Yeomen: The 9 Card Agincourt Game
Yeomen: The 9 Card Agincourt Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 1.0 Introduction
- 2.0 Explanation of Game Terms
- 3.0 Game Components
- 4.0 Game Setup
- 5.0 Strength Dice
- 6.0 Sequence of Play
- 7.0 Card Play Phase
- 8.0 Movement
- 9.0 Strengthen Infantry Units
- 10.0 Crossbowmen Fire
- 11.0 English Archer Phase
- 12.0 Combat Phase
- 13.0 Retreating Units
- 14.0 Colliding Units
- 15.0 Victory or Loss Check Phase
- 16.0 Easier Variant (No Crossbowmen)
- 17.0 Turn Example
- 18.0 Event Explanations
- 19.0 Design Notes
- 20.0 Historical Notes
- 21.0 Bibliography
1.0 Introduction
Yeomen: The 9 Card Agincourt Game is a solitaire micro wargame covering The Battle of Agincourt. This battle was fought on October 25, 1415 and was a major engagement of the Hundred Years' War. The English king, Henry V, had taken an army into France to claim the French throne. After a longer-than-expected siege at the fortified city of Harfleur, Henry's army was sick and exhausted so the decision was made to return his troops to the English-controlled coastal city Calais where safe passage back to England could be secured. Unfortunately for the English, they were intercepted on the way by a much larger French force near the village of Agincourt.
Due to their vastly superior numbers, the French troops were confident of victory but they were about to suffer a decisive defeat thanks to the unfavorable condition of the battlefield and the devastating effects of the English longbow. At the end of the battle, French losses were in the thousands whereas the English losses were in the low hundreds.
In this game, you'll take command of the French forces and try to defeat the English invaders. You'll face the same situations and challenges as the actual French troops and must carefully manage your actions to overcome them. Can you turn the tide of history, defeat the English forces, and capture the would-be usurper?
2.0 Explanation of Game Terms
The following terms are used in both the rule book and on the game event cards. Definitions that reference other definitions are bolded.
Attempt to Move - Perform Regular Movement Procedure. Unless either is specifically excluded by the event, you should Draw a Move Event Card and perform the Movement Roll as usual. Archer fire is still performed unless specifically excluded by Event Text.
Automatically Move - Perform Movement without performing Movement Roll or Drawing Move Event Card. Specified unit(s) may simply move forward. Archer fire is still performed unless specifically excluded by Event Text.
Box - An area along the track highlighted with a thick brown line. Most boxes can hold only one unit. However, the Combat Area box can hold three units and the English Line box can hold two units.
Combat Area - The combat area is the long box which is the terminal point of each track. The Combat Area box is divided into spaces for convenience but no space in the combat area is tied to a specific track.
Crossbowmen – This unit represents French archers. This unit moves with infantry using the infantry strength die. Retreat following normal infantry procedures. There is no Crossbowmen strength die (5.0). In the Combat Area, Crossbowmen always count as 2 strength points. This value cannot be increased or reduced. Crossbowmen may never advance into English Line.
Cubes – The playing pieces of the game. Cubes are always referred to as units in the rules and on event cards.
Die Roll Modification (DRM) – This is an adjustments to the Movement or Combat die rolls. Depending on the DRM, you will add or subtract from the rolled value. For example, a Move Event might say "-2 to Move Roll DRM". When rolling for movement, you will then deduct 2 from whatever the die roll result is. So if you rolled a 5, it would be reduced to 3.
Draw Deck - The five cards used for Move and Combat Events. If the draw deck is empty before the end of turn, shuffle the five cards to create a new draw deck.
English Line - The long box above the Combat Area. It is illustrated with the names of English leaders commanding each section. The names are illustrative only and serve no game purpose. The English Line is a single box that can hold a maximum of two French units.
Frontline Infantry - The infantry units closest to the Combat Area in each track. Units in the Combat Area do not count as Frontline. If a Frontline Infantry unit moves into the Combat area, it is no longer considered a Frontline unit.
Game Dice - The game dice are two regular D6. Any roll required by the game should be done with one or both of these dice. Never roll the infantry or cavalry strength dice.
Rear Infantry - Any infantry unit behind a Frontline unit. If a Frontline Infantry unit moves into the Combat area, the rear line unit behind it on the same track becomes the new Frontline unit and there is no longer a Rear Infantry on that track.
Frontline units are marked with an F. Rear units are marked with an R. Units in the Combat Area do not count as either.
Space - The lines dividing the combat area for player convenience when placing units. They are not individual boxes. The combat area is a single box that can hold three units.
Stacking limits - One unit per box. See Colliding Units for resolving stacking limit violations.
Round - A round is the play of a single card from your hand. Each turn is usually three rounds but could be less if cards are used to adjust Combat DRM.
Track – These are the paths that French units will follow when moving or retreating in the game. Infantry lines are marked with a blue line and cavalry lines are marked with a red line. The Center track on the card is infantry only. References in the rules to Left and Right tracks refer to both the infantry and cavalry tracks.
Turn - A turn consists of playing all cards from your hand. The turn is usually three rounds long. (It can be less by discarding cards during combat.)
3.0 Game Components
To play this game you will need the following components: 8 cubes, 4 dice, and the 9 cards.
3.1 Cubes
You will need to provide the following cubes to play the game.
- 5 Blue cubes for infantry units (or 6 when playing with the Easier Variant 16.0)
- 2 Red cubes for cavalry units
- 1 yellow cube for crossbowmen units
Note: Each cube represents about 1,500 men.
