Read Henry V: The Background, Strategies, Tactics and Battlefield Experiences of the Greatest Commanders of History Paperback for Free Online Page A

agreements, and he restored
    to the king the keys of the town and at the same time surrendered himself and
    the townspeople to his mercy.
    Henry himself didn't enter the town until Monday 23 September, when he
    came barefoot and walked to the parish church to pray for his victory.
    The surviving men-at-arms and knights from the garrison were paroled
    to surrender to the king at Calais on 11 November to be ransomed, and
    the townspeople were allowed to keep their possessions (though not
    their property) if they swore obedience to Henry; those who did not
    were held for ransom while all of the poorest were expelled. The town of
    Harfleur was to be remade with English colonists.

    Henry had his conquest, but it
    had come at a price. As many as
    2,000 of his men had perished
    of dysentery with as many as
    2,000 more having to be sent
    home, including his brother,
    Thomas, Duke of Clarence, and
    one of his senior commanders,
    Thomas, Earl of Arundel, who died
    on 13 October back in England.
    Henry had also decided to
    garrison Harfleur strongly, leaving
    some 1,200 men, 900 archers
    and 300 men-at-arms under the
    command of Thomas Beaufort,
    Earl of Dorset. This all ensured that
    his force was greatly reduced from
    the 12,000 or so that had crossed the channel with him. A number of Edward III accepts the
    different chroniclers list the figures of 900 men-at-arms and 5,000 archers surrender of the burghers accompanying the king on the campaign after the siege of Harfleur, though of Calais in 1347, Led by this may be on the low side, and Anne Curry has estimated that the force Eustache de Saint-Pierre.
    with Henry was a few hundred men either side of 9,000. On 27 September This is a manuscript
    Henry challenged (through Raoul de Gaucourt) the Dauphin, Louis, to illustration from the
    a personal duel to settle the issues between the English and French Chroniques of Jean
    monarchies, and while waiting for a response that was never to come Henry Froissart, and shows the planed his next move. The letter to Bordeaux of 3 September had stated aftermath of a medieval
    that Henry would advance through Normandy before going on to Paris. siege such as that at
    This was now impossible due to his straightened circumstances, but he had Harfleur. Following its
    the option of heading south-west towards Bordeaux and home, much as capture by Edward III,
    Clarence had done in 1412, or heading through his Duchy of Normandy Calais proved to be the
    towards Calais. Against the wishes of his council he chose this latter option. most long-lasting English base in France, only finally
    The march to Agincourt
    falling to the French in
    Between 6 and 8 October (the date varies between the sources) Henry and the 1558. (akg-images/
    remnants of his army left Harfleur for their march to Calais. The journey was Erich Lessing)
    supposed to take eight days, which sounds optimistic considering the distance
    was 232km (144 miles). The journey was contested along the way almost
    immediately, with a party of crossbowmen coming out of Montvilliers
    (5km [3 miles] north of Harfleur) to skirmish with the army, a pattern that
    was to be repeated along the march. The English army was organized into
    three battles, as was customary, with the vanguard under the command of
    Sir Gilbert Umfraville and Sir John Cornwall, while the King himself, along
    with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and Sir John Holland led the main body,
    while the Duke of York and Earl of Oxford led the rearguard. The army passed
    Fecamp on the 9th, and French chroniclers accuse the English of sacking the
    abbey there. On the 11th they reached the town and castle of Arques, just
    25

    inland from Dieppe, and Henry managed to acquire some supplies for his
    army through intimidating the garrison of the castle with the threat of sacking
    their town and fortifications. This policy again proved effective at his next
    stop, the town of Eu on 12 October when, following a skirmish, the French
    again submitted and