Siege of Harfleur, 1415 AD | Battle of Agincourt | A Baptism of Fire
On a warm August morning, a clear sky above the coast of Normandy announced the start of a pleasant summer’s day. Some 5,000 inhabitants of the port town of Harfleur, located close to the mouth of the river Seine, started their daily routines.
By noon, French fishermen dotted the open sea, casting their nets just off the coast, when a horrifying sight appeared on the horizon. A vast array of ships, heading south across the Channel.
The anticipated English invasion had finally come.
The great victories at Crecy and Poitiers had brought vast expanses of French territory under the English crown.
This apparently endless war that began in 1337, was fought over English claims to the French throne and various English possessions within France.
But in the years since, most of these lands were lost through a lack of determining initiative and the distraction of dynastic squabbles at home, as well as the dark legacy of the Black Death that disrupted the social fabric of most of Europe. By the early 15th century, only a patchwork of French territories was still under English control.
And now, in 1413, the 26-year old prince Henry V became the new king of England.
Having inherited the throne from his father, who overthrew the prior king Richard II, Henry’s position as ruler was far from secure in the early years of his reign, as sections of the nobility viewed him as the son of a usurper. Conspiracies soon arose against him…
…although uncovered and ruthlessly suppressed, the political discord and tension between the nobility and the royal house was laid bare.
Nevertheless, Henry saw an opportunity to both further reassert his authority at home and realize his ambitious plans abroad, by looking across the Channel.
France faced its own political crisis. King Charles VI’s insanity weakened the kingdom, leaving the affairs of the state unattended, resulting in a power struggle among the nobility.
This… was the perfect moment for Henry to press his claims. He not only demanded Aquitaine and the lands ceded to the English at the Treaty of Bretigny, but also laid claim to former Angevin holdings of Brittany, Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Touraine, as well as Flanders, which has never been in English hands.
Also, the French were to pay the outstanding 1.6 million crowns from the ransom of John II, captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, and Henry would get Princess Catherine’s hand in marriage, King Charles’ young daughter, along with a dowry of 2 million crowns – for some perspective, the price of a warhorse would’ve been around 80 crowns.
So the total amount of 3.6 million that Henry asked for could buy 45,000 warhorses, an amount close to 550 million dollars in today’s money.
In return, the English king would renounce his claim to the French throne, inherited from his great-grandfather Edward III, who was a maternal grandson of the former French king, Philip IV. Unsurprisingly, the government of King Charles, dysfunctional as it was, would not concede to such astronomical demands, instead offering a dowry of 600,000 crowns and an enlarged Aquitaine.
The English saw this counter-offer as an insult, claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed the King himself. Henry seemingly believed that his claims were just, and in his mind, if he could not get justice, he would take by force what rightfully belonged to him.
True to form, his preparations for war started long before negotiations with Charles broke down in June 1415.
The wily English King used the protracted talks to secure the support, or at least the neutrality of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, which would deprive the French coast of maritime protection. And… on August 11th, with a fair wind, the English fleet set sail for France.
The first objective was Harfleur. The fortified port had long been a thorn in England’s side, serving as a base for frequent raids along the south coast. Capturing it would thereby reduce the threat against English ports, and would serve as a vital base of operations into France, along with Calais, situated further up the coast.
On the afternoon of August 14th, King Henry’s army landed near the mouth of the river Seine…
Upon landing in Normandy, the decision was made to surround the town and cut off possible reinforcements and supplies.
Henry’s brother, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, was sent to block off the eastern approach, while the King remained to deploy the main body of the army. Siege weapons and 12 guns had to be brought closer to the walls to be effective against Harfleur’s strong defenses.
The town, with
its 5000 inhabitants, was protected by 4 ½ meter-thick walls, water defenses, and 24 towers, with a well-defended port, and a garrison of 250 men.
In his message, Henry demanded surrender, attempting to instill fear in the minds of the populace by citing a biblical law that gave him the right to put the townsfolk to the sword if they refused to yield, due to his right to the French throne.
Meanwhile, as Thomas advanced to surround the town on the landward side, a relief force appeared.
300 French men-at-arms rode with haste towards the gates, under the command of Raoul de Gaucourt. Although a small retinue, the presence of these professional soldiers would stiffen the resolve of the populace.