3.2 Cards
Map (One card)
The map card shows the battlefield which is divided into tracks and boxes to regulate movement. The map is divided into 4 rows. Rows 1 is at the bottom of the card and row 4 is the row closest to Combat Area. Note that row numbers do not appear on the map card. Note: The battlefield was approximately 300 yards long with several French reserves within the next 100 yards. Each row on the map represents approximately 100 yards.
The Card ID number is for reference only and is used to identify the card in the rules and the Historical and Design Notes (18.0).
3.3 Dice
You will need a total of four dice six-sided dice (d6) to play the game.
3.3.1 Strength Dice
You will need to provide one blue and one red d6 to track the strength of the French infantry and Cavalry units.
Note: The Strength Dice represent the units' strength, cohesion, and morale. Each of these factors played into the French's ability to move and conduct effective combat.
3.3.2 Game Dice
The illustrations of English warriors are artistic only and serve no game purpose.
Event Cards (Eight cards)
Each card is divided into three sections. The top is the Player Section. The middle is the Move Event Section. And the bottom is the Combat Event Section.
Two d6 – these dice can be any color but should not be red or blue to avoid confusion with the Strength Dice. These dice are used to resolve game events and combat.
4.0 Game Setup
Set up your game pieces according to the following diagram.
Each event has a title and some brief historical text in an italicized font. These are for historical interest only and serve no game purpose.
5.0 Strength Dice
The strength dice can be raised or lowered during game play by Card Events, Combat Results, strengthening French infantry, collisions between French units, and rolling doubles in the English Archer Phase. Neither strength die can ever go above 5 or below 2. If a strength die ever needs to be reduced below two, eliminate a unit instead. Units in the Combat Area should be eliminated first followed by those nearest to Combat Area.
The strength dice show the current strength of the infantry and cavalry units. These units function as a group so each unit uses the same value shown on the matching die.
6.0 Sequence of Play
The game is played in three turns, each of which is made up of a number of rounds. A new turn begins after you have played all the cards from your hand.
6.1 Turn Preparation
Place the Cavalry Units in the far left and right boxes of row 2. Place three infantry units in the middle three boxes of row 2. Place two additional infantry units in the center and left or right infantry boxes of row 1. Place the Crossbowmen unit in the left or right box on row 1 (whichever one does not have an infantry unit). The crossbowmen may not be set up in the center box.
Set the cavalry and infantry strength dice near the board with both showing the 4 side.
Set the game dice near the board within easy reach.
Shuffle the 8 game cards and set them facedown near the game board.
At the start of each turn, you will gather all eight cards from the discard piles and any unused card from the draw deck. Shuffle all of the cards together and deal three cards into your hand. Place the remaining five cards into a draw pile.
6.2 Round Sequence
Each round you will perform each of the following steps in order.
- Play Card Phase (either using the Player Event or the Action Points) (7.0)
- Movement (if applicable) (8.0)
- English Archer Phase (11.0)
- Combat Phase (if French units are in the Combat Area) (12.0)
- Victory or Loss Check Phase (15.0)
7.0 Card Play Phase
At the start of each round you must choose one of the following actions.
- Play a card from your hand and use the Action Points (7.1)
- Play a card from your hand and use the Player Event (7.2)
- Pass – keep all cards in your hand and skip this phase. (7.4)
You may never use the Player Event and the Action Points on a single card. You must choose one or the other.
If you receive the same card in a later turn, you may choose either the player event or the action points, regardless of which was chosen on the previous turn. The exception is Card #8 (Oriflamme Raised). This card has two player events. You may choose only one of them. After the chosen event has been used, you may not use this card for its player event again. You must use the Action Points instead if you get this card in your hand on a future turn.
After using the card, discard it into the Player Card discard pile. These discards should be kept separate from the Move and Combat discards until the end of the turn.
7.1 Use Action Points
Each card has either two or three action points available. Each action costs one point. You may use only some of your available actions if you do not wish to use them all.
7.1.1 Available Actions
- Move Frontline Infantry Units
- Move Rear Infantry Units
- Move Left Cavalry Unit
- Move Right Cavalry Unit
- Modify Movement Roll (8.2.3.1)
- Strengthen Infantry Units
- Crossbowmen Fire
7.1.2 Action Limitations
Each action may be used only one time successfully per card. If the action is unsuccessful, the action point is lost but you may try the action again using remaining action points on the card.
For example, you play a card with 2 Action Points. You attempt to move your Left Cavalry Unit, which has a strength of 3. After drawing the Move Event card, you roll a 1 so the cavalry unit is unable to move. You now have 1 point remaining and decide to try once again to move the left cavalry unit. You draw another Move Event Card. The card negatively impacts cavalry movement with a -2 DRM. Thankfully, this time you roll a 6 so the cavalry unit moves successfully. You then proceed to the English Archer Phase.
7.2 Player Events
Each card has a Player Event available. These events allow the player to perform specific actions or gain benefits. Events must be performed exactly as described. You may not perform only part of a player event. The event text always overrides game rules if a conflict exists. The effect of the event last only for the current round.
7.3 Required Events
Event cards with a red heading are required and must be played in the first round of the turn before any other card from your hand.
7.4 Pass
You may pass this step and keep the remaining cards in your hand for later use. When passing, proceed directly to the English Archer Phase.
Passing is generally bad strategy since you are still subject to English Archer fire. Generally, the only reason you would want to pass is to use the card for a Combat DRM increase in the Combat Phase.
8.0 Movement
There are two different types of movement in the game: automatic movement and attempted movement. Automatic movement is available only on certain events. Attempted movement is available on certain events or from movement initiated by action points.
8.1 Automatic Movement
Some events include instructions to automatically move certain units. These units may simply be advanced up to the next row. When using automatic movement, all units indicated by the event must move. You may not conduct partial movement.
Automatic movement does not require Move Events or Movement Rolls.
