Agincourt

At the battle of Agincourt, the English were vastly outnumbered by the French, were far from home with extended supply lines, suffering from illness and weather conditions, and worn out, yet the English under Henry V won a decisive victory. How was this possible against a numerically superior French foe fighting on their own soil?

There were several reasons why the English were able to prevail in the battle of Agincourt. The French leader King Charles IV was not a strong leader. He was a weak and incompetent leader. Henry on the other hand was a fearless leader. The use of the longbow was instrumental in the English victory and the strategic maneuvers of the English army enabled them to push the French army into a corner.

King Charles IV was not a forceful ruler and was not able to efficiently lead his army to victory. The French army outnumbered the English army, but this did not guarantee a victory for them. King Henry V was a fearless leader and was able to show his army that he was willing to die along with them. Henry V "dressed in complete armor except his headgear, because he wanted his face to be seen by his men" (Henry V). His appearance greatly encouraged his army. The night before the attack Henry was faced with an army that was tired, sick, and had low morale. He "ordered complete silence through the camp in order to give his soldiers the ability to rest." (Henry V). This order of silence made the French think that the English army had retreated. The French began to celebrate but they soon realized they were wrong.

The longbow was a great contributor to the English success in the battle of Agincourt. This enabled the archers to " rain approximately 10 arrows per minute per man down upon the enemy" (Henry V). The English army had "6000 soldiers and out of that 5000 soldiers were longbow men" (http://www.longbow-archers.com). This allowed for greater impact before and during hand to hand combat. The longbow was such an important part of the battle because " an arrow shot from a longbow, as opposed to a standard bow, has the ability to puncture armor and even though the French were heavily armored, many were killed before even reaching the field" (Henry V). The dead and wounded mounted up quickly.

The battlefield was in the shape of a wedge "with the English troops occupying the point and the French lined around the curve of the field" (Henry V). This proved to be a great asset to the English. The positioning of the troops on the battlefield, along with the use of the longbow,