Determined to resist the invading army, the French closed the sluice gates to inundate the valley to the north. Harfleur would not yield to Henry’s demands for surrender… Soon after, the English siege train unleashed hell on the town.
Over the course of a few days, the bombardment inflicted significant damage to the walls and towers, with some projectiles reaching buildings in the middle of the town.
The threat of death from above became a daily occurrence for the inhabitants.
But the townsfolk and soldiers responded, manning the guns, catapults, and engines on the walls and bulwarks.
They harassed and inflicted heavy losses on Henry’s irreplaceable teams of gunners and siege engine crews, who had to get close to the walls to be effective, thereby placing themselves in a vulnerable position well within reach of the French.
At night, the resilient defenders made frantic repairs to their damaged defenses, much to the astonishment and frustration of the English besiegers.
And by early September, some 15 days into the siege, the summer heat turned the water in the flooded valley to the north into a stagnant and foul, disease-infested swamp.
As the siege dragged on with little progress, dysentery began ravaging the English army.
Siege of Harfleur, 1415 AD | Battle of Agincourt | A Baptism of Fire
The dire situation forced Henry to adopt urgent measures.
He ordered mines to be dug under the walls, intending to collapse the tunnels to undermine the town’s defenses. However, his mining crews were frustrated by counter-tunnels, dug by the French.
The stubborn townsfolk would tunnel their way to intercept and damage the English works and attack their crews, sabotaging all attempts to undermine the town’s walls.
Above ground, the English king ordered the wooden towers to be brought up against the wall to launch an assault on the town.
But, by this time the siege went on for a month. Although not lengthy by medieval standards, it required more time and resources than Henry anticipated.
Unsanitary conditions, polluted water supplies, and, as suggested by a contemporary chronicler, “bad effects of unripe fruit, grapes, and shellfish”, sapped the English army.
And having thousands of men, horses, and other animals nearby, along with the waste they produced, created conditions that were ripe for infections.
The outbreak of dysentery caused the death of many, while many more fell ill. Earls, knights, esquires, and archers alike were incapacitated, with many granted permission to return by ship to England to recover, once the siege was over.
However, reports of dysentery in Harfleur indicated that the siege began taking its toll on the town as well. But… despite privations, bombardment and disease, the defenders rallied, launching a sortie on the English siege works.
Led by Gaucourt, the French men-at-arms set fire to Henry’s siege bastion, before retreating to the safety of the defenses.
The English now faced the prospect of a prolonged stay under the walls of Harfleur. For Henry, it was now or never!
The King launched a desperate assault on the bulwarks outside the main gate, supported by a constant rain of arrows.
English bowmen managed to set fire to one of the towers using flammable arrows, which gave the dismounted men-at-arms the upper hand. Fierce fighting ensued, as the French attempted to drive the English back.
But, led by John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, the invaders took control of the gate fortifications, forcing the defenders to retreat into the town.
On the following day, the King demanded surrender for the second time. Again, he was rejected.
Frustrated, Henry sounded the trumpets for the troops to prepare a full assault, ordering the remaining guns to maintain a steady bombardment and not allow the defenders any sleep.
Frightened of the prospect of the town being taken by storm, with the biblical law permitting the slaughter of the inhabitants if they refused to surrender, sections of the population wavered.
Although he was determined to take the town by storm, Henry was relieved when the defenders agreed to open negotiations.
Talks continued for two days until, on September 18th, town officials agreed to yield Harfleur if no relief force came by September 23rd. Raoul de Gaucourt sent messages out but received word that the French army had not yet gathered enough troops to give battle.
No help would come. With no other choice, the Lord of Gaucourt surrendered the town on September 22nd.
After Harfleur had capitulated, leading members of the defending garrison were set free, on the condition that they gave themselves up as prisoners at Calais.
English officials were placed in charge of the town, allowing the French inhabitants to remain if they swore an oath of fealty to Henry, while the rest were expelled.
The invaders, meanwhile, incurred heavy losses.
A third of the English army was either dead or incapacitated.
Henry now had roughly 7,100 troops left at his disposal.