If the card prevents movement on certain tracks, other units may still move. For example, you would like to move the frontline infantry. You draw a Move Event card which prevents movement on the center track. The infantry unit in that track will stay where it is but those in the left and right tracks are still eligible to move.
Some Movement Events may not affect your moving units. For example, when moving infantry, you may draw a card that restricts cavalry movement. In the case, the card has no effect on your movement.
8.2 Attempted Movement
Most movement in the game falls under this category. Movement attempts are performed with the following steps.
To move a unit, perform the following steps.
- Determine Moving Units
- Draw Move Event Card
- Perform Movement Roll
- Move Units
8.2.1 Determine Moving Units
You must decide which units are going to move before performing any other steps. You may not choose another unit if the event prevents you from moving your chosen unit.
As you become more familiar with the deck, you may be able to anticipate movement upcoming events based on which cards have already been used. This way you can make educated decisions about what unit to move.
8.2.2 Draw Movement Event Card
Draw an event card and read the Move Event text. The event effect is applied immediately.
If you have no remaining action points after attempting to move, you may not perform this action.
8.2.3 Perform Movement Roll
Roll a single game die. The total of the game die and the strength die of the moving units must be 7 or greater.
The die is subject to DRM from the Move Event. For example, the move event card may require a -2 DRM to the Movement Roll. For example, you want to move the left cavalry unit, which has a strength die value of 3. You draw a move event card which gives a -2 DRM to cavalry movement. You perform the movement roll and get a 5. Your total value is 3 (strength die) – 2 (Move Event) + 5 (Movement Roll) = 6. This is your Movement Total, which is not enough to move so the unit stays where it is.
8.2.3.1 Modify Movement Roll
If you have available action points remaining, you may spend one of them to apply a +3 DRM to your Movement Roll. You may do this at any time, including after seeing the Movement Roll result.
In the example above, you choose to spend an additional action point to add 3 to your roll. The new movement total for the left cavalry unit is now 9 and the unit can move.
This action can only be performed when using action points. You cannot modify a movement roll that was initiated by an event.
8.2.4 Move Units
If your movement total is greater than or equal to seven, you may move all eligible units to the next row on the map following their colored track. Note that the cavalry and infantry tracks on the left and right side combine in row 4.
[Diagram caption: The Frontline infantry are moving into the next box. The three units marked with an arrow should all move (barring any event that prevents movement in a certain track).]
8.2.4.1 Moving Retreated Cavalry Units
If a cavalry unit is in an infantry box due to a retreat (13.2), it must first move sideways back into the cavalry track before it can move forward again.
8.2.5 Moving into Combat Area Space
Each track leads into the single Combat Area box. There are no individual boxes in the Combat Area. If another unit is in a Combat Area space directly in front the moving unit, simply place the moving unit into a different available space in the combat area. If there is an available space in the combat area, there are no unit collisions when moving a unit into it.
8.2.6 Moving into Full Combat Area
The Combat Area can hold a maximum of three units. If an additional unit moves into the combat area when there are already three there, one of the existing units in the combat area must be removed and eliminated from the game. Remove a cavalry unit first. If there are no cavalry units in the combat area, remove an infantry unit.
Note: This represents units getting impaled on the English spikes or crushed under the weight of advancing French units.
8.2.7 Successful Movement
Movement is considered to be successful if at least one unit was able to move. If the move was successful, you may not move the same units again during the same round.
If no units were able to move due either to Move Events or failing the movement roll, the move was unsuccessful. You may attempt unsuccessful moves again with remaining action points.
9.0 Strengthen Infantry Units
You may attempt to raise the infantry strength die immediately after successfully moving Rear Infantry units.
You may ONLY use this action after moving Rear Infantry units. It may not be performed at any other time. You must have an action point available after moving the rear infantry units to use this action.
Note: This represents new soldiers joining the battlefield during the battle.
The procedure for strengthening the infantry units is to roll a game die and add the number of rear infantry units (not counting crossbowmen) that just moved. If the combined total is 1 – 4 there is no result. If the combined total is 5 or more, you may increase the infantry strength die by 1. (To a max strength of 5.)
Remember that this action ONLY applies to rear infantry units. Once a frontline infantry unit has moved into the Combat Area, the Rear Infantry on the same track becomes a frontline infantry. To use this action, the moving infantry unit must have another infantry unit on the tracks (not the combat area) ahead of it.
Note: This represents the limited number of reserves and the failure of the majority of Burgundian troops to join the battle.
10.0 Crossbowmen Fire
French Crossbowmen may fire at English archers to disrupt their fire and aid the French soldiers in combat.
Note: the Crossbowmen actions are speculative since they never actually got to engage in the historic battle.
10.1 Crossbowmen Fire Procedure
French Crossbowmen have a shorter range then the English archers and can only fire from row 3 or 4. Crossbowmen can never fire from the combat area.
To fire, roll both game dice. If the result on both dice is greater than or equal to 3, then the shot was successful. If a 1 or 2 showed on either die, the shot was not successful.
10.2 Crossbowmen Fire Results
If the crossbowmen fire roll is successful, the English Archer Results are ignored in both the crossbowmens' track and the center track. (Crossbowmen start the game on either the left or right track.) English archer fire may still hit in the opposite track.
For example, if Crossbowmen are in right track, English archers can still hit the left Infantry and left Cavalry tracks but the center and right tracks are protected.
Note that successful Crossbowmen Fire does not disrupt English Archer Hammer and Ax attacks.
Successful Crossbowmen Fire will also increase the French Combat Strength by 1 during the combat phase of that round (12.2.4).
11.0 English Archer Phase
The English Archer Phase will take place every round after all of the Action Points have been used or after the Player Event has been resolved.
