Based on studying an array of historical archives, some historians are claiming the Battle of Agincourt may not have been the great victory it’s believed to be. The new research suggests the French only out numbered the English at most 2-1 and they even may have been evenly matched.

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/18319...n-even-contest

There was a show on Public Television(PBS) called Battlefield Detectives(?) that examined the history & site, weopans, ect. They concluded that the longbows wern't as effective as advertised & the actuall defeat was caused by the nature of the soil. They think the soil changed from solid where the French started to a sticky clingy goo that, in effect, caused a "crowd stampede" disaster as the leading troops bogged down & the troops behind continued to push the crowd of troops forward, ending up in a mess that the English finished up with knives.

The English had to climb over walls of dead French men that were 6 feet high to get at the French. Now if the French only out number the English by 2 to 1 then their whole army must have been filled by French Aristocrats because most of those were wiped out. Still there is always some one around who will try and make their name be rewriting history

Whichever way you paint it, Agincourt was a military success for the British , of course I'm biased. The British army had suffered disease, starvation and other vicissitudes. They ended up facing the French and chose where to do battle - the French obliged and lost.

We can argue about the superiority of the longbow, the inferiority of command (on both sides), but at the end of the day a severley depleted, exhausted and hungry army took on a well fed and better armoured army and won!

For me the Battle of Agincourt speaks volumes about the arrogance of the nobility - their belief that knights were the only ones capable of fighting and the reality, that it is the common soldier thatwins wars, not just the man with a map and a big hand. Also that leadership by example and from the front do work and are essential for the success of any kind of fight.