The Crécy campaign was an expedition by an English army from the north
of Normandy to the County of Boulogne, devastating the French
countryside on a wide front, followed by the successful siege of Calais.
It began on 12 July 1346 during the Hundred Years' War. Led by King
Edward III, the English stormed and sacked Caen, slaughtering the
population. They then devastated the country to the suburbs of Rouen
before cutting a swath along the Seine's left bank to Poissy, 20 miles
(30 km) from Paris. Turning north, the English became trapped in
territory which the French had denuded of food. They escaped by fighting
their way across the Somme against a French blocking force. Two days
later, on ground of their choosing, the English inflicted a heavy defeat
on the French at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August, before moving on to
besiege Calais. After an eleven-month siege, which severely stretched
both countries' financial and military resources, the town fell.
(This article is part of a featured topic: Crécy campaign.).
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Cr%C3%A9cy_campaign>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1346:
Hundred Years' War: English forces established the military
supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow
and armoured knights at the Battle of Crécy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cr%C3%A9cy>
1748:
The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the
Pennsylvania Ministerium, was founded in Philadelphia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Ministerium>
1978:
Aboard the Soviet Soyuz 31 spacecraft, Sigmund Jähn became the
first German in space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_J%C3%A4hn>
2008:
After a ceasefire was reached in the Russo-Georgian War, Russia
recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Abkhazia_and_South_Ossetia>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
doldrums:
1. Usually preceded by the: a state of apathy or lack of interest; a
situation where one feels boredom, ennui, or tedium; a state of
listlessness or malaise.
2. (nautical) Usually preceded by the: the state of a sailing ship when
it is impeded by calms or light, baffling winds, and is unable to make
progress.
3. (nautical, oceanography, by extension) Usually preceded by the: a
part of the ocean near the equator where calms, squalls, and light,
baffling winds are common.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doldrums>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but
to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.
--John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Buchan,_1st_Baron_Tweedsmuir>