[MR] Wikipedia: Battle of Agincourt

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends of the Bow,

Yes today is St. Crispin's Day, and the anniversary of the Battle of 
Agincourt in 1415: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt .

While I do not in any way wish to minimize the valor and skill of Henry 
V's tiny mostly-archer army, which usually gets most of the credit for 
this stunning victory, Henry's careful choice of an extremely muddy and 
recently-plowed field, narrowing to the English position on high ground, 
and bounded by impenetrable hedge rows, had as much to do with the 
victory as archery. These factors are known today as "force 
multipliers". Accounts say the archers ran out of arrows about half-way 
through the battle (they only had about 100 per man), and their mallets, 
hatchets and daggers took down many French knights who were mired up to 
their armored knees in mud. Many more Frenchmen drowned or suffocated in 
the mud when they fell in the press and were stepped on by their own men 
pushing forward.

Messy stuff, war.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot