Customer Reviews

Agincourt. The King, the campaign, the battle

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The battle of Agincourt is a legend even to those, like me, who know very little medieval history. That a small army of English soldiers, vastly outnumbered by their French opponents, have won one of the greatest victories in English history is well known. Before reading Julie Barker's "Agincourt", I also knew that the key to victory were England's fabled archers, and that the British King had been Henry V, of Shakespearean, but otherwise relatively little fame.

I bought my copy of "Agincourt" while on vacation in the UK, in the Borders at Oxford Street. Thus I have read the English edition, subtitled "The King, The Campaign, The Battle". I assume Dr. Barker has not written two different books about the famous battle.

The star of Dr. Barker's book is one man: Henry the Fifth. His father, Henry the fourth, had been an usurper, and a fairly incompetent monarch. Henry the fifth, on the other hand, was everything a King should be - capable, true to his word, honorable, and extremely efficient. Henry Fifth was a man who did not take slights easily, and dealt with opponents, at home and abroad, swiftly, effectively, and ruthlessly.

An ambitious man, Henry the Fifth, a descendant of French Kings, and self styled King of France, hungered for territories across the tunnel. As a civil war was raging within France, Henry was offered land and titles from both sides. But having tamed their opposition, the victors, known as the Armagnacs, were unwilling to give a large part of France away to the English King. His peaceful quest for his "just rights and inheritances" frustrated, Henry V went to war.

The English invasion of France proved to be a complicated endeavor, requiring highly sophisticated logistics. Henry searched for funds and men, for ships and horses, for surgeons and singers. The unstable boarder with the Scots and the constant plotting of noblemen who would be Kings made leaving England a difficult and dangerous task. Barker goes into great detail (perhaps too much detail) to explain the logistics (and politics) of the Invasion.

Henry's invasion cannot help but bring to mind a more recent cross channel invasion. Unlike the allies' invasion of Normandy, Henry V encountered few obstacles to landing his troops, once embarkation started on the 13th of August 1415. Barker argues that this was the customary strategy for war in the Middle Ages - it was better to wait in armed castles than to risk clashes in the field (p.167).

After landing in France, Henry put a siege on the strategic port city of Harfleur. The siege faced unexpectedly fierce opposition, and an outbreak of dysentery, which prolonged it until late September. As the campaigning season was nearing an end, and as war and pestilence ravaged Henry's Army, Henry ruled out any more sieges in his French campaign. Instead, he would march towards the English owned port of Calais, in what was known as a "chevauche", essentially a grand raid. France's most experienced leaders, the Constable d'Albert and Marshal Boucicaut, urged restraint. The French should allow Henry to complete his raid, arrive at Calais, and return to England. Then they would retake Harfleur at their leisure (p. 267).

D'Albert and Boucicaut were overruled. The French Army would step to block Henry's chevauche and force battle near the town of Azincourt.

After narrating the political maneuvering, the preparations, and the early stages of the campaign, Barker dedicates three chapters to the build up for the battle, the battle itself, and the aftermath. Unforgivably, the book does not offer a map of the battle, and Barker's superb narration cannot make up for its absence.

The battle of Agincourt features some 6 thousand Englishmen, about a thousand men-at-arms and five thousand archers, against a French army which of four to six times as many men. But the English had numerous advantages: Their troops were well led by Henry and his men, while the French forces, made of a haphazard coalition from both sides of Civil War, was divided and poorly led. The battlefield itself was too narrow to allow the French to take full advantage of their numerical superiority. And the weather was on the side of England, as the rainy ground made progressing on the field extremely difficult, thus making Agincourt something of a static battle,favoring the English archers over the French soldiers and knights.

The final chapters of Barker's book are anticlimactic, as Henry makes his way back to England following his great victory, and Barker leaves him preparing for his next invasion of France, to take place in 1417. The French, meanwhile, are still fighting their civil war - as if the battle of Agincourt made no difference, except in culling some of the civil warriors. Unfortunately missing from Barker's book is a discussion of Agincourt's role in a larger picture - as a signature battle in the Hundred Years War and possibly a key event in English history.

Although somewhat overlong and over-focused, I found Barker's book entertaining and enlightening. I recommend it to anyone interested in Agincourt, the Hundred Year War, or the Middle Ages.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I must say I feel that there should have been more detail of the battle, thus the three stars. The preperations and lead up to the battle, while important, take up far too many pages. Only one chapter out of eighteen is devoted to the battle.

If you want to get a really good idea of what medieval warfare was like this is a great book, but if you want to really undersand the strategy and tactics of the Battle of Agincourt, you may want to look elsewhere.

Every book written from here on out should use this book as an example of how to facilitate understanding of the historical event being explored. I read the book once; I plan to read the book again. Juliet Barker makes excellent use of numerous sources to lay out the contemporary political climate, the social, cultural and economic factors that eventually led to this decisive battle. She completely immerses the reader in early 15th Century England providing for an outstanding historical experience. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of tactics, military/political strategy, military history in general; or if you just want to read about an epic clash of steel and the ultimate struggle of men.

