Wanderlust World Wanderlust World British and French forces have clashed repeatedly over centuries. Here are three landmark British victories:
During the Hundred Years' War, Henry V's outnumbered English army—anchored by longbowmen—decimated the French nobility on a muddy field in northern France. The victory shattered French military prestige and led to the Treaty of Troyes, briefly making Henry heir to the French throne.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy crushed a Franco-Bavarian army on the Danube. The victory prevented French hegemony in Europe and established Britain as a major continental power broker.
The final defeat of Napoleon. Wellington's Anglo-Allied army, reinforced by Blücher's Prussians, broke the French Imperial Guard near Brussels. Napoleon abdicated days later, ending 23 years of near-continuous European war.
These battles—spanning 400 years—illustrate the shifting balance of power between two nations whose rivalry shaped modern Europe. Outcomes varied widely across other conflicts, from the French victories at Yorktown (1781) and the Marne (1914) to the Entente Cordiale (1904) that turned rivals into allies.