8. The Day of the Longbow
The French suffered one of their most lopsided defeats at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) in the Hundred Years War. A French army of about 36,000 men, including thousands of armored knights, was humiliated by a smaller English army of 6000 men, comprised of 5000 longbowmen and 1000 knights. England’s King Henry V was marching through Normandy to Calais when his path was blocked by a French army that outnumbered his six to one. Henry picked a position where his flanks were protected by woods.
The English choice of ground limited French options to a frontal attack along a narrow front over recently plowed muddy fields. The English monarch placed longbowmen on his flanks, and his dismounted knights and more longbowmen in the center. He had his men hammer pointed stakes in front of their positions, and awaited a French attack. The French obliged, and their commander ordered his first wave of mounted knights to charge. As seen below, that was an epic blunder, that led to a lopsided French defeat.