A most inspirational and fascinating journey through time.

I received Agincourt as a gift and looked forward to reminding myself of my favorite Shakespeare Henry V quotes: For instance on receiving tennis balls from the Dauphin of France, an unfunny French joke, Henry V said "His jest will savour but of shallow wit, When thousands more weep than did laugh at it," or the classic rabble rouser before the battle "For he today that sheds blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile.." Barker strips the theatre from history. Her account is a fascinating exploration into the ambiguous political circumstances, the chivalry, the gruesome common sense strategy of war and above all the extraordinary courage and single-minded determination of one man. Anyone facing the toughest challenges, against insurmountable odds, should read Agincourt! And when it gets tough "Remember King Harry."

I have to begin by admitting that I am somewhat ruthless when it comes to the subject of authors. Of the roughly thousand books in my small personal library, few of them can engage me throughout, as I often tire of some minor defect in the author's style, technique or choice of content. Happily, that occurred only twice in my entire reading of Barker's Agincourt, the sum total of pages numbering around five of nearly four hundred splendidly written and highly entertaining pages. As a military historian, I can appreciate the immense challenges one faces when using history to both educate and entertain through the medium of the written word. Barker, however, has accomplished this masterfully! The quality of the work, both in terms of authorship and physical qualities, is superb in every detail. I would have liked to read a tad bit more as to the actual battlefield events, hence the four stars vice five. Lastly but importantly, I feel that it is imperative that the author convince the reader, gently so, that he actually possesses expertise and true knowledge of the subject about which he is writing. This is, sadly, not nearly common enough. Juliet Barker leaves no doubt that she is indeed the queen of Agincourt! This work has my strongest recommendation!

Juliet Barker has clearly done her homework regarding the preparations and diplomatic prelude to Henry V's invasion of France in 1415. This book provides wonderful insights as to how Henry built ,supplied and transported his army. It is inevitable that a modern reader would draw comparisons to the D-Day preparations of more recent times and I did. Barker spends much of the book explaining Henry's rationale for the war and the political background that gave him a firm belief that his was a just cause.

It is remarkable how challenging it was to organize and execute the strategy. One of the benefits of reading this is that it gave me a whole new appreciation for the complexity of midieval warfare. As other reviewers have pointed out the actual battle of Agincourt is recounted but the buildup and the campaign of Henry's army in France is really the primary focus of Barker's book. Since Shakespeare immortalized the events on the battlefield on St Crispin's Day this book provides a serious historical account of the political, social, economic and military background of the events leading to the field.

This is a wonderfully written book that is very well researched. It focusses on the historical period leading up to the battle and immediately afterwards. Only one chapter is actually devoted to the battle itself. Having said that, the impressive and detailed lead up, puts the battle into perspective in the one chapter. This really is a book that is about the Agincourt campaign, more-so than just the battle itself. If you are solely after information on the strategy and tactics of the battle, then this is not the best book for you. If you are interested in an extremely comprehensive account of the entire Agincourt campaign, the main characters and a compelling insight into the political, military and social events of the day then look no further, this is the definitive text.

Juliet Barker has written an engaging take on one of the great battles in the history of Western Civilization. Her prose is imminently readable, her treatment of the historical sources solid and her conclusions sound. The book would have garnered a full five stars from this reviewer if not for the fact that the last quarter of the book falls the slightest bit flat, which is a shame considering how well done were the preceding three-quarters. Even so, all in all, this is a solid and entertaining book. I am not a student of the Middle Ages, but, after reading Barker's take on Agincourt, I have been moved to read more about the period -- which is, I think, among the best complements one can bestow upon a writer.

If you love history this is a great book. I bought it as a gift and had to read it first. I'm so glad I did. Gave you a great background and understanding of the times.

Agincourt by Juliet Barker was a really good book. I throughly enjoyed flipping through its many pages. The topics were thoughtful and engaging, and I loved all the details on the campaign supplies. So all in all a good book.

The first part largely deals with the preparing of the campaign in England. Henry V assembles a massive army of 11,000 + men and he does this while entertaining French diplomats with the promise of peace. Then he builds up a massive fleet at Southampton and then lands in France on August 11

Then there is the campaign in Normandy. The Siege of Harfluer is the main attraction. Henry bombards the city until he razes the city walls to the ground. But the downside is that most of Henry's chief generals got sick: Thomas, duke of Clarence, the kings brother, the earl of Arundel, and the earl of Suffolk, who died of dysantry at the siege. Then Henry must march across the north of France and get across impassible bridges and massive rivers only to arrive at Agincourt by October 24, 1415.

The battle follows. It could have been better discripted, but on the whole there was a clear picture of events on the 25 of October, 1415. Henry fights astride his brother, the Duke of York was killed, and the French were massacred by the longbows. The battle was described almost as best as could be.

The follow up is Henry's progress back home, when on November 23, 1415 he wallks from Blackheath on the outskirts of London to Westminister Abbey. The celebrations were given and the held the scent of gluttoney.

This book is very well written and it should be bought.