Customer Reviews

Agincourt 1415: Triumph against the odds (Campaign)

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Agincourt 1415 (Campaign ; No. 9)by M. Bennett is a quality overview of an improbable military victory. In 1415, during the Hundred Years War, the English Army commanded by Henry V defeated a French Army many times its size. Bennett goes to great lengths to explain how this happened and concluded that it resulted more from the failures of the French to take advantage of their numerical advantage, then the brilliance of Henry V.

The book follows the typical Ospery format. The most significant difference is that Bennett goes to great lengths to discuss the controversies regarding the battle as well as the inadequacies of the commanding officers. Bennett does not go overboard with his praise for Henry V and discusses his success and failures.

All in all, this is a good read for one that wants an overview of the most famous battle of the Hundred Years War.

If you want a quick overview of the battle of Agincourt, this is the book for you. Mr. Bennett does a good job of: providing an overview of the opposing commanders, discussing the troops (strengths and weaknesses), giving the political background, describing the battle field and (finally) describing the battle. He also explains the differing interpretations of the battle field and the position of the troops. He also talks about a recently discovered document of the French battle plans (and provides the text) that was recently found in the British Library. I would be remiss to not mention that the book actually starts with the battle of Harfluer and describes Henry's retreat through the French countryside before the final battle at Agincourt. As with all the books in this series, the illustration are terrific and the maps and battle plans are worth the price of admission. As with most books in this series, it is quickly read and is a great reference tool for the curious minded.

The book starts off, as with most in the Osprey series, with an overview of why the battle occurred. In this case it was King Henry pressing his claim over the crown of France. The book then discusses the differences in leadership between France and England (England was governed by a King with both military and administrative experience at the head of a unified state while France was governed by a mentally unstable King with many internal enemies and hence a divided kingdom), the troops of both sides (both experienced and about equal in terms of quality at the lower levels), their weapons (bow vs. crossbow especially) and their strategies. Then the campaign is followed from King Henry's siege and investment of the port of Harfleur, his incursion into France and finally the climax of the campaign at Agincourt (complete with each side's strategy and how the battle actually transpired). The author concludes that the main cause of the French leadership was very poor leadership and a splintered command and control structure as opposed to the differences in troop quality. This fact lead to the French defeat despite the fact that the French greatly outnumbered their English counterparts.

The book is also well illustrated in terms of illustrations and contemporaneous paintings and sculptures showing how the different classes of troops (i.e., cavalry, bowmen, etc.) of each side appeared. Hence for the figurine builder it can serve as a useful reference. It also has quite a few pages dedicated to coats of arms of the various leading families involved. Considering the book's relatively short length of about 90 pages the 10 or so pages dedicated to this topic are probably too many.

In short, the book provides an excellent introduction to the battle for those with only an hour or two to spend on the topic.