On the 15 April 1450 the Battle of Formigny hastened the end of the Hundred Years’ War. Whilst the end of a war might, by many, be seen as good news, in this case fans of Henry V of Agincourt fame ("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; …….. That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.") might disagree. The French attack nearly annihilated the English forces, ending English domination in northern France. The English suffered 2,500 killed or seriously wounded and 900 taken prisoner while French casualties were no more than 300. With no other significant English forces in Normandy the whole region quickly fell to the victorious French. The battle is also famous for being the first decisive use of cannon. In those days they certainly knew how to have long wars. By April 15, 1632 the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Holy Roman Empire under General Tilly at the Battle of Rain, one of several battles that took place during the (mere) Thirty Years War. Tilly was killed trying to catch a cannon ball in his teeth. Cannons were, sadly, out of fashion by the time of the grand opening, in Des Plaines Illinois, of the first MacDonalds ‘Restaurant’ on April 15 1955.
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