On 11 August 1415, Henry V, the English king for two years, set sail for France with an army to substantiate his claim to the French Throne. His plan was to take Harfleur as a bridgehead before marching down the Seine to Paris and Bordeaux. There are a number of possible reasons for this campaign. It was an attempt not only to reclaim what Henry believed to be his lawful birthrights, the Duchy of Normandy and the French Throne, but also as a means of securing his reign by diverting attention from the problems at home. Moreover, it was not without provocation by the French who had raided the English coast. After a generation of defeats and setbacks, this English force held three main strengths. If properly deployed, the English archer was one of the most formidable fighting forces in Europe, the strength of Henry as a general and the disorder of the French leadership under the frequent insanity of a weak king.

Contemporary observers describe a fleet of 1500 ships that carried Henry's army across the channel. While this is undoubtedly an exaggeration, a fleet this size being many times larger than England's standing navy, it must have been an impressive array in order to carry a force of 8000 archers and 2000 men-at-arms together with artillery, horses, baggage train and camp followers. They landed unopposed on 14 August, three miles west of Harfleur. Harfleur was a strongly fortified town with strong walls, 26 towers, a moat, three barbicans (fortified gateways with drawbridges) defended by several hundred men-at-arms. The French proved adept at countermining forcing the English to rely on artillery for their attack. Medieval artillery was large and cumbersome with cast iron cannons up to 9 feet long and of over a foot in caliber firing stone balls weighing up to a quarter of a ton. There were problems getting them into position as the French also possessed cannon and crossbowmen placed on their walls overlooking their attackers. This, together with numerous sallies by the defenders, combined to make the lives of the English gunners miserable as they sustained heavy losses.

The besieging Englishmen were forced to sleep mainly on the ground drinking contaminated cider, wine and water. As a result, dysentery and disease was rife. Harfleur finally surrendered on the 22nd September which according to the laws of war, saved it from sacking. In the process, however, Henry had lost over one third of his army and many of the survivors were sick.

His original plan of marching on Bordeaux was now out of the question. Against advice, he decided the best way to "show the flag" was to feign battle with the gathering French army before outmarching them to Calais, 120 miles away.

Abandoning the artillery and baggage train, Henry placed The Earl of Dorset in command of Harfleur with a force of up to 500 men-at-arms and 1000 archers. He left on the 8th October with a force of about 900 men-at-arms and 5000 archers carrying only eight days provisions. The advance guard was commanded by Sir Gilbert Umfraville and Sir John Cornwall, the main body by Henry himself, the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Huntington while the rear guard was commanded by the Duke of York and the Earl of Oxford. They found the Bethune river flooded and were forced to march upstream in search of a ford which they crossed on the 11th. The following day, they crossed the Breste having marched 80 miles in five days.

On the 13th, they swung inland to cross the Somme above its mouth but discovered from a prisoner that a French force numbering 6000 blocked the crossing. Turning southeast, in search of a crossing, they marched for five days, becoming hungrier and hungrier before managing to cross the Somme at Bellencourt and Voyenes where a French cavalry attack was beaten off. All the time, the French kept pace. After crossing on the 19th, Henry declared the 20th a rest day that saw the arrival of French heralds to issue a challenge for battle.


"Our lords have heard how you intend with your army to conquer the towns, castles and cities of the realm of France and to depopulate French cities. And because of this, and for the sake of their country and their oaths, many of our lords are assembled to defend their rights; and they inform you by us that before you come to Calais they will meet you to fight you and be revenged of your conduct"

Henry simply replied "Be all things according to the will of God."


The 21st saw the English march 18 miles and 53 in the next three to be within two days of safety. Late on the 24th, the Duke of York's scouts informed Henry that the main French army had crossed their path and blocked the way to Calais. The English took up position along a ridge and the French also took up battle positions within half a mile but didn't attack, having learnt from Crecy.

Henry, realizing he was heavily outnumbered and the weakened state of his army; many had dysentery and all were exhausted and hungry having lived off nothing but nuts and raw vegetables for days, offered to return Harfleur and pay for damages in return for free and safe passage to Calais. The French, however, demanded that he also renounce all claims to French soil apart from Guyene. While Henry then modified his offer slightly, the negotiations proved unfruitful and they soon broke off after darkness fell.

Prisoners who had been taken during the campaign were released on oath that they would return if God granted Henry and the English victory in battle.

The English camp that night became very quiet, not only due to the exhaustion of the army and their precarious position; most expecting to die the following day in battle but on Henry's order. Silence was to be enforced at the risk of the loss of horse and harness for a knight or the right ear of a person of lesser standing. So quiet did the camp become that French outposts came to believe that the few fires in the English camp marked the position of an abandoned position.

The French camp, on the other hand, could not have been more different. So confident of victory were they that many sat up late drinking, gambling and boasting about who would kill or capture whom. Some knights even painted a cart in which Henry would be paraded through the streets of Paris!