Battle Of Agincourt.
Created | Updated Apr 6, 2005
The date 24th of October. The Duke of York’s scouts had just informed Henry the 5th that the main French army had just crossed and blocked their way to Calais. This meant the English army, who were weak from their 180 mile treck and from the disease dynstery, had to fight the next day as rations were low and they would only get weaker. Henry ordered complete silence that night. This was imposed by the loss of a horse and harness (horses were the most valuable thing to a person) or the cutting off of the right ear for anyone of lesser standing. It was so quiet that the French soldiers thought the English army had disappeared through the night. On the other hand, the French sat up late into the night, drinking and gambling. Some knights painted a cart for which Henry would be paraded through the streets of Paris.
Both armies rose at dawn and assembled 1000 yards apart, facing each other. The English set up the way they had always set up. The men at arms set up in the middle, with 2,500 archers at each side of them angled in to allow them to fire at all times. There might have been some archers placed in Tramcourt wood to use as a flanking movenouver, but this can't be proved for certain. The centre of the men at arms was under the control of Henry, the right by the Duke of York and the left by the lord Camoys. For 4 hours both armies stood and faced each other. The French thought about leaving the English to starve. But were so confident of victory they decided against it. 1000 yards away, Henry knew he would have to force the French to fight. Henry ordered each archer to make a stake, then ordered his army to march towards the French line. They stopped 250 yards, close enough to hit the French with arrows. The English archers, on stopping, placed their stakes into the ground at an angle to pierce a horse but with enough room for a lightly armoured archer to move about easily.
The French formed up into 3 lines, with cavalry at each side. 1600 on the right controlled by the Count of Vendome and 800 on the left under the command of Clignet de Brebant. The French line, however, was a mindless rabble. Each Nobleman wanted his banner portrayed at the front and there was lots of jostling for position. The first 2 lines were, in reality, were a chaos of mess. The French believed themselves the most efficient military unit in the world when they were really just an armed mob of aristocrats.
To get the French to fight, Henry ordered his archers to fire a volley at the French lines. While not causing too much trouble, an English archer could fire 10 arrows a minute so another volley was already in the air when the First one hit. The cavalry, amid the confusion, charged at the English lines. It would have took 30-40 seconds for the Cavalry to reach the English lines, enough time for the archers to fire 2 or 3 arrows at them. The morning wait had meant some of the knights had wandered of due to bad command. This meant that the attack was seriously undermined. Few reached the lines of the English archers, and even few returned back to the French lines. Not seeing the stakes in the ground, they crashed straight into them. They were unable to break the English lines, and while retreating, were shot down by the archers. That was the end of the French cavalry.
The English lines were then given a short break, as the French men at arms wouldn't arrive for 3-4 minutes. As the French men at arms got closer, the English archers were able to fire at right angles. This meant that they were more devastating than before. Each arrow was fitted with a bodkin point, which were specially designed to pierce armour, adding to the destruction of the English archers. As they advanced, the French formed into three columns. This was partially planned, partially forced. The field narrowing by 150 yards forced them in. Also, the French saw the archers as inferior so headed for the Men at arms, meaning they closed in further. During the last few metres, the French would have run to add momentum the attack. The English may have stepped back at the last minute to wrong foot the French or if they had more men, could have charged forward themselves to steal the initiative. The French men at arms attacked without much support as the crossbowmen and longbowmen, outclassed by the faster rate of fire by the English, had been pushed back to the rear of the lines. Also, the trudge over the muddy field had meant that the French, exhausted, had very little momentum left. Due to the large numbers of the French, the English buckled but soon rallied. At this time, the archers would have put down their bows, and picked up a weapon and attacked the French on the flanks. A archers would lose a one on one, so it is more likely that archers attacked in twos or threes. Two archers would keep the attacker occupied, while the third would go around the back and take the person out by cutting his legs. Then, when the attacker was on the floor, would kill him by stabbing him in the neck or through his visor. With the force pushing from behind and the English at the front, the French were unable to attack or defend efficiently, so were easy pickings for the English soldiers. Due to the large number of French dead on the floor, they presented an obstacle to the following soldiers. Soon enough, a tumbling effect occurred. The French soldiers, being pushed from the front and behind, soon crumbled and were annihilated. The second line, upon seeing what had happened to the first, fled the battlefield. The English soon killed those that fought. The Duke of Barabant, who arrived late due to a christening the night before, led a brief but unsuccessful attack for which he lost his life.
