On 25 October 1415, the Battle of Agincourt was fought between the English under Henry V and the French under Charles d’Albret during the Hundred Years War.
Why did it happen?Â
One of the consequences of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 was that England came into conflict with France. William and his long line of successors disliked being vassals of the French kings, and in 1337, the English kings attempted to reclaim the land and the throne of France. Known as the Hundred Years War, the English won several victories over the French at Sluys (1340), Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356). By 1415, Henry V of England was the latest of the country’s monarchs to attempt the conquest of France. On 11 August 1415, he sailed to France with a force of 12,000 men to besiege the town of Harfleur. By the time the town fell on 22 September, his army had been reduced by disease and casualties to a force not exceeding 6,000 men. Marching towards English-held Calais, Henry was met by a far larger French army under Charles d’Albret near the village of Agincourt.
Who was involved?Â
The English army at Agincourt numbered 1,000 infantry and 5,000 archers. Henry V had arranged his army in a gap between two woods, with infantry in the centre and archers on the flanks. Furthermore, he had arrayed a line of sharp, wooden stakes to protect his archers from cavalry charges. Henry V commanded the centre, Thomas Camoys the left wing and the Duke of York the right wing. The French army at Agincourt numbered 10,000 infantry, 7,000 cavalry and 3,000 crossbowmen. Despite their superior numbers, the French were limited by the narrow battlefield and thus had to form three lines, one behind the other. The infantry formed the first line, the crossbowmen the second line and the cavalry the third line. Charles d’Albret was positioned in the first line, while Marshal Boucicault led the second and third lines.
What happened?Â
As the French cavalry charged the English line, they became bogged down by the soft, muddy ground and arrow fire from the English archers. Wooden stakes held off the few French cavalry that made it to the English line. The French knights fighting on foot advanced but suffered heavy casualties from English arrow fire. They arrived at the English line exhausted from plodding through the mud in their heavy armour. The English archers then joined their fellow knights in close combat with the French, exchanging their bows for axes and swords. At the same time, a contingent of French cavalry outflanked and attacked the English camp. Henry V ordered all his French prisoners to be killed, causing the French contingent to retreat. As the first line of French knights fell back, they became entangled with their advancing second line. Subsequently, Henry V ordered a mounted charge by his few hundred knights, which drove the French army from the field. English casualties numbered 400 killed, while French losses numbered 5,000 killed.
What changed as a result?Â
The Battle of Agincourt was an English victory. Although Henry V returned to England soon after the battle, he would return a few years later to campaign in Normandy. His successes led to the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, where the daughter of Charles VI, Catherine, was married to Henry, further strengthening his claim to the French throne. The French kings would relocate south of the Loire River until Joan of Arc turned the tide of the war at the Siege of Orleans in 1429. The Hundred Years War concluded in 1453 with the French victory at the Battle of Chatillon, in which the English were driven almost completely out of France. Only the port city of Calais remained in English control.
Bibliography
Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Harwood, Jeremy. Atlas of History’s Greatest Military Victories. London, Quantum Publishing, 2013.
McNab, Chris. The World’s Worst Military Disasters. London, Amber Books, 2005.