Archers will fire two or three times - targeting different units each time. Units are targeted in the following order:
- Cavalry
- Infantry
- Hammer and Ax attacks (Turn 3 only)
11.1 English Archer Range
Archers can only target units in rows 2 - 4. Row 1 is out of their range. Note: Longbow range was approximately 300 yards.
Regular archer fire cannot target units in Combat Area. These units can only be targeted by Hammer and Ax attacks during Turn 3 (or by an event card).
11.2 English Archer Procedure - Regular Fire (Turns 1 and 2)
Roll the two game dice. Results are determined based on the unit being targeted and the turn number. If a unit is hit, it will automatically retreat and possibly lose a point on its strength die.
Regular English Archer fire is resolved by rolling both dice within a group of results. If both dice show a result from within the group, you will retreat the appropriate unit.
For example, it is the English Archer Phase and the cavalry are being targeted. You roll a 1 and a 3. You look up the result on the chart and determine that you need to retreat the cavalry in the left track.
Note: The infantry were heavily armored and it is unlikely that the arrows could penetrate their steel armor. The horses, on the other hand, were only lightly armored and were highly exposed to the arrow fire. For this reason, the cavalry have a wider range of results that can result in a hit.
11.2.1 Cavalry Roll
The first English Archer roll in each phase targets the French cavalry units.
If both dice show:
- 1, 2 or 3: retreat the left cavalry unit.
- 4, 5 or 6: retreat the right cavalry unit.
11.2.2 Infantry Roll
The second English Archer roll in each phase targets the French frontline infantry units. (Rear infantry units are never targeted by archers.)
If both dice show:
- 1 or 2: retreat the left frontline infantry unit.
- 3 or 4: retreat the center frontline infantry unit.
- 5 or 6: retreat the right frontline infantry unit.
11.2.3 Pairs
Pairs will cause a hit to the target units' strength die in addition to the retreat during both the cavalry or infantry rolls. For example, if the dice showed a 3 and a 3 during the infantry roll, you would retreat the infantry unit on the center track and reduce the infantry strength die by one.
11.2.4 English Archer Procedure - Regular Fire (Turn 3)
The procedure on turn 3 is identical to the other turns, except that archer results are ignored unless a pair is rolled. Units will still retreat and reduce their strength die on pairs, but no other results will cause a retreat.
Note: As the battle wore on, English archers started to run out of arrows and focus instead on Hammer and Ax attacks. Their efficiency against units approaching on the battlefield was greatly reduced.
11.3 English Archer Procedure - Hammer and Ax Attacks (Turn 3 only)
This archer attack will take place after resolving the cavalry and infantry results. This attack only takes place if there are French units in the combat area.
To resolve this attack, roll the two game dice and reduce the strength die of the indicated unit by one. If both dice show:
- 1 or 2: reduce the cavalry strength die
- 3, 4, or 5: reduce the infantry strength die
Pairs do not have additional effect in the Hammer and Ax attack.
If the applicable unit is not in the combat area then the strength die reduction may be ignored.
11.4 No Results
If the dice do not show numbers in the same group during any of the rolls, then no retreat or strength die reductions are made for that unit.
Example: It is turn 3 and you have three infantry units in the combat area. It is the English Archer Phase of the round. You roll a 1 and 3 when targeting the cavalry. During turn 3 all results other than pairs are ignored so you proceed to the infantry roll. Here you roll a 2 and 5. These numbers do not share a group so there is no result. Finally, you roll for the Hammer and Ax Attack. You roll a 1 and 2 which is a hit to the cavalry strength die. Thankfully, you have no cavalry units in the combat area so the result is ignored. You have survived the English Archer Phase with no hits or retreats!
11.5 Archer Fire from Required Events
If a required event (7.3) instructs you to conduct one or more English Archer Phases, then you are not required to conduct an additional English Archer Phase after resolving the event. For example, card #1 instructs you to move units and resolve the English Archer Phase twice. You do not need to conduct a third English Archer Phase after resolving this event. (The French troops have already been through enough!) Once the required event is resolved, check to see if there are French units in the Combat Area. If so, proceed to the Combat Phase (12.0). Otherwise, proceed to the Victory or Loss Check Phase (15.0).
12.0 Combat Phase
If any French units are in the Combat Area then combat automatically occurs. (You do not need to spend Action Points to initiate combat.)
If no units are in Combat Area, this phase is skipped.
12.1 Draw Combat Event Card
At the start of the Combat Phase, draw an Event Card and look at its Combat Event. The card can affect the strength die of the infantry or cavalry or the combat die roll. Die roll modifications last only for the current round.
Some Combat Event cards may not affect your units in the combat area. For example, some events only occur if you have three units in the combat area. If you have less than three units in the combat area, the card would have no effect on your cavalry roll.
12.2 Determine French Combat Strength
Conducting combat is simply a matter of determining the French Combat Strength and getting a value higher than England's default value of 14. The French Combat is determined by unit strength, card events, and player actions.
12.2.1 French Unit Strength
Sum the total strength of all units in combat area. All units are worth their current strength die value. (Crossbowmen do not have a strength die and are always worth 2 strength points when in the combat area.)
Example: Two infantry and a cavalry unit are in the Combat Area. The infantry strength die is 3 and the cavalry strength die is 4. The total infantry strength is 6 (two units at 3 strength points) and the total cavalry strength is 4 (one unit at 4 strength point). The strength of units in the combat area for this combat phase is 10 (6 infantry plus 4 cavalry).
12.2.2 Cavalry Effect on Combat
If you have at least one cavalry unit and one infantry unit in the Combat Area, add 2 to the French Combat Strength.
If you only have Cavalry units in Combat Area (no infantry or crossbowmen), decrease the French Combat Strength by 1.
