Although played some time ago this battle report from Andrew W is worth the wait.

The Battle of Agincourt took place on Saint Crispin’s Day 25 October 1415 at Agincourt against a numerically superior French army. After several reverses and huge loses due to disease Henry rtetreated to Calais, but as they tried to withdraw they found their path blocked by a larger French army.

Henry V not only led the army into battle but fought in the front line. Constable Charles d’Albret led the French.

The battle has long thought to have been a portent of things to come with the demise of mounted nobility at the hands of competent long range missile fire. Along with Crecy and Poitiers it formed a triumvirate of 100 years War English victories.

The battle is also the centrepiece of the play Henry V by William Shakespeare.

The play includes two famous quotes “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more”, and Henry’s Saint Crispin’s Day Speech made popular in recent years “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”.

Armed mostly with longbows, the English win an overwhelming victory. The French suffer 10,000 casualties; the English, fewer than 30.

Using Big DBA rules the battle commences.

The French had the English forces cut off. They could have waited and forced the English to attack. But the Knights became impatient and attacked on foot.

Special rules for this game:

• The dismounted French knights (Bd) will be impetuous. It will take 2 command pips to halt a group and 1 to halt an individual stand.
• After 6 turns a die will be thrown each turn to see if the open ground 6 MUs in front of and behind the stakes becomes Rough. It becomes Rough on a 6 first time, on a 6 and 5 second time and so on until it must be Rough by turn 12.
• Dismounted knights get a -1 in Close Combat in the Rough and -1 MU on movement in the Rough. But not -1 in Shooting.
• Dismounted knights are not allowed to do Group Moves in the Rough.
• The English have stakes. They are not moveable. Foot can pass through them backwards and forwards without restriction. The stakes gave +1 to combat for troops behind them.
• Dismounted knights can interpenetrate friendly Bowmen and vice versa.
• Range for Bowmen is 4 MUs.
• English Bowmen fight in Close Combat as Auxillia against Foot.
• Shooting support. Second rank Bowmen can support front rank Bowmen. Maximum supports is 2.
• The French army loses if it has lost half of its Dismounted knights or a third of the army.
• The English army loses if it has lost a third of the army.
• Generals count as 2. Henry V counts as 3.

The battle begins:

These pictures show the starting positions of both sides. The French are already on their way in and the English are behind their stakes. The game was started at this stage to simulate the impetuous French knights rushing into battle.

 The French are moving in. In the background they are bring up their cavalry and archers to give support.

 

The first French casualty on the dismounted knights is inflicted by the longbows.

 

The French knights move in attacking the English knights and longbows behind the stakes. The ground has turned to mud (Rough in DBA terms).

 

The fighting surges back and forwards across the line of stakes.

 

The supporting French arches have killed some of the Long bowmen. The Longbows on the left have killed some of the French cavalry.

 

Long bowmen have recoiled the French knights on the left flank.

 

French knights push the English back beyond the stakes. Casualties on both sides.

 

The fighting continues surging back and forward in the centre.

 

The French supporting arches have recoiled the English Longbows of both flanks. The longbows are taking a toll on the cavalry supporting the French arches.

 

The final round of fighting takes place resulting in the loss of another French knight thus breaking the French army. The French lost 9 knights (BD) and 3 cavalry. The English lost 5 Long bowmen and 1 knight.

 

Shows the final positions from the French side.

The simulation worked well in as much as the knights rushed in before an organised attack could be arranged.

But the English Long bowmen did not rush in from the front and sides to clean up the French as is thought to have happened.

The scenario might be improved by not giving troops behind the stakes +1 against Foot.

We feel it worked fairly well and will be worth trying again with this modifications

A footnote by David S:

During travels in France sometime in the 90’s (I think – not sure which visit to France now) I took these photos of the battlefield (I will still getting used to a new camera so some are a bit fuzzy or maybe it was the Calvados):

Hardboard “flats” line the road into the town – already there is a gap in the line but the darn thing wouldn’t fit in the car.

On the other side of the road – you guessed it!

The entry to the museum.

The battlefield memorial.

The battlefield on the day of our visit – this was taken from a moving car.