On this date in 1415, an English army under Henry V defeated the French at Agincourt, France. 10 facts about the Battle of Agincourt.
This battle took place during the The Hundred Years’ War, a long series of intermittent conflicts between France and England which took place between 24 May 1337 and 10 October 1453, which is actually 116 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days. It was basically all about kings of England trying to capture territory in France. The battle of Crécy in 1346 and the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 were two other English victories during this war.
Two months earlier Henry V had crossed the English Channel with 11,000 men and put siege to Harfleur in Normandy. Although the town surrendered after five weeks, the siege had taken its toll on Henry’s army with around half of them dead from battles or disease. Time for Henry to give up and go home. To get home, it was necessary to get to Calais, where his fleet was waiting.
Which the French knew. So they set a trap. A huge army of elite troops commanded by one Jean II Le Maingre, also known as Boucicaut, who was an expert jouster and tactician and out for revenge for the previous battles the English had won, waited near Agincourt, certain they’d be able to easily overcome the decimated English army and capture Henry, who would be worth a fortune in ransom money.
Nobody knows for sure, but it’s estimated the French army consisted of as many as 30,000 men, elite cavalry troops, while just 6,000 of Henry’s men were left; so they were outnumbered by 5 to 1. Not great odds.
Henry had some sneaky tactics of his own up his sleeve, however. He chose a recently ploughed field surrounded by woods to set up his army for the battle. The woods meant the French troops couldn’t surround them, and narrowed the area in which the troops could actually engage. Not only that, but crossing a muddy field in armour served to slow the French troops down. As they slogged through the Mud, they were shot at by English soldiers armed with longbows. Sitting ducks.
Henry’s army was mostly made up of longbowmen, who were paid six pennies a day, or nine pounds a year. They were mostly peasant farmers, who’d been required by law to practice archery every week since childhood. So they were pretty good. The weapons were powerful too. Each longbow weighed 140lb. They could kill an opponent who was 200 yards away and wound one at 400 yards. Each bowman could fire 15 arrows every minute; several thousand of them doing just that created a storm of arrows that, it was said, blocked out the light of the Sun. Not only were many French soldiers shot by arrows, but the arrow storm panicked their Horses, so many more were trampled to death.
It’s said Henry actually took part in the fighting, right in the thick of it, defending his brother, who’d been wounded. It’s said Henry was hit on the head by an axe which broke the crown which made up part of his helmet.
The French had one small success, however. Ysembart d'Azincourt, leading a small number of men-at-arms and about 600 peasants attacked a baggage train and managed to swipe some treasure, including one of Henry’s crowns.
25 October is Saint Crispin’s Day. He and his brother Crispinian were martyrs whose shrine was in a town called Soissons in Northern France, which had been the site of an earlier battle in which many English soldiers had died. King Henry noted, as the battle in Agincourt was about to begin, that it happened to be St Crispin’s Day, and winning on that feast day would be fitting retribution.
The battle inspired William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, written in 1599. The battle forms a significant part of the action and the play includes a famous speech, with the quote “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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