After resting the men for a few weeks, the King garrisoned the town with 300 men-at-arms and 900 archers, before marching out into the rolling countryside of Normandy, with 900 men-at-arms and 5,000 archers…
Second Begining 🙂
It is close to noon on a damp autumn day, not far from the castle of Agincourt.
The French army, led by Constable Charles d’Albret, stared down the invaders, eager to punish them for pillaging and burning their lands.
The English, led by King Henry V, were outnumbered, hungry, and sick.
Many of them anticipated that on this day, they would die.
Then, as one, they knelt in prayer.
Every man kissed the ground and took a piece of dirt to chew in his mouth.
When they rose to their feet, the English were ready to sell their lives dearly, to triumph or die…
With the formidable town of Harfleur now under English control, King Henry faced a dilemma.
His strategic goal was the urban centers and fortifications of northern France, which, once conquered, would serve as bases from where his troops and administrators could subjugate and tax the surrounding countryside, to pay off the war effort.
This plan gained widespread support from the people and the magnates, and large sums were borrowed to finance the campaign, in part through parliamentary taxation.
But the siege of Harfleur proved costly.
The English army was worn down by casualties and disease, and winter was just around the corner.
Worse, reports came of French forces being assembled near Rouen.
It was clear that Henry’s ambitious plans had to be put on hold.
At a council meeting, the King was advised to garrison Harfleur and sail back to England so his troops could recover.
But Henry knew that conquering the principal northern French port alone, would not produce a sense of victory and authority he needed to secure his position at home, nor would it cover the vast borrowings for the campaign.
Ignoring his councilors, Henry led his forces out of Harfleur, planning a swift mounted march to Calais.
He sent orders to governor William Bardolph, to ride to the Somme estuary, and secure the crossing point for the incoming English army.
Siege of Harfleur, 1415 AD | Battle of Agincourt | A Baptism of Fire
Henry’s advisers argued that sailing through the Channel would be safer, but the king wanted to demonstrate that he could pillage northern France with impunity – lands that he claimed were his.
However, upon learning of Henry’s departure from Harfleur, the Constable of France, Charles d’Albret, went after him.
He urged local nobles to mobilize their retinues and help contain the invaders west of the Somme, where he planned to trap and destroy them.
Three days into the march, the English reached the river, but there was no sign of Bardolph and his host.
Instead, French forces blocked the river crossing.
Henry’s plan for a fast campaign had backfired.
With the French gathering, the English king was forced to lead his army upstream to avoid being surrounded.
But Charles placed his forces well.
Fords and bridges were either heavily guarded or destroyed.
Knowing that Henry would have to move along the Somme, the Constable of France advanced with the main body towards the flat plains near Peronne, intending to intercept and give battle to the invaders.
French sorties were sent to harass and soften up the English column.
But then, inexplicably, Henry moved away from the river, heading southeast.
It has been suggested that during one of the sorties, some of the French soldiers were captured and interrogated.
If intelligence was indeed gathered that Charles was waiting near Peronne, it would explain Henry’s subsequent move south-east, to avoid the trap.
Far away from Calais and safety, English troops were dejected by rumors of a possible battle, concerned that they would be easily cornered and overwhelmed near the river.
Then, at last…
11 days into the march, scouts found an unguarded ford.
Once across the Somme, Henry moved around the French position at Peronne.
The journey, however, turned from a fast 230km march along the coast into a 426km trek across France.
The troops were tired… hungry… and sick.
And just when he thought that he had evaded the enemy, French heralds brought an ominous letter.
In it, Charles informed Henry that they would do battle before he reached Calais…
The King promptly force-marched his army north-west, cutting straight towards Calais, in the hope of outrunning the French.
But then… scouts rode back at speed with alarming news.
Having learned that the English forded the Somme, the Constable of France departed from Peronne on the same day, successfully overtaking Henry, and was now blocking his line of march, near the castle of Agincourt.
The English were now cut off from Calais…
With no major action taking place on the first day, the two armies settled in for the night.
In the French camp, meals were served and men yelled out for their servants, pages, and friends, with the noise reaching the English.
Some music played to keep the spirits up, and loud boasting between soldiers at dinner was not unusual, especially on the eve of battle.
But, in stark contrast, across the field, Henry instilled absolute discipline, ordering the troops to maintain silence in the camp.
