The Battle of Agincourt

A map showing the location of Agincourt (now known as Azincourt) in northern France

The "Battle of Agincourt" was a military engagement during the Hundred Years' War, fought near the village of Agincourt (now Azincourt, in Pas-de-Calais Department), in France, on October 25, 1415. The battle was fought between an English army commanded by King Henry V of England and the French army commanded by Charles d'Albret, constable of France.

Prior to the battle, which took place in a narrow valley near Agincourt, Henry V, claimant to the French throne, had invaded France and seized the port of Harfleur. At the time of the action, Henry's army was drastically weakened by dysentry and hunger. The English were marching towards Calais, from where Henry planned to embark for England.

D'Albret, whose army of about 25,000 men consisted chiefly of armoured cavalry and infantry contingents, intercepted the English force of about 6,000 men, for the most part lightly equipped archers. The English king, fearful of annihilation, sought a truce with the French. His terms were swiftly rejected.

The French troops at Agincourt were at a serious disadvantage from the start. The battle was preceded by heavy rain, which meant that their weighty armour would hamper their movement even more than usual. The terrain was muddy, the battleground narrow, and the tactics of the French commanders were faulty; they failed to consider the problems of using massed formations against a mobile enemy in such terrain.

Agincourt showed that once again the French had not learned the lessons of Crecy and Poitier. The French cavalry, occupying frontal positions, quickly became mired in the Mud. This made them an easy and obvious target for the English archers. After routing the enemy cavalry, the English troops, wielding hatchets, billhooks (a type of knife), and swords, launched successive assaults on the French infantry.

Demoralized by the fate of their cavalry and severely hampered by the mud, the French foot soldiers were quickly and completely overwhelmed. D'Albret, several Dukes and Counts, and about 500 other members of the French nobility were killed; in total about 5,000 French soldiers died. English losses numbered fewer than 200 men but included the Duke of York and the Earl of Suffolk.

The defeat at Agincourt completely discredited French feudal military strategy, traditionally based on the employment of heavily armoured troops and cavalry. Although his triumph paved the way for English domination of most of France until the middle of the 15th century, Henry returned to England after Agincourt.