The Battle of Agincourt, 1415

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Why the Battle?
The Battle of Agincourt was part of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Henry V was the King of England and thought that he could conquer land in France. He therefore went to France!
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What was a typical siege?
A typical siege follows the typical format of encirclement, battering the walls, attack, negotiation and ransom.
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What town did Henry V take over and what was this called?
The Siege of Harfleur.
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How was this a typical siege?
It followed the typical format of encirclement, etc... . Henry cut off town supplies, pinded the walls with catapults and as Henry prepared to attack, the town surrendered and asked for a deal. The town gave itself up for ransom.
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How was this NOT a typical siege?
Henry also used 12 cannons to pound the walls. This was one of the first uses by an English army.
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How many men did the English have and how many were archers?
English= 6,000 men, 5,000 were archers.
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How many men did the French have?
French= 20,000-30,000 and many were powerful mounted knights.
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Why did the English win? (4 reasons)
1) The indiscipline of the French knights. 2) The impact of the English longbow archers. 3) Henry inspired his men and kept morale high. 4) By choosing a narrow battlefield, Henry took away the French advantage in numbers of troops.
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Why did the English win? (continued...) (1 reasons)
5) The Siege of Harfleur gave Henry military and political control of the surrounding countryside and the supplies that they contained. - this basically means that the English had fresh supplies.
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What was French chivalry?
French knights lived by a code of CHIVALRY (a code of behaviour) that dictated how they acted in battle. It focused on honorable duels between knights. The French knights were outraged at being attacked by archers.
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What did the French believe when they were attcked by archers?
They believed this to be unchivalrous and they acted recklessly.
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How did Henry V chose the perfect defensive position? (About army being placed at narrowest point)
His army was placed at the narrowest point of the battlefield to funnel the French into a tighter space and make it harder for them to overwhelm the English.
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How did Henry V chose the perfect defensive position? (About farmland)
Heavy, wet clay farmland separated the two forces, difficult for cavalry to charge across.
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How did Henry V chose the perfect defensive position? (About flanks)
The flanks were protected by woodland.
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How did Henry V chose the perfect defensive position? (About stakes)
Long sharpened stakes were set in the ground and angled towards the oncoming French, to impale charging horses.
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How did Henry V chose the perfect defensive position? (About archers)
Some English archers used the shelter of the woods to fire at the French and provoke a reckless disorganised counterattack.
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What were Henry V's good decisions?
1) Fought alonside his men. 2) Chose an excellent defensive position. 3) Made his cavalry fight on foot, forming a solid centre to support his infantry. 4) Sent his archers to 'gall' the French into attacking over unfavourble ground.
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What were Henry V's bad decisions?
1) His march across France weakened his army. 2) He was trapped and forced to fight.
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What was the impact of the English longbowmen? How many arrows could they fire per minute?
They fired onto the sides, or directly onto the heds of the French cavalry. They could fire 100 000 arrows per minute.
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What was the mistake of the French cavalry?
The French cavalry tried to retreat but met their own advancing infantry.
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What tactics did the English use?
The English knights fought on foot, holding th centre. The archers joined from the flanks with swords and daggars. The English advanced and were forced to retreat.
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Card 2

Front

What was a typical siege?

Back

A typical siege follows the typical format of encirclement, battering the walls, attack, negotiation and ransom.

Card 3

Front

What town did Henry V take over and what was this called?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

How was this a typical siege?

Back

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Card 5

Front

How was this NOT a typical siege?

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