During the battle, the English took more prisoners that the total of their army. These French soldiers were still fully clad in armour and were a threat to the rear of the English lines. When a mod of peasants under the command of 3 knights stole one of Henrys crowns and the Counts of Marle and Fauquember led an unsuccessful counter attack with 600 men at arms, Henry ordered the killing of nearly all the prisoners. Only those that could fetch the highest ransom were spared and taken back to England.
Both armies rose at dawn and assembled 1000 yards apart, facing each other. The English set up the way they had always set up. The men at arms set up in the middle, with 2,500 archers at each side of them angled in to allow them to fire at all times. There might have been some archers placed in Tramcourt wood to use as a flanking movenouver, but this can't be proved for certain. The centre of the men at arms was under the control of Henry, the right by the Duke of York and the left by the lord Camoys. For 4 hours both armies stood and faced each other. The French thought about leaving the English to starve. But were so confident of victory they decided against it. 1000 yards away, Henry knew he would have to force the French to fight. Henry ordered each archer to make a stake, then ordered his army to march towards the French line. They stopped 250 yards, close enough to hit the French with arrows. The English archers, on stopping, placed their stakes into the ground at an angle to pierce a horse but with enough room for a lightly armoured archer to move about easily.
The French formed up into 3 lines, with cavalry at each side. 1600 on the right controlled by the Count of Vendome and 800 on the left under the command of Clignet de Brebant. The French line, however, was a mindless rabble. Each Nobleman wanted his banner portrayed at the front and there was lots of jostling for position. The first 2 lines were, in reality, were a chaos of mess. The French believed themselves the most efficient military unit in the world when they were really just an armed mob of aristocrats.
To get the French to fight, Henry ordered his archers to fire a volley at the French lines. While not causing too much trouble, an English archer could fire 10 arrows a minute so another volley was already in the air when the First one hit. The cavalry, amid the confusion, charged at the English lines. It would have took 30-40 seconds for the Cavalry to reach the English lines, enough time for the archers to fire 2 or 3 arrows at them. The morning wait had meant some of the knights had wandered of due to bad command. This meant that the attack was seriously undermined. Few reached the lines of the English archers, and even few returned back to the French lines. Not seeing the stakes in the ground, they crashed straight into them. They were unable to break the English lines, and while retreating, were shot down by the archers. That was the end of the French cavalry.
The English lines were then given a short break, as the French men at arms wouldn't arrive for 3-4 minutes. As the French men at arms got closer, the English archers were able to fire at right angles. This meant that they were more devastating than before. Each arrow was fitted with a bodkin point, which were specially designed to pierce armour, adding to the destruction of the English archers. As they advanced, the French formed into three columns. This was partially planned, partially forced. The field narrowing by 150 yards forced them in. Also, the French saw the archers as inferior so headed for the Men at arms, meaning they closed in further. During the last few metres, the French would have run to add momentum the attack. The English may have stepped back at the last minute to wrong foot the French or if they had more men, could have charged forward themselves to steal the initiative. The French men at arms attacked without much support as the crossbowmen and longbowmen, outclassed by the faster rate of fire by the English, had been pushed back to the rear of the lines. Also, the trudge over the muddy field had meant that the French, exhausted, had very little momentum left. Due to the large numbers of the French, the English buckled but soon rallied. At this time, the archers would have put down their bows, and picked up a weapon and attacked the French on the flanks. A archers would lose a one on one, so it is more likely that archers attacked in twos or threes. Two archers would keep the attacker occupied, while the third would go around the back and take the person out by cutting his legs. Then, when the attacker was on the floor, would kill him by stabbing him in the neck or through his visor. With the force pushing from behind and the English at the front, the French were unable to attack or defend efficiently, so were easy pickings for the English soldiers. Due to the large number of French dead on the floor, they presented an obstacle to the following soldiers. Soon enough, a tumbling effect occurred. The French soldiers, being pushed from the front and behind, soon crumbled and were annihilated. The second line, upon seeing what had happened to the first, fled the battlefield. The English soon killed those that fought. The Duke of Barabant, who arrived late due to a christening the night before, led a brief but unsuccessful attack for which he lost his life.
During the battle, the English took more prisoners that the total of their army. These French soldiers were still fully clad in armour and were a threat to the rear of the English lines. When a mod of peasants under the command of 3 knights stole one of Henrys crowns and the Counts of Marle and Fauquember led an unsuccessful counter attack with 600 men at arms, Henry ordered the killing of nearly all the prisoners. Only those that could fetch the highest ransom were spared and taken back to England.
