Battle of Agincourt

battle_name=Battle of Agincourt

The Battle

The battle was fought in the defile formed by the wood of Agincourt and that of Tramecourt, at the northern exit of which the army under d'Albret, constable of France, had placed itself so as to bar the way to Calais against the English forces which had been campaigning on the Somme. The night of the 24th of October was spent by the two armies on the ground, and the English had but little shelter from the heavy rain which fell. Early on the 25th, St Crispin's day, Henry arrayed his army (about 1,000 men-at-arms, 5,000 archers, and a few thousand other footmen). It is probable that the usual three "battles" were drawn up in line, each with its archers on the flanks and the dismounted men-at-arms in the centre; the archers being thrown forward in wedge-shaped salients,

Related Topics:
Agincourt - Calais - Somme - St Crispin

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almost exactly as at the Battle of Crécy. The French, on the other hand, were drawn up in three lines, each line formed in deep masses. They were 50% more numerous than the English, but restricted by the nature of the ground to the same extent of front, they were unable to use their full weight (compare Bannockburn); further, the deep mud prevented their artillery from taking part, and the crossbowmen were, as usual, relegated to the rear of the knights and men-at-arms. All were dismounted, save a few knights and men-at-arms on the flanks, who were intended to charge the archers of the enemy. Prior to the battle, King Henry spoke to his troops from a little gray horse. French accounts state that in his speech he told his men that he and the dukes, earls and other nobles had little to worry about if the French won because they would be captured and ransomed for a good price. The common soldier on the other hand was worth little and so he told them that they had better fight hard.

Related Topics:
Battle of Crécy - Bannockburn - Charge

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For three hours after sunrise there was no fighting; then Henry, finding that the French would not advance, moved his army farther into the defile. The archers fixed the pointed stakes, called palings, which they carried to ward off cavalry charges, and opened the engagement with flights of arrows. It should be noted that these palings were an innovation: at Crécy and Poitiers, two other similar battles between the French and the English, the archers had not had them. The chivalry of France was not an army but a group of knights who came together by request from Charles VI. They were undisciplined and careless of the lessons of the battles of Crécy and Poitiers, and were quickly stung into action; the French mounted men charged, only to be driven back in confusion. The constable himself headed the leading line of dismounted men-at-arms; weighted with their armour, and sinking deep into the mud with every step, they yet reached and engaged the English men-at-arms. For a time the fighting was severe. The thin line of the defenders was borne back and King Henry was almost beaten to the ground. But at this moment the archers, taking their hatchets, swords or other weapons, penetrated the gaps in the now disordered French, who could not move to cope with their unarmoured assailants, and were slaughtered or taken prisoners to a man. The second line of the French came on, only to be engulfed in the mélée; its leaders, like those of the first line, were killed or taken, and the commanders of the third sought and found their death in the battle, while their men rode off to safety. The only success for the French was a sally from Agincourt castle behind the lines. Ysambart D'Agincourt took over the King's baggage. Thinking his rear was under attack Henry ordered the slaughter of the captives, who could easily have armed themselves with the weapons strewn about the field. The nobles and higher officers, wishing to maintain their ability to ransom the captives, refused and the task fell to the common soldiers. Though Henry's actions may have been savage, if the captives were to arm themselves his army would have been crushed between the French forces and the hostages.

Related Topics:
Crécy - Poitiers - Chivalry

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In the morning Henry came back to the battlefield and killed any wounded French who survived the night in the open, though all the nobility had already been taken away and any commoners left on the field were too badly injured to survive without extreme medical care not available for them in the immediate aftermath of the battle. The total loss of the English is stated at thirteen men-at-arms (including Edward, Duke of York, grandson of Edward III) and about 100 of the footmen. The French lost 5,000 of noble birth killed, including the constable, 3 dukes, 5 counts and 90 barons (see below); 1,000 more were taken prisoner, amongst them the Duke of Orléans (the famous poet Charles d'Orléans) and Jean Le Maingre, marshall of France.

Related Topics:
Edward, Duke of York - Edward III - Duke of Orléans - Jean Le Maingre

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Notable casualties

• Antoine of Burgundy, Duke of Brabant and Limburg (b. 1384)
• Philip of Burgundy, Count of Nevers and Rethel (b. 1389)
• Charles I d'Albret, Count of Dreux, the Constable of France
• John II, Count of Bethune (b. 1359)
• John I, Duke of Alençon (b. 1385)
• Frederick of Lorraine, Count of Vaudemont (b. 1371)
• Robert, Count of Marles and Soissons
• Edward III, Duke of Bar (the Duchy of Bar lost its independence as a consequence of his death)
• John VI, Count of Roucy
• Edward, 2nd Duke of York (b. 1373)