thousand men was led by Henry V, and the French army numbered twenty-five thousand or more. The battle was fought on a narrow strip of open land near Agincourt. 6
With a four or five to one advantage, the French were likely overconfident. They had eight thousand heavily armed men, but they would only be effective in hand-to-hand battle, so they had to get close. Furthermore, between the two armies was a recently plowed field, and it had rained heavily during the previous days. So it was muddy, much to the detriment of the French, many of whom were heavily armored. But on the English side, many of the troops were sick and exhausted from days of marching.
The English archers drove long, sharp stakes into the ground at an angle pointed toward the French line. This helped protect them from cavalry charges by the French knights. The French formed up in three lines, with the men-at-arms in the front and the archers and the crossbowman behind. The French were expecting the English to launch a frontal attack, but they didn't. Instead, the English longbow men opened up with a barrage of arrows. The well-trained longbow men could now fire up to fifteen arrows a minute, so within seconds there were thousands of arrows in the air. Furthermore, to the surprise of the French, the arrows easily penetrated their armor. Many of the arrows struck the horses on their backs and flanks, causing them to panic; as a result, wounded and panicked horses galloped through the advancing infantry, trampling them. 7
The French men-at-arms tried to protect themselves as they moved forward. Because their helmets were the weakest part of their armor, most of them lowered their heads to avoid getting shot in the eye or through the breathing holes in the helmet. This restricted their vision. Along with this, they had to walk through knee-deep mud in places, and also over and around fallen comrades. And the barrage of arrows seemed to be unending. Soon the French ground troops were exhausted and disheartened; furthermore, they couldn't get close enough for hand-to-hand fighting.
To make things worse, the second and third line of French warriors didn't know what was happening up front, and they continued to forge forward, and soon they suffered the same fate. The battle lasted three hours, and in the end four thousand to ten thousand French were dead (according to various estimates), with English casualties as low as a few hundred. Many of the elite, including dukes, constables, royals, and so on, were killed. And again, it was the English longbow that was the decisive factor.
ORIGIN AND PHYSICS OF THE LONGBOW
The longbow was developed in several countries independently. In Great Britain it was first developed by the Welsh. And there's no doubt that they madesignificant advances in its construction, not from understanding any of the science behind it, but mostly from trial and error. 8
The English felt the effects of the Welsh longbow early on. It was used against them, mostly in ambushes and skirmishes at first, but eventually in larger battles, such as one in 1402 where the Welsh used it quite effectively against the English. This, of course, caused considerable concern for the English, and it also piqued their curiosity. They soon incorporated Welsh archers into their own army and learned their techniques.
The first English longbows were made of a single piece of woodâusually yew because it was particularly springy and sturdy. The major problem was that yew was not a common tree and was relatively rare in England. Because of this, they were sometimes made of elm or ash.
Staves were selected with great care and went through a relatively long production process. Oil and wax were applied to the stave to make it waterproof and help preserve it. It had to be relatively thin, and the length would be customized to the archer. The longest measured about six feet four inches, with shorter ones somewhat over five feet. Since there was a direct correlation
With a four or five to one advantage, the French were likely overconfident. They had eight thousand heavily armed men, but they would only be effective in hand-to-hand battle, so they had to get close. Furthermore, between the two armies was a recently plowed field, and it had rained heavily during the previous days. So it was muddy, much to the detriment of the French, many of whom were heavily armored. But on the English side, many of the troops were sick and exhausted from days of marching.
The English archers drove long, sharp stakes into the ground at an angle pointed toward the French line. This helped protect them from cavalry charges by the French knights. The French formed up in three lines, with the men-at-arms in the front and the archers and the crossbowman behind. The French were expecting the English to launch a frontal attack, but they didn't. Instead, the English longbow men opened up with a barrage of arrows. The well-trained longbow men could now fire up to fifteen arrows a minute, so within seconds there were thousands of arrows in the air. Furthermore, to the surprise of the French, the arrows easily penetrated their armor. Many of the arrows struck the horses on their backs and flanks, causing them to panic; as a result, wounded and panicked horses galloped through the advancing infantry, trampling them. 7
The French men-at-arms tried to protect themselves as they moved forward. Because their helmets were the weakest part of their armor, most of them lowered their heads to avoid getting shot in the eye or through the breathing holes in the helmet. This restricted their vision. Along with this, they had to walk through knee-deep mud in places, and also over and around fallen comrades. And the barrage of arrows seemed to be unending. Soon the French ground troops were exhausted and disheartened; furthermore, they couldn't get close enough for hand-to-hand fighting.
To make things worse, the second and third line of French warriors didn't know what was happening up front, and they continued to forge forward, and soon they suffered the same fate. The battle lasted three hours, and in the end four thousand to ten thousand French were dead (according to various estimates), with English casualties as low as a few hundred. Many of the elite, including dukes, constables, royals, and so on, were killed. And again, it was the English longbow that was the decisive factor.
ORIGIN AND PHYSICS OF THE LONGBOW
The longbow was developed in several countries independently. In Great Britain it was first developed by the Welsh. And there's no doubt that they madesignificant advances in its construction, not from understanding any of the science behind it, but mostly from trial and error. 8
The English felt the effects of the Welsh longbow early on. It was used against them, mostly in ambushes and skirmishes at first, but eventually in larger battles, such as one in 1402 where the Welsh used it quite effectively against the English. This, of course, caused considerable concern for the English, and it also piqued their curiosity. They soon incorporated Welsh archers into their own army and learned their techniques.
The first English longbows were made of a single piece of woodâusually yew because it was particularly springy and sturdy. The major problem was that yew was not a common tree and was relatively rare in England. Because of this, they were sometimes made of elm or ash.
Staves were selected with great care and went through a relatively long production process. Oil and wax were applied to the stave to make it waterproof and help preserve it. It had to be relatively thin, and the length would be customized to the archer. The longest measured about six feet four inches, with shorter ones somewhat over five feet. Since there was a direct correlation
Similar Books
