach, so those turned out of the city starved beneath its walls.

The arrival of spring had brought reinforcements to Edward's army, which reached some 32,000 strong: 5,300 knights, 6,600 infantry, and 20,000 archers. By summer, the Flemings had a further 20,000 men, which they put under his command. King Philip finally gathered his own troops for a relief attempt. With a force of perhaps 20,000 he slowly moved north until he finally reached the Sangatte heights, overlooking the Calais marshes some 6 miles to the south. The marshes, intended to protect the city, now protected the besiegers. Philip realized he could not possibly advance on the English and bring his superior cavalry to bear. Negotiation proved fruitless, as did a challenge to come out and fight on ground suitable to both sides.

On the night of 1 August, signal fires in Calais warned King Philip of the town's imminent surrender. He responded by destroying their camp rather than leave it for the English or be caught on open ground trying to transport it away. Seeing this, the French inside asked for terms. Edward, furious at the length of the siege, offered none. His advisers prevailed upon him to soften his position against a future time when the situations might be reversed. He would spare the population's lives but would possess the town and all within it. He demanded six prominent citizens abase themselves before him with the keys to the city. When they arrived Edward ordered his executioner to work. Only the pleadings of his closest advisers, and then his queen, forced him to relent.

Edward took the highest-ranking noblemen hostage, then fed the rest of the citizens and sent them packing. His men received an equal share of everything in the town. As Calais was a center for piracy over the previous decades, the division of spoils made his troops quite happy. The displaced citizens received a royal pension for almost twenty years. The city they left behind became an English colony, populated for the next 200 years by English merchants.

Philip assumed that Edward would be happy with his capture and go home, leaving a garrison behind. Edward indeed began to send his troops across the Channel, but only until he knew Philip had dispersed the French army. Edward then reorganized his army and began raiding all across northern France. Philip was finally able to negotiate an armistice that proved longer lasting than anyone had believed-not because of honor, but because the Black Death arrived in France and ravaged the countryside for seven years. The war resumed in 1355 and went on intermittently until 1453, after which Calais remained the only English possession in France. Not until January 1558 did it return to French control.