Agincourt 1415: Triumph Against the Odds

Agincourt is one of the most evocative names in English military history. Remembered as a fifteenth-century Dunkirk, the battle is part of the great English tradition of victory in the face of vastly superior forces. The French army, according to chroniclers, was between three to six times as large as that of the English and composed the flower of France's chivalry. Henry V's forces were numerically weakened by their earlier siege-action at Harfleur, and had become increasingly tired, hungry, and ill as they journeyed through enemy territory on their way to the safe port of Calais. The appearance of large French forces blocking their way seemed to signal the end of Henry V's brief attempt at the crown of France. However, the English had several advantages over their enemies. Not only was their command structure far more coherent than that of the French, but also their forces had far greater tactical flexibility. English success in arms was based on the extremely effective combination of heavily armoured men-at-arms with troops armed with the long-range, quick-firing longbow. The havoc that this weapon wreaked on the French forces before they were close enough to engage with the English knights was crucial for the English victory, as was the disorganisation of the French forces and the unforeseen problems in their pre-prepared battle plan. Matthew Bennett examines the Agincourt campaign from the siege of Harfleur to the aftermath of the battle at Agincourt itself. Ably using original fifteenth century evidence, including the surviving French battle plan and the accounts of men present in both armies, Bennett discusses the lead-up to the battle, the tactical dispositions of the two forcesand the reasons for the ultimate English success. What results is a full and extremely interesting account of one of the most important campaigns of the Hundred Years' War.