War Cruel and Sharp

Contemporaries considered Edward III of England 'the wisest and shrewdest warrior in the world'. He has not fared so well in the estimation of modern historians, many of whom have argued that he was a fine tactician but a poor strategist. Yet by 1360 the English, at the beginning of his reign considered 'inferior to the wretched Scots', had become the foremost martial nation of Europe. At Dupplin Moor, Halidon Hill, Crecy, and Poitiers their armies had won famous victories against heavy odds. David II of Scotland and Jean II of France were Edward's prisoners, and the French, with the Treaty of Bretigny, had agreed to surrender a third of their kingdom to his sovereign rule in exchange for peace.In War Cruel and Sharp, Dr Rogers offers a powerfully argued and thoroughly researched reassessment of the military and political strategies which Edward III and the Black Prince employed to achieve this astounding result. Using a narrative framework, he makes the case that the Plantagenets' ultimate success came from adapting the strategy which Robert Bruce had used to force the 'Shameful Peace' on England in 1328. Unlike previous historians, Rogers argues that the quest for decisive battle underlay Edward's strategy in every campaign he undertook, though the English also utilized sieges and devastation of the countryside to advance their war efforts.