Battle of Agincourt (Azincourt) 1415

The Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415 was a pivotal date in The Hundred Years' War between England and France. The outcome of the battle betweeen the armies of King Henry V of England and King Philip VI of France and the way in which it was fought and won changed the nature of medieval warfare in Europe.

There were 2 factors that basically decided the outcome of the battle - the weather and the longbow of the English archers. The muddy terrain and the effectiveness of the longbow (which the French did not use) rendered the French knights ineffective against the English line.

This video of part of the battlefield pans left to right across ground (thick in mud at the time from previous heavy rain) which the French knights had to cover in order to reach the English position. The higher ground on which Henry V had positioned his army was another factor in the battle outcome as it gave the English archers increased advantage.

IMPORTANT HISTORICAL NOTE: The size of the English and French armies has been wrongly portrayed for a long time and created the general belief that the English were massively outnumbered. However, that was not apparently the case. According to Professor Anne Curry BA, MA, PhD, FRHistS, FSA, FHA and her book "Agincourt: A New History", the English army numbered 8,500-9,000 with the French army larger by only a few thousand at most. For more about Professor Curry's research visit https://www.southampton.ac.uk/history...


Recommended resources for further information on the Battle of Agincourt:
Detailed background to the Battle of Agincourt by the Royal Armouries https://royalarmouries.org/stories/wa...
More about the battlefield terrain on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...