12.2.3 French Unit in English Line
If one French unit (cavalry or infantry) is in the English Line, increase the French Strength by 1.
Units in the English Line do not add their total based on the Strength die.
Note: French Units that broke through the English Line came under heavy assault from archers and were not able to assist the combat at their full strength.
Example: The combat area has two infantry units and one cavalry unit in it. There is an additional infantry unit in the English Line. The infantry strength die is at 2 and the cavalry strength die is at 3. The French Combat Value is 10 (4 for the two infantry in the combat area, 3 for the cavalry unit in the combat area, 1 for the infantry in the English Line, and 2 for having both cavalry and infantry in the combat area).
12.2.4 Crossbowmen Fire
If Crossbowmen successfully fired during this round (10.2), add 1 to French Combat Strength.
12.2.5 Player Event Cards Discards
You may discard a card from your hand to add 1 to the French Combat Strength. You may discard a maximum of one card during an individual combat phase. You may discard the card at any time, including after seeing the combat roll (12.3).
Some card events will give you a larger bonus to the French Combat Strength if discarded during combat. In these cases, the event bonus is the only increase to the French Combat Strength received. For example, you cannot discard the English Dysentery event (card #4) and get its 2 strength points and an additional 1 point for discarding the card.
You may never discard the Required Event Card (it should have been played at the start of the turn anyway).
Note: This will shorten the turn and prevent you from doing other actions.
12.3 Determine Combat Results
Roll one game die and add it to the current French Combat Strength. The Combat Event card may cause a DRM adjustment to this roll.
Sum the total of the French Combat Strength and the die roll (with any modifications caused by the Combat Event).
If the total value is greater than or equal to 15, then you have beaten the English! Move one French unit into the English line. Infantry units always take precedence to move into the English Line. You may only move a Cavalry unit into the English Line if no infantry units are in Combat Area. A Crossbowmen unit can never move into the English line.
If the total value is less than 9 then the English have inflicted a hit on you. Reduce the highest strength die by one (Cavalry if tied) provided at least one unit associated with that die is in the combat area. If only cavalry and crossbowmen are in Combat Area, reduce the Cavalry die regardless of which is higher.
If the total value is 9 to 14, the result is a draw. No units move into the English line and no adjustments are made to the French strength dice.
13.0 Retreating Units
Units will sometimes have to retreat due to English archer results or game events. The procedure for retreating is handled differently for infantry and cavalry.
Units only retreat while on their tracks. Units never retreat from the combat area.
13.1 Infantry Retreats
An Infantry Unit retreats by moving one box back on their track. For example a retreating unit on row 3 will move to row 2. Infantry units may never retreat beyond row 1 and cannot be retreated off the map.
13.2 Cavalry Retreats
When on rows 2 and 3, Cavalry units retreat sideways into the adjacent box in the infantry track.
Remember that cavalry units in the infantry tracks must first be moved back into the cavalry tracks (8.2.4.1).
If in row 4, cavalry units will retreat into the Infantry box in row 3.
If a cavalry unit is required to retreat when already in an infantry track, it will move one row back and stay in the infantry track.
A cavalry unit can never retreat to row 1. If you are required to retreat a cavalry unit from the infantry box in row 2, leave the cavalry where it is and reduce the cavalry strength die by one.
13.3 Blocked Retreat Path
The retreat path may be blocked if an infantry unit is in both row 1 and 2 of a track. This will block the retreat of the frontline infantry or an adjacent cavalry unit. If a unit is not able to make its retreat due to a blocked path, leave it where it is and reduce its strength die by one.
14.0 Colliding Units
If two units ever move into the same box, they have collided. This may be caused by a retreat action (13.0) or a unit moving into a box already containing a unit.
14.1 Infantry Collisions
Infantry units can collide with each other through two different methods.
If a retreating frontline infantry unit collides with a rear infantry unit, the rear infantry also retreats one row. Reduce the infantry strength die by one.
If a moving rear infantry collides with a frontline infantry, move the infantry unit forward on track. Do not adjust the infantry strength die.
Note: This effectively counts as a free movement since you are able to move both sets of infantry with a single movement action. However, this also puts you at risk for retreat collisions because the frontline infantry have no empty boxes behind them to retreat into should they need to.
For example, a Cavalry unit in row 3 retreats into the infantry line and collides with a frontline infantry unit. The frontline infantry unit retreats one row and the infantry strength die is reduced by one. A rear infantry unit is in the box directly behind the retreating frontline unit. The two infantry units collide and the rear infantry unit is forced to retreat one row. The infantry strength die is again reduced by one.
An example explaining a large chaining collision with an explanation of each step is provided below. In this example, a cavalry in row 4 is retreating with two infantry units in the track behind it.
[Diagram: chaining collision example, with step-by-step explanation in the original rulebook.]
14.2 Cavalry and Infantry Collisions
Cavalry and infantry units can collide either by one unit moving into the same box as another or one unit retreating into the same box as another. Regardless of how the units collide, the result is handled the same.
If a cavalry unit and infantry unit collide, the infantry unit retreats one row on the track. Reduce the infantry strength die by one.
Cavalry units cannot push infantry forward. They will always cause the infantry to retreat.
14.3 Chaining Collisions
Collisions may cause chain reactions. A cavalry unit may retreat into a frontline infantry unit which in turn retreats into the rear infantry unit. Each such collision is resolved separately.
15.0 Victory or Loss Check Phase
At the end of each round, determine if you have won or lost the game.
If there are a total of two French units in the English Line, then the French have captured King Henry V and won the game in an overwhelming French Victory.
If at any point three French units are eliminated from the game you immediately lose and suffer a total defeat.
