25 OCT 1415 Agincourt

[Felix/FFDS]

BATTLE OF AGINCOURT:
October 25, 1415


During the Hundred Years' War between England and France, Henry V, the young king of England, leads his forces to victory at the Battle of Agincourt in northern France.

In the grand scheme of things, I think that the importance of this battle is the beginning of the end - if not the definite end - of the knight in heavy shining armor.

While tradition has it that the victory went to the English because of the use of the longbow, reading accounts of the battle, and even the blurb on the History Channel site, I think that the outnumbered English forced the French to fight their battle - basically penning the French and removing their mobility, to where they were decimated first by the longbow, and finally, by the brutal hand to hand the resulted.

And to think, by the end of that century, new lands were discovered.

[Smoke2much]

Attempting to charge across a muddy field when you weigh that much is never a good idea, especially when facing men who can loose that many arrows per minute.

So today would be St Crispins Day then, cheers Felix.

Will

[H]

Henry didn't exactly "lead' his forces to victory: they were in a  retreat with the French too quickly advancing, catching them with the sea at their backs. Henry, certain that capture meant death, decided that death in battle would be preferable than being disgraced in surrender. He had managed to find a locale to better his situation slightly, being outnumbered about ten to one. The French cavalry (knights, if you will) charged, their horses struggling across the muddy terrain, with the arrows of English longbowmen raining down. Adding to it was the crossbowmen of Genoa; their crossbows (technically, more accurate at range) couldn't match the range of the English crossbows. This resulted in their bolts finding their marks in the backs of their own French cavalry. Already frustrated in the mud and now further angered, some of the French knights turned back and attacked their own Genoese crossbowmen; if they couldn't make it to the English lines, at least they got to kill somebody  >:(!

[ozzy72]

A desperate and bloody action, the French I think were poorly led as they were committed to battle without considering the terrain which led to their downfall.
But lets face facts English longbowmen were without a doubt the best in the world

[H]

...lets face facts English longbowmen were without a doubt the best in the world

I suppose you expect everyone to bow to your point or get the shaft?

[ozzy72]

To use the American euphemism body count counts

[myshelf]

the crossbows were made with ibex horns that turned soft in the wet weather. if that wouldn' have been the case, the battle could have well turned out the other way

[Felix/FFDS]

I don't think that that battle - on that day with the forces arranged as they were  would have had a significantly different result.... In the end, the French knights were pressed together, and many of the crossbow darts were ending in their own backs.

*Maybe* with many more knights and fighting men, and a willingness to sacrifice them, the French could have finally worn down the English ....  But the English were no Spartans and the French no Persians.

[myshelf]

we'll never know

the way i understand it the english were outnumbered, but with better leadership and choosing the battleground, and with some other favorable factors they won.

"what if ... " doesn't change history tho

[Felix/FFDS]

Beware - I am now dangerous - I have just bought an interesting book - "How Blunders and Chance Changed the Course of Battles" or some such title.  Agincourt is there...

[Smoke2much]

And at the end of the day we won the battle and should have won the 100 years war, but Henry V died too soon.  The rest is history lol

[H]

*Maybe* with many more knights and fighting men, and a willingness to sacrifice them, the French could have finally worn down the English ....  But the English were no Spartans and the French no Persians.

You'll have to check your book to find out whether there were any Tartans with the English but it's quite possible that some of the French were Parisians.

[Bombardier101]

Yes the British longbowmen were the best bowmen at the time, but Frankish (French) knights could take care of them without too much trouble

[H]

Yes the British longbowmen were the best bowmen at the time, but Frankish (French) knights could take care of them without too much trouble

Unfortunately for them, that's exactly what the French knights had: too much trouble .

[Hagar]

But lets face facts English longbowmen were without a doubt the best in the world

Hence the origin of the good old-fashioned English V sign.

PS. If I could access my home PC I would post my famous photo of Winnie.