Agincourt: An Unexpected Victory
The King of England, Henry V, accomplished one of the most memorable and significant feats of his reign by conquering the French at the Battle of Agincourt. The invasion of France started in the late summer of 1415 when King Henry V was only twenty-seven years of age and had only spent two years as king of England. Many historians have conjectured about his battle strategy upon entry into battle, but his exact planned methods and tactics still cannot be determined. However, the history of the battle is better documented than most, and because of these accounts, historians are able to determine a much clearer picture of the actual events as they took place.
One of Henry’s chaplains, along with the Lord of Saint-Remy, wrote their accounts of the battle’s events. The French brought along historians by the names of Enguerrand de Monstrelet and Waurin. There were many secondary sources that contributed greatly to what is know of the battle, but the highest volume of information came from these four men. Nonetheless, something that cannot be documented is where Henry V and his men drew their motivation to enter battle facing a seemingly insurmountable opponent, and leave with victory. The conflict between these two countries over the years reached a boiling point, which lifted tensions high enough to bring the armies within range. This lesson shows that an inferior force can win a land battle given the right battlefield, social population, and troop inspiration.
Over the last century, Henry V’s ancestors fought and died throughout the Hundred Years War. However, the feud between the English and French date back all the way to 1066 when William the Bastard conquered England. Henry V’s father, Henry IV, murdered Richard II and took the throne. Because of his method of gaining power, Henry IV had to deal with considerable internal opposition throughout his unruly reign. When Henry V finally succeeded him in 1413, he decided to unite the nation under his rule by reviving the English claim to the French throne. Henry V decided that a good prospect for success would be an invasion of France in the beginning of 1415. France was suffering from severe internal issues. Charles VI, the king of France, was prone to insanity and his 12 year-old son’s paternity was in question. While the throne was being mismanaged, the Royal Dukes of France argued over who would take control of the kingdom. France was now vulnerable, without a firm foundation in leadership. Henry V was on a mission to retake the lands that were lost, as well as the lands that rightfully belonged to England.
On August 11, 1415, King Henry V set sail to France and arrived on approximately August 18, 1415. His first siege was on the port of Harfleur utilizing bombards, which were a type of cannon, as well as trenches, ramparts, and various other methods of destroying the city wall. This siege lasted for approximately one month until an important gate that allowed entry into the town, was rendered useless. The town opened their gates to King Henry on September 22nd, but his men were sick, hungry, and restless. By this time, he had lost almost a third of his entire force.
On October 5th, Henry held a meeting called the Council of War to convince his men that the right move was to continue to seek battle with the French. On October 8th, Henry’s decaying and diseased army began a two hundred-mile march to Calais with 5,000 archers and 1,000 men-at-arms. His path was littered with forests and rivers, which greatly slowed the advance. For a week or so, the French kept pace with the English army until finally on October 19th, the English army was able to have a night of rest. The next day, French heralds approached the camp challenging the army to fight. This reminded the English army to keep moving or risk losing their positional advantage. As the army set out again, they marched another eighteen miles through the tracks of the French army. Although his men were completely beaten down, Henry ordered his men to march another fifty-three miles over the following three days. On October 24th, English scouts detected the French army in close proximity to the Ternoise River. As the French prepared for battle, their position made it impossible for the English to move into Calais. At this point, there was no other choice but for Henry to declare battle on the French Army. Despite ploys to reverse Henry’s plan, and the fact that there were between 20,000 to 30,000 French troops, his plan moved forward.
On the morning of October 25, as the French soldiers were sitting down, laughing, and eating breakfast, a few hundred yards away the English army scrounged for crumbs to eat to prevent from starving. Wisely, the French army was not moving. They believed that if the English army really needed to get to Calais, the only option for them was to go through the French army. Henry did not believe that waiting around would further his agenda. After seeking council, he decided to move forward before his men starved and died off from disease. Now ill-supplied, Henry knew that if he waited any longer the French army would increase their strength in numbers and weaponry. Henry moved very slowly across the soggy ground, keeping his men in formation. Once they reached a distance of approximately two hundred and twenty yards away from the enemy, they took their post.
Henry mounted a small grey horse, which indicated that he would not ride during battle, but instead he would fight on the ground next to his men. Before they stepped off, Henry rode up and down the lines motivating his men with his words. He spoke about his rightful heir to the land and the just reasons for this battle. He reminded them of their home in England. His men were born there, their families lived there, and they must return as heroes. Not only did he talk about honor and glory, but of duty to the crown. Lastly, he called attention to the French, who were threatening to cut off three fingers of the each English archer so that they could never shoot an arrow again. This obviously enraged the English soldiers. Regardless of how tired the men were, they were ready to fight.
The French failed to take the advantage while the English army was in a weak position. As the English moved onto the battlefield, they limited the maneuverability of the French army by strategically placing themselves from tree-line to tree-line. To their west was the Agincourt village and to their east lay the village of Tramecourt. This natural funnel prevented the French army from utilizing the full potential of their manpower. The battlefield was fairly level but was extremely muddy. The past two weeks were marked with heavy rain, which turned the newly plowed soil into an area of muddy quagmire. This presented another challenge for the French army due to their heavy armor.
