Abstract
In July 1544 Henry VIII landed in Calais to launch the major offensive of his third and last war against France. The troops accompanying Henry, together with the contingents which had already been shipped across the Channel, totalled over 32,000 men. They were joined by some 6000 German and Dutch auxiliaries provided (and paid for) by the king’s ally, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and another 4000 mercenaries whom Henry had hired to boost his army’s fighting power still further. Accompanied by a large train of artillery, 20,000 horses, hundreds of carts and a steady stream of supplies shipped from England and Flanders, Henry’s force was the largest and most powerful army fielded by the English crown until the time of William III, 150 years later.1
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Notes
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© 2003 Paul E.J. Hammer
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Hammer, P.E.J. (2003). The Glory of War: operations and developments, 1544–1558. In: Elizabeth’s Wars. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-62976-9_2
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