GREGORY BALLARD
BATTLE OF AGINCOURT 1415
(CONTENT PAGE) (INTERESTING INDIVIDUALS)
As dawn broke on the morning of 25 October 1415, the prospects for the English army
camped around the village of Maisoncelles in northern France could hardly have seemed
worse. Ten weeks previously, England’s 26-year-old King Henry
V had landed an expeditionary force in Normandy where he planned to take Harfleur on the
Seine estuary before marching on Paris. Henry shared with his forefathers the ambition to
add France to his domains; in fact England had been at war with France intermittently
since 1340. Today we know this series of conflicts as the Hundred Year's War.
Harfleur
The citizens of Harfleur were unimpressed with Henry’s ambitions and put up a
spirited defense despite being heavily
out numbered. To add to this problem, the English besiegers were camped in swampland and
disease ravaged the camp.
Finally, after six weeks, Harfleur fell but at a serious cost. Of Henry’s original
army of 10,000, 2,000 had died and a
further 2,000 wounded and sick had to be returned to England. Henry realized he no longer
had the strength to march on Paris
and instead decided on a cheveauege, a march through enemy territory designed to annoy the
enemy but avoid battle. He would take his remaining troops 100 miles along the coast to
the English enclave of Calais at the narrowest point on the English
Channel. The 5,700-man army expected to reach it quickly and took provisions for only
seven days.
Their route included just one obstacle, the River Somme, but on reaching it, they found
French troops guarding the crossings, forcing them to march further inland to find a safe
crossing. The locals were eager to help with advice, not out of support for Henry but
because the last thing they wanted near their villages were several thousand hungry
troops. Eventually an unguarded
crossing was found. Unfortunately this involved a 50 mile diversion, doubling the time of
the planned march. The journey was further slowed by heavy rains that turned the roads to
mud. Once the Somme was safely crossed, the army continued its journey towards Calais. The
consequences of the delay now became apparent. The army was short of food but
worse, the
French had managed to raise a huge army and assemble near the village of Agincourt,
blocking the English path to Calais.
Agincourt
Sources vary greatly on the size of the French army: the lowest estimates put it at 30,000
but figures as high as 150,000 are quoted, the lower estimates are probably closer to the
truth. Henry tried to avoid battle, offering to return Harfleur and the prisoners taken
there. The French replied in addition he must renounce his claim to the French throne in
order to pass unharmed. This Henry refused to do and battle became inevitable. The French,
supremely confident of victory on the following day because of their enormous numerical
superiority, spent the night carousing, taunting the English across the lines and dicing
for the captives they were sure they would take. To offset their miserable condition, the
English had a number of things in their favor. Henry had planned his expedition carefully
and his army was not typical of the times. Throughout Europe it was normal for an army to
be made up of a number of knights, who regarded warfare as almost sport, and as many
peasants as the local feudal levy could raise. In contrast, Henry’s army was
specially recruited; his men were well paid, well trained and disciplined. Most of his
army comprised expert archers using the English longbow. Henry preferred a small,
professional army
to a large untrained force. In addition, Henry was a charismatic commander, popular with
his men and able to motivate his troops. One of the most famous speeches in
Shakespeare’s plays is Henry’s address to his men prior to the battle.
Some of the real conversation prior to the battle has come down to us. One of his
commanders, Sir Walter Hungerford, regretted that “they had not but one ten thousand
of those men in England who do no work today”. Henry replied, “Wot you not that
the Lord with these few can overthrow the pride of the French?
BARONS, KNIGHTS, ESQUIRES, SERVITEURS, AND OTHERS THAT WER WITHE
THE EXCELLENT PRINCE HENRY THE FIFTE, AT THE BATTELL OF
AGINCOURT
Ballard, Gregory
GREGORY BALLARD'S, WILL, 4TH, OCTOBER, 1415
(CONTENT PAGE) (INTERESTING INDIVIDUALS)
Author information goes here.
Copyright © 1999 by Adrian John Ballard. All rights reserved.
Revised: 01 Jul 2000 16:41:59 GMT Daylight Time.