The Battle of Agincourt

Battle of Agincourt

Belligerents

Kingdom of England Kingdom of France

Commanders

Henry V of England Charles d'Albret вЂ

Strength

About 5,900 (but see Modern re-assessment). 5/6 archers, 1/6 dismounted men-at-arms. Between 20,000 and 30,000 (but see Modern re-assessment). Estimated to be 1/6 crossbowmen and archers, 1/2 dismounted men-at-arms, 1/3 mounted knights.

Casualties and losses

At least 112 dead, unknown wounded [1] 7,000-10,000 (mostly killed) and about 1,500 noble prisoners [1]

Edwardian вЂ" Breton Succession вЂ" Castilian вЂ" Two Peters вЂ" Caroline вЂ" Lancastrian

Agincourt вЂ" Rouen вЂ" BaugÐ"© вЂ" Meaux вЂ" Cravant вЂ" La BrossiniÐ"Ёre вЂ" Verneuil вЂ" OrlÐ"©ans вЂ" Jargeau вЂ" Meung-sur-Loire вЂ" Beaugency вЂ" Patay вЂ" CompiÐ"Ёgne вЂ" Gerbevoy вЂ" Formigny вЂ" Castillon

The Battle of Agincourt (pronounced a zhin kuhr, or /Л?eК¤Ð™™nЛЊkЙ"rt/) was fought on Friday 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day), in northern France as part of the Hundred Years' War.[2]

The armies involved were those of Kings Henry V of England and Charles VI of France. Charles did not command the French army himself, as he was incapacitated. The French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. The battle is notable for the use of the English longbow, which Henry used in very large numbers, with longbowmen forming the vast majority of his army. The battle was also immortalised by William Shakespeare as the centrepiece of his play Henry V.

Contents [hide]

1 Campaign

2 Battle

2.1 Situation

2.2 Terrain

2.3 Fighting

2.4 Aftermath

2.5 Notable casualties

2.6 Sir Peers Legh

3 Modern re-assessment of Agincourt

3.1 Were the English as outnumbered as traditionally thought?

4 See also

5 Notes

6 References

7 Further reading

[edit] Campaign

Henry V invaded France for several reasons. He hoped that by fighting a popular foreign war, he would strengthen his position at home. He wanted to improve his finances by gaining revenue-producing lands, lands he believed had been stolen from him by the King of France. As was the international custom at the time, nobles taken prisoner would be ransomed by the relatives of the loser in exchange for their return. Evidence also suggests that several lords in the region of Normandy promised Henry their lands when they died, but the King of France took their lands and described it as 'confiscating'.

Henry's army landed in northern France on 13 August 1415 and besieged the port of Harfleur with an army of about 12,000. The siege took longer than expected. The town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. The campaign season was coming to an end, and the English army had suffered many casualties through disease. Henry decided to move most of his army (roughly 7,000) to the port of Calais, the English stronghold in northern France, where they could re-equip over the winter.

During the siege, the French had raised an army which assembled around Rouen. This was not a feudal army, as sometimes has been said, but an army paid through a system very similar to the English. The French hoped to raise 9,000 troops, but the army was not ready in time to relieve Harfleur. Then after Henry V marched to the north, the French moved to blockade them along the Somme river. They were successful for a time, forcing Henry to move south, away from Calais, to find a ford. The English finally crossed the Somme south of PÐ"©ronne, at BÐ"©thencourt and Voyennes, (Wylie & Waugh 1919:118)[3] (Seward 1999:162 [4] and resumed marching north. Without the river protection, the French were hesitant to force a battle. They shadowed Henry's army while calling a semonce des nobles, calling on local nobles to join the army. By October 24 both armies faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. The next day the French initiated negotiations as a delaying tactic, but Henry ordered his army to advance and to start a battle that, given the state of his army, he would have preferred to avoid. The English had very little food, had marched 260 miles in two-and-a-half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and faced much larger numbers of well equipped French men at arms. However Henry needed to get to the safety of Calais, and knew if he waited the French would get more reinforcements.

The French suffered a catastrophic defeat, not just in terms of the sheer numbers killed, but because of the number of high-ranking nobles lost. Henry was able to fulfil all his objectives. He was recognised by the French in the Treaty of Troyes (1420) as the regent and heir to the French throne. This was cemented by his marriage to Catherine of Valois, the daughter of King Charles VI.

[edit] Battle

[edit] Situation

Henry and his troops were marching to Calais to embark for England when he was intercepted by French forces which outnumbered his. English effectiveness and readiness was questionable as a result of their prior maneuvers consisting of an 18 day march across 250 miles of hostile territory under constant harassment. They suffered from dysentery, exhaustion and were further harried by inclement weather.

The lack of reliable and