He wanted his men to remain focused and be on their guard, fearing a possible surprise mounted attack by the French during the night.
Insisting that his troops keep their guard up proved wise when a mounted French party of men-at-arms and archers suddenly appeared during the night.
They came close enough for there to be a brief exchange of missiles.
A few English archers were reportedly captured, but without the true element of surprise, the French contingent rode back.
Heavy rain and cold weather created miserable conditions for the men camping out overnight, but the King kept touring the camp, encouraging the troops ahead of the battle.
Next morning, on Saint Crispin’s day, the French began deploying sometime after first light, while the English army left their tents well before dawn, as Henry wanted to be the first to deploy, to show the enemy that his men were eager to fight.
In the light of day, Henry was quick to realize that the dreadful rain from the night prior created an unexpected opportunity.
The soil of the recently plowed fields, sown with winter cereals, was not the fine loam of the vineyards of France, but the thick clay of the Somme that retained much of the rainwater, turning the ground into a sticky quagmire.
Aware that this would slow down any attack by cavalry or infantry, the king formed a defensive line, posting three divisions of dismounted men-at-arms in the center, with small groups of archers between each division, and two large contingents of longbowmen on each flank, in a concaved formation.
The bowmen fixed sharpened stakes into the ground in front of them, to disrupt the enemy’s cavalry charge and impale their horses.
200 mounted archers were secretly sent through the wooded area on the flank, with orders to wait for the signal.
This was a risky maneuver, as contingents of both armies patrolled the area around the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Charles and the French leadership deployed two lines of several thousand infantrymen and dismounted men-at-arms, placing archers and crossbowmen between the divisions, with contingents of cavalry on the flanks, while the third line was largely composed of mounted men-at-arms.
A few chroniclers mention artillery pieces, but it appears those played no part in the battle.
The size of the two armies is still hotly debated.
Accounting for the losses at Harfleur and the garrison left to guard the town, Henry was left with around 6,000 troops for the campaign, comprised of around 1,000 men-at-arms and 5,000 archers.
Meanwhile, the notion of a vast French is out of the context of medieval history.
Before 1415 AD, the last time a French King was able to muster 15,000 to 16,000 men was in the 1380s, and these were drawn from the whole kingdom, while in 1415 AD there was very little recruitment south of the Loire.
The excellent research done by Professor Anne Curry shows that it would’ve been difficult for the French to field more than 12,000 troops at Agincourt.
Furthermore, contemporary French records of military financial expenses for the 1415 campaign show that 6,000 men-at-arms and 3,000 archers were recruited, with additional men assembled in the weeks before the battle, for a total of around 12,000 troops.
Still, the French outnumbered the English up to 2:1, but the biggest difference between the two armies was in the numbers of men-at-arms, a 5:1 ratio in favor of the French.
Both armies were fully deployed by 7:00 am,
but the standoff continued for another three to four hours.
Siege of Harfleur, 1415 AD | Battle of Agincourt | A Baptism of Fire
The men hurled insults at each other, but the Constable of France was in no hurry, and Henry was outnumbered.
Neither side wanted to make the first move.
However, the English were desperately low on food and supplies, while the French were well provisioned, with some of the older nobles suggesting that they should just simply wait and let the English go hungry.
And as lunchtime approached around 11:00 am, many French nobles sent their servants to fetch meals, while others mounted their horses to trot around and keep them warm.
Seeing that the enemy was willing to wait and starve him out, Henry made a bold decision.
He gave the order: “Banners forward!”
Archers pulled their hedgehog of sharpened stakes from the ground and carried them forward to the new battle line.
Surprised to see the English line advancing, French divisions began to sort themselves out.
Then came Henry’s signal for the bowmen hidden in the trees.
The 200 archers unleashed on the French!
With the arrow, volleys came the shouting of hunting calls, designed to make it seem like the act of shooting at French nobles was no different than hunting wild hogs in the forest.
This was a deep insult for the French nobility who didn’t even recognize the existence of the ‘the lowborn’ English archers.
Enraged, the French were goaded into advancing!
Just when it seemed that the two armies were charging towards each other, Henry ordered the men to stop once they reached the extreme longbow range, and the archers quickly went about replanting the sharp wooden stakes in front of the line.
