Happy Agincourt day folks. Let’s remember today in 1415 when an army of 6,000-8,000 tired, hungry, sick English and Welshmen beat a force of 30,000-40,000 fresh, well fed Frenchmen. English casualties 112, yes one hundred and twelve!, French casualties 7-10,000 dead plus 1,500 prisoners. I understand that with the French outnumbering the English by five or six to one it wasn't really a fair fight, but they did ask for it! 
Wasn't the primary factor in winning because the French in their infinite wisdom wore heavy plate armour and ended up mired in the boggy terrain?
ThePhranc wrote: Wasn't the primary factor in winning because the French in their infinite wisdom wore heavy plate armour and ended up mired in the boggy terrain?
That was a big factor. The English advanced then formed a line with their longbow (the WMD's of the era) men on two flanks. The French then chose to attack. The longbow men decimated their horses and caused panic, then the they advanced on foot a 1/4 mile over wet boggy mud while being harried by the archers who forced them into a tight wedge that the English men at arms could fight a few at a time. The French behind pushed the French in front allowing the English to hack at will. Mind numbingly bad leadership from the French all round. But hey, 6:1 odds and winning the day with only 112 casualties! That's something to be proud of.
Adrian_Thompson wrote: an army of 6,000-8,000 tired, hungry, sick English and Welshmen beat a force of 30,000-40,000 fresh, well fed Frenchmen.
Yeah...but they were French.
So what is the proper way to celebrate Agincourt day? Watch Henry V, mop up the oil from underneath your roadster, and take a drive into town to eat food with a crust and gravy while flipping off any Frenchmen along the way?
Woody wrote:Adrian_Thompson wrote: an army of 6,000-8,000 tired, hungry, sick English and Welshmen beat a force of 30,000-40,000 fresh, well fed Frenchmen.Yeah...but they were *French*.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
Heh. Ya beat me to it. Long live English Longbowmen!
Salanis wrote: So what is the proper way to celebrate Agincourt day? Watch Henry V, mop up the oil from underneath your roadster, and take a drive into town to eat food with a crust and gravy while flipping off any Frenchmen along the way?
Love it. That image is saved to my hard drive for future use.
Archers were considered the lowest of the low prior to this battle. Afterwards this proved that even on the field of battle a pheasant could stand as tall as a noblemen given the right technology.
Xceler8x said: ...a pheasant could stand as tall as a noblemen given the right technology.
Shrink ray?
That's exactly where I was going with that.
Eh, can't resist. (Apologies to Adrian) I'm well aware that Shakespeare's works are to medieval military history as Hollywood movies are to WW2..but damn, the words are so stinking pretty!
http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/crispen.htm
"French military rifles for sale- Good shape, never fired, only dropped once."
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/france.html
That is all.
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