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English King Henry V and his force at Agincourt were outnumbered 10-1. The king, fearful of annihilation, sought a truce with the French, but his terms were rejected. And an English account describes the day before the battle as a day of remorse in which all soldiers cleansed themselves of their sins to avoid hell. The French, on the other hand, were confident that they would prevail and were eager to fight. They had not, however, taken into account the recent heavy rain. The battleground was a recently ploughed field, and the rains had left it mired in mud. This spelled doom for the French force, which consisted chiefly of armored cavalry. Demoralized by the fate of their cavalry and severely hampered by the mud, the French foot soldiers were completely overwhelmed. Once knocked to the ground, the heavily armored French struggled just to stand upright. Their limited mobility made them easy targets for the volleys from the English archers. Henry V triumph paved the way for English domination of most of France until the middle of the 15th century.

Next Installment: The Siege of Vienna