To tell the story behind the events of his novel 'Essex Dogs', Dan Jones goes on a special journey across Northern France for History Hit, following in the footsteps of Edward III and his English army on their Crécy Campaign - one of the earliest and bloodiest raids of the Hundred Years' War.

On 12th July 1346, a huge English invasion fleet landed on the shores of Normandy. The King of England was here to claim the throne of France for himself.

Dan isn’t just interested in the princes and lords in charge of the campaign, but the ordinary men of Edward’s army. In his latest project, the meticulously researched historical novel “Essex Dogs”, Dan has imagined what life would be like for these common soldiers, battling through Normandy and beyond. This was an army that was notorious for destroying and pillaging everything in their path - but how did they fare as they marched deeper and deeper into France, turning from hunters to hunted as the king of France pursued them to Crecy?

Join Dan as he travels with top experts to the battlefields and cities where this all happened, nearly 700 years ago.

Praise for 'Essex Dogs':
“[Reconceives] medieval military history as a swashbuckling Hollywood movie."—The New York Times Book Review

“An impeccably researched ‘you are there’ novel with a real-time approach... moves episodically from encounter to life-threatening encounter...An enjoyable romp through the darkest of ages.”—Kirkus Reviews *starred review*

"A rousing story of the Hundred Years War. . . Brutal, graphic, and gory, the battle scenes viscerally hurl the reader into the heat of 14th-century combat."—Publishers Weekly *starred review*

"Battle-bloody, brutal and perfectly pitched. . . . Meticulously researched and vibrantly told. . . It's a slaughterous, sweary, swaggering debut."—The Daily Mail