If you have not won or lost and cards are remaining in your hand, start the next round and proceed to the Card Play phase.
If you have not won or lost and no cards are remaining in your hand start the next turn (Turns 1 and 2 only).
If you have not achieved victory by the end of the third turn, you have surrendered to the English and lose the game. If you have one unit in the English line, you have achieved the historical result.
16.0 Easier Variant (No Crossbowmen)
For an easier game, you may remove the crossbowmen unit from the game and replace it with a sixth infantry unit.
This will allow you to more easily Strengthen Infantry Units (9.0) and give you more powerful units to use in the combat area.
When using this variant, ignore the Crossbowmen Fire rules (10.0). You may not use this action to gain an increase in French Combat Strength.
17.0 Turn Example
It is round one of turn 3. You have a cavalry and an infantry in the combat area with a strength of 3 on the infantry die and 2 on the cavalry die.
In your hand are the English Dustenrery Event (card #4) [printed as "Dustenrery" in the source; the card is the English Dysentery event], French Units Funnel to Left (card #5), and Cavalry Charge (card #2).
The cavalry charge won't help you since the cavalry on the right would charge into your infantry so you decide to play the French Units Funnel to the Left as an Event.
The Frontline and Rear Infantry units in the left track both move one row forward (no movement roll or move event is required for automatic movement). There is a cavalry unit in the left combat area space, so the moving frontline infantry is simply placed in the right space (8.2.5).
The English Archer phase begins. They roll a 5 and 6 for the cavalry roll. Since it is turn 3, this result is ignored – only pairs count on turn 3 (11.2.4). For infantry they roll a 2 and 2. Unfortunately, this hits the infantry in the left track. This unit is hit and must retreat. Unfortunately, the infantry strength die is reduced by 1 due to the pair. Finally, the archers roll for the Hammer and Ax phase. They roll a 1 and 5 which have no effect.
Since there are units in the combat area, the Combat Phase of the round automatically begins.
You have two infantry units and one cavalry unit in the combat area. The strength dice both show a 2. Your total value is calculated as follows:
- 4 – Infantry (2 units at 2 strength)
- 2 – Cavalry (1 unit at 2 strength)
- 2 – Bonus for having both cavalry and infantry in combat area
The total value is 8. You are disappointed that your infantry units took a hit from the English Archers because now you cannot possibly roll enough to get a total of 15. So you decided to discard your English Dysentery card to add 2 to your total.
The Combat Event is drawn and it is the "Constricted French Fighting a Mobile Enemy" event (card #8). This reduces the combat DRM by 1 if there are three units in the combat area – which there are.
You roll one of the game dice and get a 6. The result is modified by the combat event to 5. This brings your total to 15 and you are able to move one of the infantry units into the English line.
The second round then begins. Your Cavalry Charge card will still cause a collision so you decide to play it for action points to move your frontline infantry units.
You draw a Move Event card and get the Cavalry Retreat from English Spikes event (card #3). This event requires you to roll and retreat a cavalry unit in a specific track. You roll a 5, which requires you to retreat the cavalry unit on the right side. Thankfully, no infantry units are in that box so there are no collisions.
You then make your movement roll and get a 3. You combined this result with your strength die and get a total of 5. To move, you need a total of 7. You could attempt to do the movement again with your remaining action point, but you decide instead to spend the point to add 3 to your movement total (8.2.3.1). Your total is now 8 so you can move the frontline units. The unit on the right track advances into the combat area.
The archers then roll for cavalry, infantry, and hammer and ax attacks but get no results.
The final combat round then begins.
The strength values on the dice have not changed so your total is calculated much the same, except now you have a bonus of 1 for having an infantry unit in the English Line. Your total is now 9 so you will need to roll a six to win the game.
Unfortunately, you draw the Combat Event and get the "Tightly Packed Fighting Conditions" event (card #6). This reduces the combat DRM by 2 if there are 3 units in the combat area, which you unfortunately have. You roll a 4, which the event modifies to a 2. Your total is 11, which is not enough to move a unit into the English Line. The game ends in a loss with a historical result (one unit in the English line).
18.0 Event Explanations
The following sections explain the card events in greater detail. The events are organized by event type and card number.
18.1 Player Events
- Roll a die and advance all units on the resulting tracks. For example, if you roll the left track, the frontline infantry, rear infantry (or crossbowmen), and cavalry will all move one row forward. Resolve archer fire as normal and then repeat the action a second time. a. This Event is required. This card may not be used for Action Points.
- You may attempt to move the frontline infantry. The infantry will ignore archer results regardless of whether their move was successful.
- Either cavalry unit may automatically move. Archer results are still applied as normal.
- This card may be discarded during the combat phase to add 2 to the French Combat Strength.
- All units in the left tracks (infantry, cavalry, and crossbowmen) will automatically move one row forward. Archer results affecting the left track are ignored. Archer results affecting other tracks are applied as normal.
- You may add 2 strength points to the Infantry Strength Die. Or you may add 1 strength point to the Infantry Strength Die and 1 to the Cavalry Strength Die. Both dice may only be raised to a max strength of 5.
- You may attempt to move cavalry units twice. You can choose to move both of the units once or you may move one of the units twice. Do not resolve archer results until after both movements are complete. Archer results for cavalry are reduced from the normal range of 1-3 and 4-6 to 1-2 for the left track and 5-6 for the right track. If either die shows a 3 or 4 there is no result.
- You may either: a. Automatically move all infantry units one row forward. All archer results are ignored (you may essentially skip the archer phase when using this event). b. Discard the event during the combat phase to add 3 to the French Combat Strength. c. Regardless of which event is chosen, you may only use the card as an event once. If the card is drawn in future turns, it must be used for action points.