Henry set up his defensive position by planting large stakes into the ground in order to prevent cavalry from riding straight into the line. The archers set themselves up next to the stakes making it a perfect position for cover and also a place to store their arrows. Once the archers on the line were set in position, Henry “sent a special flanking force of 200 archers to Tramecourt in order to launch an ambush on the French” (Bennett 70). This was an example of Henry’s innovative and forward thinking level of tactics that would ultimately assist him in his victory. The archers lined up in the heavily wooded area and stayed out of sight until the battle began. This would act as a surprise-flanking maneuver, which later would strike a decisive blow to the French army.
Many historians offer a wide range of suggestion concerning French numbers. It is assumed that there were approximately 25,000 men on average. A man named Monstrelet, who actually fought amongst the French estimated that the “first division contained 8,000 ‘bascinets’ (meaning men-at-arms), 4,000 archers and 1,500 cross-bowman (Barker 72). In the second division there were an average of 4,500 men-at-arms and armed servants. The third division was primarily made up of cavalry and the numbers in this division are said to be close to 10,000.
The English archers shot off a barrage of arrows with their longbows that filled the sky. The French army retaliated and charged in a disorganized fashion towards the English. The men that lead the charge were the French cavalry followed by the first wave of men-at-arms. Their charge was completely stopped by the archers. They were cut down and forced to quickly retreat. The ground between the two armies was now worse off than it was before. The French army succeeded in churning the mud and increasing the difficulty to maneuver during an advance.
Moving forward slowly through the mud and back towards the English, the French infantry grew exhausted. The amount of effort it took to walk with such heavy armor sucked up most of their energy. Even as they drudged forward, they were taking losses from the English archers. Once they reached the English men-at-arms, they were able to push them back initially, but ultimately failed to break through the English line. As the cavalry quickly tried to retreat, the dismounted men-at-arms that were behind them were knocked over. Due to the lack of mobility in their armor, the French line began to lean, causing the ripple affect through the ranks. Loose horses and men, scared for their lives, did everything they could to fall back away from the archers. At this point, the archers were so close that the arrows were going through small holes in the armor. Although the French soldiers were receiving an incredible amount of casualties, they momentarily pressed forward and broke through the English line. Only for a short while, the French seemed to be taking the advantage. However, the French archers, men-at-arms, and cavalry were so tightly packed together, that they could not effectively use their weapons to gain any advantage.
The English started gaining confidence as French bodies started piling up and very few casualties were taken. Because of Henry V’s decision to hide archers in the tree-line, the French felt pinned down and were unable to push forward, retreat, or even move to their flanks. Finally, as the French drew closer, the archers picked up swords, hammers, mallets, chopping falchion, and axes, and began attacking the French from all angles. The French nobility, who once despised the archers, now fell prey to them. The archers who were protected by stakes did not need as much armor as a typical soldier, therefore they were much more agile in combat. The French men-at-arms, on the other hand, wore steel armor from head to toe that is believed to be over 100 pounds. As a melee ensued, the second French division bolted into the fight. As the battle continued to rage, d'Albret was killed and many sources provide information suggesting that even in the heat of he battle, Henry did not shy away from the fight.
Heaps of bodies were stacked on the battlefield almost as high as six feet. English soldiers were given the order to continue pursuit and killing continued atop thousands of dead bodies. Some French soldiers became stuck in the mud and could not pull themselves out, exposing themselves to the sword. Others suffocated after falling into the thick mud. Some of the English soldiers put together a party that went around the battlefield to round up Frenchman to be taken as prisoners.
Amidst the chaos, The Duke of Brabant was just arriving. He hurried to get dressed in his armor and wore a tabard that was quickly borrowed from a servant. Charging the English, Brabant was recorded as fighting valiantly. He was soon knocked off of his horse and killed. He was said to have been unrecognizable due to the clothes he was wearing, which he borrowed. The English would not have killed him if they understood his ransom value.
After pushing through and defeating the first and second French divisions, Henry remained cautious of the third division, commanded by the Counts of Dammartin and Fauconberg. Henry shrewdly kept up the English line fearing the French third division would charge and rally the prisoners. The only French success during the fighting came when Ysembart d'Azincourt raided an English baggage train. A mixture of these and similar events caused Henry to make the decision to order the killing of the remaining French prisoners. Henry believed that this was necessary in order to drastically reduce the risk of any French threat. After the French assessed the major losses in this battle, the rest of the third division turned around and fled.
Casualties for the Battle of Agincourt are not known with much accuracy, although many scholars estimate that French deaths ranged between 7,000 - 10,000. Although still a guess, a widely accepted estimate of English casualties tend to be around 500. Between the English and French, it is estimated that approximately 600 members of high social class were killed at Agincourt.
Henry reached Calais on October 28th, and settled his tired men down for a month of much needed rest. Upon his return home to London on November 23rd, he was greeted as a hero by his people. Henry V continued campaigning until 1422, at which point he fell ill to camp fever and died. Upon his death Henry’s one year old son became King of England and France; a position that Henry V would never hold.

Works Cited

Barker, Juliet. Agincourt. New York, NY: Little, Brown and, 2006. Print.
Bennett, Matthew. Agincourt 1415. London, England: Reed International Limited, 1991. Print. Campaign Ser. 9.
Curry, Anne. The Battle of Agincourt. Rochester, NY: Boydell & Brewer, Limited, 2009. Print.
Strickland, Matthew. Agincourt 1415: Battlefield Guide. Madison, WI: Pen & Sword Military, 2005. Print.