The Battle of Azincourt
In the years that precede the battle of Azincourt, the situation is critical in the kingdom of France. Armagnacs and Burgundians are fighting a civil war. In this time of dissension between princes, Henry V inherits the throne of England in 1413. The situation in France allows him to unite and gather about his person a divided aristocracy, and to ensure the support of his subjects that desire a war in France. In the night of the 13th to the 14th of August, the English army lands in France at Cap-de-Deux, at the mouth of the Seine, and takes Harfleur after a difficult siege. Compelled to leave a standing garrison of 1198 men, king Henry V is forced to return to Calais with an army that is both tired, and smitten by dysentery.
The English siege of Harfleur
On the 7th of October, the army leaves Harfleur and follows the coast. The scouts' reports seem to indicate that a mighty French army is also marching in the area. This crossing of the kingdom of France turns out to be perillous, not only because of difficult weather, but also because of many French operations intended to hinder the English march.
All the bridges across the Somme River are destroyed on the orders of the constable of France, Charles d'Albret, at the head of the French Army. The French strategy is to lead the English into a direct confrontation along the Somme. Finally however, Henry V manages to cross the river at Voyennes on the 19th of October 1415 at an unguarded ford. On the way, the English archers are ordered to equip themselves with wooden stakes six feet long to set before themselves because a battle seems inevitable. Three French heralds come to inform the king of England that battle will be joined before they reach Calais, without specifying the place and time. Finally, on the 24th of October, the two armies meet but Henry V arranges for the fight to be delayed until the next day. In each camp, the reigning attitude differs : silent and dark among the English who are exhausted by the march and skirmishes, and ostentatious and pompous among the French, who feel sure to win.
The march of the English army
The battle of Azincourt :
On the 25th of October, at dawn, the armies rise and arrange themselves into battle order. Henry V, after attending three masses in the small chapel of Maisoncelles, sets himself at the head of the main battle contingent, made up of fighters arranged in four ranks. The right wing of this corps is commanded by the duke of York, and the left wing by the Lord Camoys. But this battle corps is split by contingents of archers, able to shoot arrows in any direction. However, the vast majority of the archers are set on the flanks of the English army, their cross-shooting were to leave the French vanguard's attack no chance of success. Also, a group of 200 archers takes position in the woods of Tramecourt so as to warn of an eventual surrounding manoeuvre by the French. Finally, the flanks of the English army, made up of archers, took care to plant their stakes in the ground to break the French cavalry charge.
This force is more than 9000 fighters made up of around 7632 archers and 1643 men-at-arms. Having arranged his army, Henry V waits for the assault while watching the French movements. On his end, one kilometer from there between Tramecourt and Azincourt, the French army, eager to fight this enemy that escaped it several times, takes position. The concentration of the great lords, princes, and nobles is so thick that many banners are folded up because they block the view of the main battle corps.
The French army is ordered into three « battles ». Naturally, the cream of the French chivalry wants to be present in the vanguard which is commanded by constable Charles d'Albret and by marshal Jehan le Meingre, called « Boucicaut » and made up of 3000 warriors, including the elite of the French nobility. However, it is specified that the presence of both the duke of Orléans and the duke of Burgundy is not wanted because of the rivalry between these two houses ever since the assassination of Louis d'Orléans in 1407. Offended, the duke of Burgundy, Jean the Fearless doesn't send a contingent and forbids his vassals from joining the royal hosts, a ban they don't respect. 150 meters behind is the main battle, 4000 men strong. These two first battles are made up of armoured men-at-arms who are on foot.
As for the rearguard, it is made of up to 4100 fighters including members of the lower nobility, and commoners. This rearguard was forbidden from fighting alongside the gentlemen who want to keep the glory of the victory.
Finally, these three battles are flanked on the sides by contingents of heavy cavalry made up of around 2400 riders. This cavalry's purpose was to break the ranks of the archers and thus facilitate the attack of the three battles made up of armoured footmen.
Map of the battle's location
Before the battle, the two sides, attempt a negotiation. The French demands are simple : they simply want the king of England to renounce his claim to the crown of the kingdom of France. But no agreement is found. The two armies prepare to fight in the plain of Azincourt that a night of trampling and heavy rain turned into a veritable field of mud. The face-off of the two armies lasts four long hours. The king of England ends up taking the initiative. With a sick and exhausted army, he couldn't allow himself to delay the battle another day. So the whole English army advances 600 meters to get near the French so that they would be within bowshot range. Suddenly, the English lines halt their advance and loose a volley of shafts. But, replying to this provocation, the French heavy cavalry charges without even waiting for their commanders' orders. The riders are first confronted by the impractical terrain, which had been ploughed and then soaked by rain. Most of them don't even reach the English lines because they are shot full of arrows. Those that do have their mounts impale themselves on the rows of sharpened stakes set up by the English. Maddened, the wounded horses turn about and crash into the following lines. The English archers, shooting ten arrows a minute, loose so many shafts that even the sky is darkened. Back in the third battle, the French crossbowmen can't return the volleys for they risk injuring the soldiers of the vanguard. The French artillery is also obsolete.