18.2 Move Events
- Infantry units on the center track may not move, regardless of the success of the movement roll.
- Roll a die to determine the left or right track. All units on the resulting tracks (infantry, crossbowmen, and cavalry) may not move, regardless of the success of the movement roll.
- Roll a die and retreat the cavalry unit in the resulting track.
- Apply a -2 DRM to the cavalry movement roll. If cavalry are not moving, there is no effect.
- Each moving unit must make a separate movement roll. For example, if moving the Frontline Infantry, you must roll for each of those units individually. Add the movement roll to the strength die as normal.
- Apply a -2 DRM to the movement roll (infantry or cavalry).
- Apply a -2 DRM to the infantry movement roll. If infantry are not moving, there is no effect.
- Automatically move the left cavalry unit forward one row. This is in addition to any other planned movement (including planned movement of the left cavalry unit.)
18.3 Combat Events
- Roll a die and deduct one point from the resulting strength die. Add 1 to the die roll for each eliminated unit. For example, if you rolled a 3 and had one infantry unit previously eliminated, the resulting modified die roll would be a 4.
- Roll a die and deduct one point from the resulting strength die. Add 1 to the die roll for each 3 strength points shown on the strength dice. For example, if the infantry strength die was at 4 and the cavalry strength die was at 3 (total of 7) you would add 2 to the die roll.
- If there are three units of any type in the combat area, immediately reduce the infantry strength die by 1.
- Automatically move the nearest frontline infantry unit into the combat area. Do not resolve archer fire or hammer and ax for this movement. a. If the moving unit increases the number of units in the combat area above three, immediately eliminate one unit as usual (8.2.6). b. If two or more frontline infantry units are equally near the combat area, simply choose one to move. Leave the others where they are. c. If a cavalry unit is blocking the path of the nearest infantry unit, choose the next nearest infantry unit to move. You do not need to move an infantry unit into a cavalry unit and cause a collision.
- Roll a die and deduct one from the resulting strength die (or the combat roll CRM). Add 1 to the die roll for each unit in the combat area. For example, if you rolled a 3 and had 2 units in the combat area, the modified die roll would be a 5 resulting in the cavalry strength being reduced by 1.
- If there are three units of any type in the combat area, apply a -2 DRM to the combat die roll.
- If there are three units of any type (including at least one cavalry unit) in the combat area, immediately reduce the cavalry strength die by 1.
- Apply a -1 DRM to the combat die roll.
19.0 Design Notes
This game was originally designed for a design contest that was hosted on the website BoardGameGeek.com. The contest had strict limitations on components. Designers were only allowed to use 9 cards and up to 4 dice and/or 8 cubes to create their games. The challenge sounded very interesting to me and I wanted to try and create a wargame within those restrictions.
I knew from the beginning that the game would be solo partially because I love solitaire games but also because I thought 9 cards were far too few for an interesting two player game. I was thinking about designing a game on the Battle of Hastings at the time, but it seemed too large a topic for the component limitations of the contest. Of course, I had a similar problem with other commonly wargames topics, such as WWII. I found the scope of those battles to be simply too large to recreate in a meaningful fashion using only 9 cards.
I had recently been reading about the Battle of Agincourt and it felt like a better fit for a compact design. Despite being one of the world's most famous battles, it is under represented in the wargaming community. I think the reason for this is that the battle is very one sided. It's difficult to create a realistic game in which the French can win. The battle also included very few movements from the English – they pretty much stayed in their initial positions throughout the battle. These two factors make it difficult to create a game that will be enjoyable for two players. However, the limited maneuvering from the English and the difficult challenge for the French make it an intriguing solitaire topic.
I'm a big fan of Card-Driven Games such as Paths of Glory, Washington's War, and Kingdom of Heaven since they can include so much history without bogging down the game with additional rules. However, Yeomen didn't start out as a CDG. I drew up an initial design in which cards had an event and orders for which troops would move. The player would draw two cards each turn and decide which ones to use as events and which to use for movements. As I playtested and worked on the game, it slowly morphed into a more traditional CDG with events that the player can use and events that work against them. My goal was to create a historically accurate simulation while maintaining the enjoyably fun factor.
[Designer thank-you paragraphs omitted (credits).]
20.0 Historical Notes
In these historical notes, I have added links to the cards where appropriate to help show how the events on the cards come into play. I have listed the card number and the type of event. E is the event in the Player Section of the card, M is the Move Event, and C is the Combat Event. (The link 3C would refer to the Combat Event on Card #3.)
The Battle of Agincourt had its roots in the Norman Conquest of England, nearly 400 years earlier. The Norman Invasion of England in 1066 linked the governments of the England and France. Politically expedient marriages between the royal families of both countries intertwined the ruling class even further. This came to a tipping point in 1337 when King Edward III of England claimed the French throne by right of being the maternal grandson of King Philip IV of France. The claim, which was not completely unpopular in France, led to the Hundred Years' War.
Nearly a century later, the two nations were in a tentative peace that had lasted nearly three decades. By this time, France likely assumed that the war was over. Charles the V had even gone so far as to end the taxation that funded the war on his deathbed. However, on the other side of the channel, Edward III's great-grandson, Henry V was resuming the claim that the French throne was rightfully owed to the English king. His invasion of France on August 13, 1415 ended the truce between the two nations and started the Lancastrian phase of the war.
Upon arriving in France, Henry V immediately besieged the port city of Harfleur. He had expected this would be over quickly, but the city resisted for over a month before surrendering. During the fighting, Henry's army was afflicted with dysentery and many soldiers were lost to the disease. Winter was fast-approaching too, which would necessitate the end of sieges for a few months. His campaign had been very expensive so Henry couldn't justify returning to England with only one city captured. He decided instead to move his army to the English-controlled city of Calais to recover over the winter months. Unfortunately, in between him and the safety of Calais, was 160 miles of French controlled terrain and the river Somme.
