The Battle of Crécy (occasionally written in English as the "Battle of Cressy") took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France. It was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War because of the combination of new weapons and tactics used. The English knights knew the importance of being willing to fight dismounted elbow to elbow with the pikeman and archers, a procedure which was learned from the earlier Saxons and also by their battles with the Scots from whom they learned tactical flexibility and the adaptation to difficult terrain.