Why was Agincourt such a train wreck?

England wanted to play civilized and take prisoners, France wanted to regroup and attack again like any other warmongerer of that period.

The prisoners were still on the battlefield, surrounded by fallen soldiers with swords and shit. If the French advanced again and even made a moderate dent against the English, the massive amount of prisoners could have just charged out towards weapons and fought back, even with the casualties it would have caused.

In the interest of safety, England needed to remove snails from the battlefield.

>>1268326
Daffyd Gam is the man 4 lyfe

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>>1268348
Fergot

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You mean why did the French lose so badly?

Basically because they weren't actually prepared for a battle. The French commanders wanted to starve the English army into submission by getting between them and their only outpost in Northern France, Calais. So they set up camp between Agincourt and Tramecourt on the Calais road. By doing this, they cut off the only supply line and route of retreat that Henry V's army had. This position was great for blocking the way to Calais, but wasn't really useful for much else. The field was very narrow and surrounded on all sides by forest. In the event of a battle, the French army would have little room to maneuver and employ its larger numbers.

The French had a much larger army. Estimates differ, but I think they outnumbered the English by something like 3 to 1. They expected the English to sit in defensive positions and wait for them to attack, which is how they won the battles of Crecy and Poitiers. The French command rightfully determined that an attack would be risky. So they chose not to. They could afford to play the waiting game. The English army was low on supplies. Henry V would surely have to sue for terms. On the morning of the battle, they sent ambassadors to open negotiations and try to haggle with the English king.

But Henry V went for broke. In an unprecedented move, he ordered his army to advance within bowshot of the enemy. The French were clearly not expecting this. They were unable to scramble their squads of cavalry to attack the English while they were moving, or to stop them from setting up their defenses once they arrived at their second position. The English archers began firing at the enemy. The French army, which consisted mostly of heavy infantry with melee weapons, was not suited for defending against this attack. With no room to regroup, they were forced to try to counterattack, but they ended up being trapped in a topographical funnel. Many died just from being too closely pressed together.

>>1268326
Watched a documentary about this recently. Basically everyone in the English army was organized and moved with perfect unity, while the French army was filled with minor leaders who did their own thing. This was a recurring problem until France started winning.