james

The Feast of Christmas is a significant day. England achieved a great victory at Agincourt, despite being outnumbered by the French. The English army used strategic positioning and their longbowmen to defeat the French cavalry. The French infantry eventually charged, but the English held their ground. Many French units surrendered or fled, resulting in a stunning victory for the English. This battle had a lasting impact and is remembered as a symbol of strength and resilience. This day is called the Feast of Christmas. He that outlives this day and comes safe home will stand at tiptoe when this day is named and rouse him at the name of Christ. Our King went forth to Normandy with grace and might of chivalry. Wherefore England may cry Deo Gratias, Deo Gratia Anglia Rede Pro Victoria. The great victory was Agincourt as described by the Agincourt Carol. The battle that has resounded through the centuries has been used by so many to mean so much. Henry V invaded France with a small fleet and some unrealistic goals. After campaigning for a few months and achieving very modest success he resolved to return home to English held Calais. As the English approached Calais the French army pursued them north. By this point the English were exhausted and the French army easily caught up with them placing themselves between the English army and the coast. The English were now cut off, stuck in enemy territory with winter fast approaching. Let's now take a moment to look at the relative strength of these two armies. The French army was made up of about 2,400 cavalry 7,600 heavy infantry 4,000 archers and 1,500 crossbowmen. The English army had 0 cavalry 1,000 infantry 5,000 archers and 0 crossbowmen. Did the low rate English play at dice and shied to cripple tardy gated night? Like a foul and ugly witch doth limp so tediously away the poor condemned English. On the eve of battle he knew that this deserves his sickly defeated forces to face an impossible task. The French army was made up of about 2,500 cavalry to face an impossible task. Tomorrow on the fields of Agincourt they are taking on 1,600 French nobles and soldiers complete with an armoured cavalry. What's more the English army are outnumbered by the French 5 to 1. Likely Henry gave his troops a rousing speech similar to what we see in Shakespeare's St. Crispin's Fair. Let's watch with us upon St. Crispin's Day. The French arrayed themselves into three even lines. These lines were mixed but most of their cavalry was placed forward on their wings while their archers were held back in the third line. The English being outnumbered arrayed themselves in one line with their infantry positioned in the centre and archers on each flank. They also concealed some archers in the woods on either side of the field. The archers also positioned large wooden stakes in front of them in an offensive stance used to funnel their cavalry into their heavy infantry. They were otherwise undefended. Neither army wanted to make the first move. The French had several thousand men who had fallen behind during the march. These men would be tricking in over the next few days plus they were well supplied. The English were happy with their makeshift defensive position. They didn't want to leave. After a lot of deliberation the English archers dismantled their wooden stakes and began moving forward. Form our lines. Form our lines! Shields up! Advance! Come on! The English advanced until they put the French into the extreme range of the London and fell long before being halted. The French cleared their front lines to advance but after being hit with unexpectedly heavy air fire some units began to fall back. This caused general disarray among the French lads and the battle was only a minute tall. The cavalry however were undetected and charged into the English archers who found themselves in an exposed position. Soon enough the French were also to find themselves held in sight. It was some isolated hand-to-hand combat but for the most part the cavalry just dashed back and forth. After failing to regroup and send a second charge the French cavalry was forced to retreat. All order broke down amongst the French ranks as hundreds of cavalrymen compression and clearing infantry causing general pandemonium. The French infantry and cavalry regrouped and began a slow advance. The ground had been torn up from the failed cavalry charges and the men on the ground struggled to navigate the mud. All the while the English archers were unleashing pure hell. Archers! Charge! Archers! The exhausted French infantry eventually charged the English centre and the English began to give. As you can imagine the Longbowmen were fuelled there with the stationary infantry. Once the Longbowmen had run out of arrows they began pitching their cannons and reinforcing over the infantry. The English came close to the infantry and took an excellent stand. The English were fighting for their lives and after a few hours a few French units broke off and the English, still on their toes, began filling the gaps. The commanders of the French infantry were all dead. Leaderless, French units began surrendering en masse. Any remaining units broke and fled. The English had thousands of prisoners who still faced the uncommitted third life. The English sent the message withdraw or be slaughtered. The French third quickly got the message and withdrew from the field. The battle was now over and it was a stunning victory for the English. More than half of France's forces were now laid dead on the battlefield. Peace treaties of the Hundred Years War didn't aid peace but rather produced war violence. When we consider next to Agincourt there are background factors which affect the temperament of the two countries towards each other. More than anything, Agincourt was an impressive battle and a sequence of events but its legacy defies time. Almighty God, He keep our King His people and all His well-willing and give them grace without ending in they we call and safely sing. In memory of Agincourt In memory of Agincourt In memory of Agincourt In memory of Agincourt