army throughout northern France in 1346, which devastated a significant amount of the French countryside and culminated in the eponymous Battle of Crécy. The campaign began on 12 July 1346, with the landing of English troops in Normandy, and ended with the fall of Calais on 3August 1347. The English army was led by Edward III, while the French army was led by Philip VI of France. 1346 campaign of Henry of Grosmont Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster led a chevauchée between 12 September and 31 October 1346. His Anglo-Gascon force, consisting of 2,000 soldiers, marched north from Gascony and sacked Saint-Jean-d'Angély and Poitiers. After sacking Poitiers, his force pillaged much of Saintonge, Aunis and Poitou, and captured many towns and castles, including Rochefort and Oléron. 1355 campaign of the Black Prince The chevauchée by the Black Prince in the autumn of 1355 was one of the most destructive in the history of English warfare. Starting from Bordeaux, the Black Prince traveled south into lands controlled by Jean I, Comte d'Armagnac with Toulouse as the apparent ultimate target. Edward departed with an Anglo-Gascon force of 5,000 men. He laid waste to the lands of Armagnac and also despoiled the Comté de Foix before turning eastward into Languedoc. The count of Armagnac reinforced his fortresses instead of engaging Edward. The residents of Toulouse prepared for a siege as Edward approached, but the Black Prince was not equipped for a difficult siege and bypassed the city, crossing two rivers to the south that the French had thought impassable by a large force and had hence left unguarded. Edward continued south, pillaging and burning and causing a great deal of mayhem. While the forces of Armagnac remained in Toulouse, Edward backtracked across the two rivers without much harassment. Only after it was apparent that Edward was departing did Armagnac harass the English. After the campaign, Armagnac was rebuked by James I, Count of La Marche, Constable of France and lost great favor with the people of Toulouse for his cowardice and lack of generalship. The result of this chevauchée by the Black Prince was that the important city of Toulouse realized that they were on their own to protect themselves and were forced to become militarily self-reliant. This process repeated itself throughout France in the wake of a chevauchée. Toulouse became an essential part of the country's security over the next