The terrain, along with the weather, played an integral role in the outcome of the war. The fact that it was on a flat plain helped the French as most of their army was made up of men-at-arms on horseback. However, there were woods on either side of the battleground at Agincourt, which meant that the huge French army could not get behind the English army and surround them. This significantly reduced the intensity of the French army, as it meant that the French army had to go division by division, instead of a full-on attack the English. Another advantage to the English was that the day before the battle, it had been raining heavily. This did not hinder the English army much because most of them were stationary longbow archers. However this was a massive disadvantage to the French because most of their army was made up of cavalry and foot soldiers. They could not advance to the English ranks very well as they kept tripping up and falling down making easy targets for English longbow archers. Although this reason was important it was not as important as the English longbow. This could be seen as an English tactic which is one of the other factors that helped England win the battle of Agincourt.
The English tactics was superior to those of the French and that played a big part in the outcome of the battle. The strategy that the French used in the summer months of 1415 severely affected the English army as they were slowly starving to death on the southern bank of the river Somme. Whenever the English tried to look for a crossing to get to Calais, the French closely tailed them. However the English went further south, losing the French. Then they were able to make the crossing with no French army in sight. As they neared Calais, the French army closed them down and met the English at a small village called Agincourt. There a battle was inevitable. This helped the French as they were greatly prepared for the battle. On the other hand, the English were still starving, tired and suffering from dysentery. In the actual battle the English had a superior strategy. The English army had a defensive formation in place with longbow archers on the flanks, which meant that the men at arms in the middle had more space to fight. This was a clever move by Henry, as they had comparatively less men than the French. If the English had gone on the attack, then the French would have easily struck them down. They had pointed stakes in front of the longbow men that stopped the cavalry hacking down archers. In front of these stakes, the English dug pits that the French cavalry would fall into. After getting prepared, in a bold move, Henry moved his troops to within 250 metres of the French army. This let him send some men around the sides of the battle fields to provoke an attack by the French. This plan worked perfectly, and the French attacked in a very disorganised fashion. This made easy targets for the English longbow archers and so the French cavalry were forced to retreat straight into their own foot soldiers. This made it compulsory for the foot soldiers to assume positions in tightly packed groups. When these tightly packed groups finally came to the men-at-arms, they had no room to draw their swords. The English men-at-arms slew them without too much trouble. The first and second divisions of the French army defeated, the third division decided to retreat, resulting in a famous victory for the English. The English tactics were carefully planned out, and this was a major factor in the war, nevertheless it was not the most important factor, as this could not have been achieved without the longbow and without the terrain helping them. The person making these plans for the English was King Henry V, who was another influential factor in the outcome of the war.
Leadership was also a factor in the war. The English had a much better leadership figure, because English were led by King Henry, a very popular leader with the army. On the other hand, the French were led by Charles d’Albret, one of the highest ranked nobles in the country. The French were also co-led by four other French nobles. This may have led to a conflict of interests between the nobles, therefore creating poor tactics for the army. On the subject of leadership, the inspiring speech that King Henry gave his troops gave a huge morale boost to English troops that the French did not receive. It was such an important part of the war that it was even shown as one as a very crucial part of “Henry V”, the Shakespearean play. Although this could have played a part in the outcome of the war, it could not have won the war on its own.
The Battle of Agincourt was one of the most famous victories for England in the Hundred Year’s War. It will be remembered for many a generation. The longbow, the fact that it was on a muddy battlefield, the superior English tactics, and the inspiring speech by King Henry V all played a part in the war. If any one of these factors were not there, the war might not have happened. However, in my belief, the English longbow was the most influential reason in the war.
