| Year | Day/Month | Title |
| Edward III (1327 - 1377) |
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1328 | Feb 1 |  Charles IV of France Dies, followed by Philippe VI
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| | After the death of Charles IV the next rightful claimant to the French throne was not clear-cut as there was no male heir. Isabella, the sister of Charles, had married Edward II and their son Edward III had just taken on the rule of England. Isabella put in a claim for her son but in France the first cousin of Charles was chosen. He was Philippe of Valois the grandson of Philippe III of France. |
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1331 | Apr 4 | Meeting between Edward III and Philippe VI
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| | In disguise Edward travelled to France to meet Philippe VI. At the meeting it was agreed that Edward did not have to do homage for Aquitaine. |
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1335 | Qtr 2 | Edward attacks the Scots
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| | Edward III, assisted by Balliol, moved up through Scotland. There was a chance that the French would invade while the King was in the North as Philippe VI had sent ships to help the Scottish cause. |
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1337 | Qtr 2 | Cardinals sent to Europe
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| | Two cardinals, Peter Gomez and Bertrand of Montfavence, were sent by Pope Benedict XII to Europe to try and prevent the two kings from going to war. |
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| Oct | Start of the Hundred Years' War
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| | Relations between England and France were not good. Philippe VI the French King had sent ships to help the Scots who were attacking English merchant shipping and ports. There was the threat that the French would invade England. Edward III then laid a claim to the French throne. The claim centred on the fact that Isabella, his mother, was the daughter of Philippe IV. All of Philippe IV's sons (John I, Philippe V and Charles IV) had died without passing the French throne onto a son. On his death-bed Charles IV designated Philippe of Valois, his first cousin, as regent. Charles' wife was expecting a child and it was hoped that the child would be a boy. The child was a girl and Philippe of Valois claimed the throne for himself. Edward's claim to the throne was disputed because in French law it was stated that the line of succession could not pass through a female line. Philippe VI then declared that all of the English held lands in France were forfeit. These events were the start of conflict between England and France that would last (on and off) for more than one hundred years. |
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1338 | Qtr 1 | French attack English ports
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| | Philippe used Genoese troops to attack ports on the south coast of England including Southampton, Plymouth, Hastings and Rye. The attacks reached right around the coast as far as Bristol. |
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| Oct | French attacks continue on the south coast
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| | Towns at Dover, Folkestone, Harwich, Hastings, Portsmouth, Rye, and the Isle of Wight were attacked and many merchant ships were destroyed. The attackers even sailed into Portsmouth harbour pretending to be English by raising English flags and sacked the town. |
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1339 | Mar 23 | French plan invasion
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| | Philippe of France and the Normandy elite planned an invasion of England. Their invasion force consisted of around 20,000 to 25,000 men. |
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| Jul | French attack Dover
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| | A French fleet attacked Dover, Folkstone and Sandwich but they were driven back to France. Boulogne was attacked in revenge. |
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| Sep | Edward in Northern France
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| | With the promised help of the counts of Hainault and Namur Edward took his army into Northern France. The counts changed their minds as they had lands to lose if they fought against Philippe. Edward continued without their help and the English confronted the French at La Fremengerie. The French refused to fight and and English, short of supplies, turned back. |
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1340 | Jul | Siege of Tournai
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| | Edward besieged the important French town of Tournai. The town proved impossible to break and when Philippe arrived nearby with an army a truce was agreed. The truce with mediated by Philippe's sister who was also Edward's mother-in-law. The truce lasted until June of 1341. |
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| Sep 25 | Treaty of Esplechin
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| | A peace treaty between Edward III and Philippe VI of France. Edward had large debts and further campaigning was not possible so he accepted that the truce between the two kings was the best course of action. This treaty marks the end of the first section of the Hundred Years War. |
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1342 | Oct | Edward and Brittany
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| | Edward sailed to Brittany to assist English troops already there. They were supporting Jean de Montfort's claim to be the Duke of Brittany. Philippe, king of France, disputed this claim and supported his own contender to the title. Edward left his eldest son in charge of England while he was away. |
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1346 | Aug | Edward III crosses the Seine
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| | Philippe VI had ordered bridges across the Seine to be destroyed so that Edward could not cross the river. Edward marched south towards Paris but at Poissy his engineers managed to repair the bridge. His army crossed the river and turned north. |
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| Sep 4 | Siege of Calais
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| | Edward III began the siege of Calais that would last for almost a year. The governor of the town was man called Jean de Vienne. Edward demanded that the town should surrender but de Vienne refused, hoping that the town walls would hold the English out until Philippe VI could come to their rescue. The English set up camp around the town and arranged for supplies to be brought from England. Wooden houses were also built to house the soldiers while they waited. Philippa, the Queen even joined her husband at the camp. |
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| Oct 17 | Scots defeated at Neville's Cross
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| | During Edward III's absence on the campaign of Crecy the Scottish king David II was approached by the French King Philippe VI of Valois to invade England. David II did so and advanced south but at Neville's Cross they met a band of monks, priests and land workers who managed to defeat the Scottish army. The band were led by the archbishop of York William Zouche. David II was captured and sent to London to be held at the Tower. |
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1350 | | John II becomes King of France
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| | John became king of France after the death of his father Philippe. |
