Editing 1346 (section)

=== Western Europe ===
On July 11, King Edward III crossed the English Channel and arrived in Normandy the following day<ref>{{Cite book|last=Prestwich|first=Michael|title=Plantaganet England 1225- 1360|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=9780199226870|location=New York|pages=315}}</ref> with 1,600 ships. He took the ports of La Hogue and Barfleur with overwhelming force and continued inland towards Caen, taking towns along the way. The French mounted a defence at Caen, but were ultimately defeated. The French had been planning to cross the channel and invade England with a force of about 14,000 led by Jean le Franc, but Edward's attack forced them onto the defensive.<ref name = "knighton">Knighton, Henry. ''Knighton's Chronicle 1337–1396''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-19-820503-1}} pp. 52–75</ref>

[[File:Battle of crecy froissart.jpg|thumb|left|Battle of Crecy, 1346]]
The French king, [[Philip VI of France|Philippe VI]], destroyed several bridges to prevent Edward's advance, but the English took the town of Poissy in August and repaired its bridge in order to advance. The French king mounted a defence near the forest at [[Crécy-en-Ponthieu|Crécy]], which ended in another English victory. Edward then proceeded to Calais, laying siege to the city from September 4. Meanwhile, Jean de France, King Philippe's son, besieged the city of Aigullon, but with no success. Philippe also urged the Scots to continue the fight against England to the north. The Scots, believing that the English were preoccupied with Calais, marched into England toward Durham in October, but were met and defeated by an English force of knights and clergymen at the [[Battle of Neville's Cross]], and King David of Scotland was captured. The Irish also mounted a brief resistance, but were similarly defeated. Before the end of the year, Edward also captured [[Poitiers]] and the towns surrounding Tonnay-Charente.<ref name = "knighton"/><ref>Ayton, Andrew. ''The English Army and the Normandy Campaign of 1346''. {{ISBN|1-85285-083-3}} pp. 253–268</ref>

For his role in the [[Battle of Crécy]], [[Edward, the Black Prince]], Philippe VI honoured the bravery of [[John I, Count of Luxemburg]] and King of [[Bohemia]] (also known as [[John of Bohemia|John the Blind]]) by adopting his arms and motto: "''Ich Dien''" or "I Serve". John's decades of fighting had already made his name widely known throughout Europe, and his heroic death at Crécy became the subject of legend, recorded by writers such as Froissart.<ref>{{cite book|title=Festivities, Ceremonies, and Rituals in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in the Late Middle Ages|editor1=František Šmahel|editor2=Martin Nodl|editor3=Václav Žůrek|ISBN=9789004514010|publisher=Brill|year=2022|page=109}}</ref>