French mounted knights on either flank rode ahead of the mainline, tasked with breaking the large contingents of English archers to allow the dismounted heavily armored men-at-arms to close in.
However, the plowed muddy field slowed them down, and they soon rode into a virtual storm of arrows.
English and Welsh archers in Henry’s army carried more powerful bows than those used by their forefathers, and the armor-piercing arrowheads made the weapon much deadlier than its predecessor.
The arrow volleys cut down many of the knights.
Wounded and frightened horses threw their riders and galloped from the fray in panic, back towards the main French line, with some crashing into the incoming infantry, trampling over the men-at-arms and breaking their cohesion.
Soon enough, the cavalry charge faltered.
Most of the survivors fled back, stumbling past their comrades in terror, while a few brave men re-joined the attack.
The first French division slogged their way forward through the mud under a constant barrage.
Younger, more hotheaded nobles predicted that the English would be struck with fear by the approach of so many knights and men-at-arms.
That they were not was the result of the damage that their arrows had caused.
By the time the French reached the enemy, they were close to exhaustion, some wounded by arrows.
Still, the sheer weight of their numbers pushed the English back, but at a heavy price.
Many French men-at-arms shortened their lances in anticipation of quickly closing in on the English.
Shorter weapons would’ve given them an advantage in close quarters, but now the English had a longer reach, jabbing at the less protected legs and groin of the advancing French.
Those mortally wounded fell, and others piled up on top of them, many still alive who simply fell in the crush.
The second French division struggled into the fight, but this only made matters worse.
Pressing the first division from the back failed to add any momentum to the attack and only caused more confusion in the ranks.
With the English line stretched thin, archers dropped their bows and join the melee, pulling out their swords, axes, hammers, and daggers to add to the defense of the line.
Siege of Harfleur, 1415 AD | Battle of Agincourt | A Baptism of Fire
Being more lightly armored, the bowmen maneuvered their way in the mud much easier, cutting straight into the enemy formation.
With no reserves to speak of, King Henry himself took part in the fighting, as the mauling of the French men-at-arms continued, with many captured for ransom after the encounter. Within two hours, both sides ran out of steam and the battle was decided.
Those French who survived, staggered back towards the uncommitted third French division, now uncertain if they should join the fighting.
As the English were catching their breath, a local French lord appeared behind the English line, leading a group of knights and a mob of peasants.
Perhaps they planned to attack Henry’s rear, but they soon descended on the English camp, capturing the king’s beddings and one of his spare crowns.
Unsure if the French would regroup and he would become trapped between two enemy contingents, Henry ordered the slaughter of prisoners to prevent them from joining a possible third French attack.
As the systematic killing of prisoners unfolded, Henry sent a herald to the third French division, ordering them off the battlefield.
The third French line withdrew from the field soon after.
On the English side, casualties are thought to have been no greater than 600.
Earl of Suffolk died, as did the Duke of York died, trampled to death in the mud.
Henry himself defended his badly wounded brother, the Duke of Gloucester, in the heat of battle.
Meanwhile, on the French side, five grave pits were dug, each filled with between 1000 and 1200 dead.
Around 5,000 perished, though this number may have been higher.
The Constable of France died in the fighting, so did the Dukes of Alencon, as well as Boucicaut, along with many prominent knights and nobles.
This most incredible of triumphs had put the Kingdom of France on its knees…
The capture of Harfleur and the victory at Agincourt made Henry V a national hero in a kingdom only beginning to feel like a nation.
In just a few short weeks Henry had risen to become the diplomatic arbiter of Europe, getting a visit from the King of Hungary, later Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund in 1416, with whom he entered into an alliance that would serve him well.
Later he returned to France to realize his plan of conquering Normandy.
Rouen, the capital of northern France, surrendered in 1419.
Later that same year, the murder of Duke John the Fearless secured him a Burgundian alliance.
These successes forced the French to agree to terms outlined in the Treaty of Troyes, in 1420, recognizing Henry as the heir to the French throne and regent of France.
Catherine, King Charles’ daughter, was married to him.
Still a young king, he was now at the height of his power.
But these triumphs would not last as his health deteriorated during the sieges of Melun and Meaux.
Aged only 36, he died at the chateau of Vincennes in 1422, likely of dysentery.
