On this day in 1415 the Longbow breaks feudal France at Agincourt. The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years War, the battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispins Day), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France. Henry Vs victory at Agincourt, against a numerically superior French army, crippled France and started a new period in the war during which Henry married the French kings daughter and then Henrys son, Henry VI, was made heir to the throne of France. Henry V led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself as he suffered from severe, repeating illnesses and moderate mental incapacitation. Instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles dAlbret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. Painting: The Battle of Agincourt by �. See more paintings of this battle in the comments section. A History Two months before, Henry had crossed the English Channel with 11,000 men and laid siege to Harfleur in Normandy. After five weeks the town surrendered, but Henry lost half his men to disease and battle casualties. He decided to march his army northeast to Calais, where he would meet the English fleet and return to England. At Agincourt, however, a vast French army of 20,000 men stood in his path, greatly outnumbering the exhausted English army. The battlefield lay on 1,000 yards of open ground between two woods, which prevented large-scale manoeuvres and thus worked to Henrys advantage. At 11 a.m. on October 25, the battle commenced. The English stood their ground as French knights, weighed down by their heavy armour, began a slow advance across the muddy battlefield. The French were met by a furious bombardment of artillery from the English and Welsh archers, who wielded innovative longbows with a range of 250 yards. French cavalrymen tried and failed to overwhelm the English positions, but the archers were protected by a line of pointed stakes. As more and more French knights made their way onto the crowded battlefield, their mobility decreased further, and some lacked even the room to raise their arms and strike a blow. At this point, Henry ordered his lightly equipped archers to rush forward with swords and axes, and the unencumbered Englishmen massacred the French. Almost 6,000 Frenchmen lost their lives during the Battle of Agincourt, while English deaths amounted to just over 400. With odds greater than three to one, Henry had won one of the great victories of military history. Although the victory had been militarily decisive, its impact was complex. It did not lead to further English conquests immediately as Henrys priority was to return to England, which he did on 16 November, to be received in triumph in London on the 23rd. Henry returned a conquering hero, in the eyes of his subjects and European powers outside of France, blessed by God. It established the legitimacy of the Lancastrian monarchy and the future campaigns of Henry to pursue his rights and privileges in France. Other benefits to the English were longer term. Very quickly after the battle, the fragile truce between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions broke down. The brunt of the battle had fallen on the Armagnacs and it was they who suffered the majority of senior casualties and carried the blame for the defeat. The Burgundians seized on the opportunity and within 10 days of the battle had mustered their armies and marched on Paris. This lack of unity in France would allow Henry eighteen months to prepare militarily and politically for a renewed campaign. When that campaign took place, it was made easier by the damage done to the political and military structures of Normandy by the battle. It took several years more campaigning, but Henry was eventually 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. He was at the height of his powers but died just two years later of camp fever near Paris. — with Baz Mitchell.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:15:06 +0000