The 100 Years' War was a series of devastating wars between the French and the English. The wars began in 1337, over the land between France and England called Normandy. It lasted 116 years and ended in 1453.
In 1328, the French king, Charles IV the Fair, died without an heir, and Charles' nephew, Edward III, the king of England, wanted to claim his throne. His claim and the French support of a movement for independence among the Scots inspired him to make a large army and invade Normandy in 1337. This was the first act of the 100 Years' War.
King Edward III invaded the Flemish on the island of Cadsand, in order to provoke a battle for an easy victory for his army and to improve the morale in England. Before, things had not been going as smoothly as Edward had hoped because his allies took a stand against him and prevented an invasion of France. Also, he was in debt. Therefore, he ordered Sir Walter Manny to take a small fleet and raid the island of Cadsand, causing the Battle of Cadsand, which ended in English victory. Most of the other battles ended with English victory as well, until the end of the war neared.
During the Battle of Castillion, the last battle of the 100 Years' War, the English saw a cloud of dust that they thought were hundreds of French horsemen fleeing, but were actually camp followers ordered to leave before the battle started. The English quickly organized their men and charged towards the French camp, only to find thousands of archers, crossbowmen, and cannons defending it. During the battle, the English leader, John Talbot, had his horse shot out from under him by a cannon. He became trapped underneath it until a French man recognized him and killed him with his hand-axe. This brought the 100 Years' War to an end with the French victorious.
