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Originally Posted by katana
Hi Miguel  ,
surely, Henry V chose this defensive position for the very reason it would 'restrict' the advancing French. Perhaps I have 'read' your comment wrongly ...but saying 'little' things that conspired to....suggests that this happened by 'chance'. The French were surely aware of this 'tactical' position, if not they must have forgotten the old saying...."he who forgets the past is doomed to repeat it".... or were unaware of the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae 
Regards David |
Hi David,
I agree with you 100%
Yes indeed, the bottleneck thing was intentional.
I've not studied Agincourt that extensively, but based on the materials I've browsed, I believe that Henry V exhibited superb generalship before, during, and after the battle.
Hence factor no. 3 [the bottleneck] was not an accident but it happened by design.
Along the same vein, the flipside of factor no. 4 [the cocky French] was the English's careful preparation on the eve of battle, and that wasn't an accident, too.
Whereas the French on that eve were celebrating their anticipated victory, we read of the English quietly preparing their armor and weapons, confessing to the priests [as 'Plan B' in case they do get wiped out!] ... and they must have all slept early as Henry V (and presumably everybody) "rose early" on the day of the battle.
On the other hand, de Wavrin also said that on the side of the French "those who could had their breakfast" ... implying that there were many who weren't able to (hey, with the partying the night before, it's obvious). Thus de Wavrin also said that "most of them [the French] were troubled with hunger and want of sleep.""
Back to the English side, we also read that before the battle, Henry V exhorted his troops to do their best again and again, for the love of their king, country, and kin (the "carrot"). And if they fall into the enemy's hands, they should know that the French threatened that all the archers will have their three fingers cut off, etc. (the "stick").
They say that before any battle, generals look at the eyes of their men to assess whether the will to win is there.
I'm sure that when Henry V looked at the eyes of his knights and men, he saw that indeed he has the chance to pull it off.
Back to the bottleneck thingy, if we will review the position of the troops on both sides right after the English archers on both flanks rushed to meet the French (after the English archers ran out of arrows), it is apparent that the French at the forward edge of the battle area were enveloped.
And with the French troops at the rear pushing forward, the French frontliners were then trapped in a vise-grip such that again quoting de Wavrin, "kept them [the French] as if immovable, so that they could raise their clubs with great difficulty".
What happened next was for sure a slaughter more than a battle.
In summary, it is agreed that while on the one hand there are factors that occur at random (rains, etc.), there are also variables on the other hand that can be controlled.