The French vanguard, the first ranks of which are armed with lances shortened to make them harder, drives the English line backwards at first. But, pulling themselves together, the English archers halt the French progress. Indeed, by aiming for the bascinets' visors and the mail collars, they force the French warriors to keep their heads down. On top of it, the English army is positioned between the woods of Azincourt and Tramecourt, forming the end of a funnel into which the French had rushed. By the time they reached the English, they were so tight they could hardly move. In half an hour, the French vanguard is cut to pieces. Panicked, the survivors of the vanguard fall back but crash into the ranks of the second battle that was advancing to attack. The crash of the two French battles creates an indescribable mess. The bodies of men and horses lying on the ground prevent any progress, breaking up the assault. Seeing that the battle is nearly won, the English fighters start taking prisoners. In the face of this massacre and confusion, many French rout.
At this point, the duke of Brabant, brother to the duke of Burgundy, arrives on the battlefield with eleven of his knights but doesn't wait for his armour to arrive with his supply convoy so he dons that of his chambellan before diving into battle. At the same time, just as the battle seems to be over, the English hear from behind their lines the shouts of 600 peasants under the command of Ysembart of Azincourt. They attack the king's bagage and pillage it. Believing that he's being taken from behind, Henry V, seeing the incredible number of captives and fearing that they might rejoin the fight, gives the terrible order to execute the prisoners. Thinking about the wealth they would have been able to obtain from ransoms, few archers obey the command. So Henry V threatens to hang any man who disobeys. So each man kills his prisoners in cold blood. Most have t heir throats cut while others are killed by mace or axe, or are burned alive in barns set to fire by the English.
Free from this problem, Henry V is once again ready to confront he French. Seeing this, the fighters of the third line, having remained in the back because of the absence of a commander, fall back. It is now 5 PM. The battle of Azincourt is over.
Map of the battle
The cream of the French chivalry perished in the mud of Azincourt : 6500 French fighters lie in the field of battle; among them are the constable Charles d'Albret, the duke of Alençon, the duke of Bar,
the duke of Brabant who wasn't recognized, along with 2000 horses. The one we consider the first gendarme to have died in battle, Gallois de Fougières, provost of the marshals, is also counted among the dead. The English losses are estimated at less than 1000 men, among them the duke of York and the count of Suffolk whose corpses are boiled and their bones brought back to England.
Barely is the battle of over, that the English soldiers pillage and scavenge. French soldiers found still alive are taken prisoner. The fighters whose injuries aren't serious are cared for while the others are finished off. The exact number of prisoners is counted between 1600 and 2200 captives including Boucicaut, the duke of Orléans, and the duke of Bourbon.
The battle of Azincourt is a sad spectacle on the evening of the 25th of October 1415. The loot taken by the English that day is such that the king of England forbids each archer to overload himself with loot. Once the bodies are scavenged, the English mutilate them so that no one could recognize them.
The corpses of the French who stayed on the battlefield are scavenged a second time by the local peasants, so thoroughly that the dead are left naked. The great lords and princes are buried in the neighbouring churches. As for Gallois de Fougières, he is buried in the abbey of Auchy-les-Moines, not far from the field of battle. The bodies of the gentlemen that can still be identified are returned to their families. The bodies that can't be identified are buried three days later in five mass graves that each held 1200 corpses. Then, at the place of the burials, wooden crosses were built. They were later replaced by a chapel that was destroyed during the Revolution.
The cross of Azincourt near the mass graves where rest the 6000
French fighters killed at Azincourt
The cream of the French chivalry was destroyed at Azincourt. The French army, once again plagued by insubordination, hadn't taken their English enemy seriously. Added on top of insubordination are an unsuitable battle plan, bad layout of the terrain, and especially the absence of a commander-in-chief. All these factors contributed to making Azincourt the most bloody battle of the Hundred Years War. Against all expectations, Henry V triumphed over the royal host. He then makes it to Calais, persuaded that God gave him the victory to punish the French for their sins. By destroying the elite of the kingdom of France, Henry V weakened it to a point that it had never been since the beginning of the Hundred Years War. The disaster of Azincourt had for consequences the signing of the treaty of Troyes in 1420, which, at the death of Charles VI, was to deliver the kingdom to Henry V. However, Henry V died prematurely, before Charles VI, bringing about the cancellation of the treaty, and a new continue the Hundred Years War which didn't seem to come to an end.
Commemorative monument to the battle of Azincourt
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Christophe Gilliot, Azincourt.
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