Henry V led his army to the river without incident. His scouts searched for bridges or areas where the army could forge the river, but the French were always ahead of them. Bridges were blocked or even burned to prevent the English army from crossing. The French were trying to force the English to move deeper into France where they could be more easily surrounded and defeated. Henry had no choice but to keep moving his army south along the river, desperately trying to find a place to cross. After going roughly 80 miles out of his way, Henry found a bow in the river that his soldiers could forge (likely near the town of Béthencourt). The French were caught by surprise by Henry's success in crossing the river and rapidly moved to intercept his army before they could arrive at Calais.
At the time of Henry's invasion, France itself was mired in civil war. The Armagnac and Burgundian branches of the French royal family had been fighting for years over the culture of France and the leadership of Charles VI, who was mentally ill. The Burgundians favored the English culture that was strong in the arts and city life over the French model of strict feudalism and religion. The two sides called a truce when Henry V invaded (6E), which allowed the Armagnac forces to focus on fighting the English. The Burgundians remained neutral to Henry V. However, the Burgundian support of the English lifestyle and their laissez-faire attitude toward the invasion was a cause of concern for the Armagnacs. Despite their truce, the two sides never fully trusted each other throughout Henry V's campaign.
The French had not been able to assemble an army in time to relieve the Siege of Harfleur. However, Henry's success there had stoked a sense of nationalism against him and the French had no trouble recruiting thousands of men to defeat him. The French troops shadowed the English as they marched north waiting for the perfect time to strike. The English were running short of food and were still ravaged by dysentery. After weeks of marching, on October 24, the English and French armies finally met on a farmer's field between the towns of Azincourt and Tramecourt, a location the French had chosen. The exact size of the armies is debated, but estimates for the English range from 6,000 to 9,000 and 12,000 to 36,000 for the French. Regardless of the exact numbers, the French vastly outnumbered the English. Because of their superior numbers and the depleted state of the English army, the French likely did not consider their choice of battlefield as carefully as they normally would.
Henry V ordered his troops to hammer 6 foot stakes into the ground to help defend against French cavalry attacks. His troops expected the French to make the first move and prepared for an onslaught, but it never came. The French were awaiting more reinforcements and were in no rush to attack. When night came, the French units enjoyed themselves with drinks and meals. They laughed loudly about the torture they were about to inflict on the English troops. The English meanwhile spent the night in strict silence so that they could hear any surprise movement from the French troops. At some point in the night, a large rainstorm started. While this may have seemed miserable at the time to the English troops, the rain was to have a large effect on the upcoming battle.
The two armies could not have appeared more different. The French were well rested, well fed, and healthy. On the morning of October 25, 1415, they awoke with their armor shining in the rising sun. The English army, on the other hand were exhausted, starving, and almost all were suffering from dysentery. Many of the archers had cut the seat from their trousers so that they might relieve themselves more easily. The knights, in their armor, had no such option and the one can only imagine their foul circumstances. Several historians have noted that while other armies may have looked worse, no other army likely smelled worse (4E).
At first light, the English readied for battle with the archers and men-at-arms carefully positioned behind the wooden stakes. The English waited but the French did not attack. In fact, the French were barely even preparing for battle. Many of the mounted knights were exercising their horses and other soldiers were casually eating breakfast. The French were continuing to wait for reinforcements and many of them expected the English to simply surrender.
The French army was made up of several nobles and their men. The French King, Charles VI was not present at the battleground and they were commanded instead by Constable Charles d'Albret and other Armagnac nobles. The Constable of France was theoretically the second most powerful position in the country (behind only the King) and had right to command the army, but the French nobles at Agincourt showed little interest in taking orders (1E). The battle lines were not organized per typical French strategy. Many of the nobles were excited to have a chance to capture Henry V or other English nobles themselves so they crowded the frontline for their chance to get to the front line first (4C). Their men were placed into the rearguard and were largely without leader. The cavalry was organized (those that were prepared for battle) into flanks on either side of the front line to charge the English archers and disperse them from the field. The French crossbowmen were placed behind all other troops since it was assumed the battle would be over quickly without their help.
The English waited for three hours but the French continued to bide their time. Henry V realized that his men were becoming demoralized by the site of the massive French army simply waiting for them to surrender or starve. If he were going to have any chance at victory, he would have to make the first move. His army was in the open and the French were out of range for his longbowmen. He decided to take the risk of moving his army forward. There was a forest on either side of the battlefield that he could use to his defensive advantage and it would put the French army within range of the longbow. He gave his men a speech declaring that God would ensure their victory due to the nobleness of the cause. (The "band of brothers" speech was an invention of Shakespeare.) He then commanded each man to pull up their stakes and advance toward the French army. Had the French charged them during that time, the English would have been almost completely defenseless and the battle would have ended very differently. However, the French simply watched as the English moved forward and replaced their stakes in the ground at the mouth of the forest clearing.
The battlefield had been recently plowed so the local farmers could plant the yearly crop of winter wheat. This left the ground rough and uneven. The heavy rainstorm of the previous night transformed the dirt into a thick and heavy mud that hadn't dried even as the day neared noon. The forest on either side of the field was approximately ¾ of a mile wide at the French lines but narrowed to ½ of a mile at the English line. Henry placed his men-at-arms in a line across the clearing with the archers flanked on either side with the forest at their back. He sent additional archers to hide in the forest behind the French cavalry on the left flank to goad them forward in a disorganized manner (a technique learned from fighting Welsh guerillas) (8M).
Once the English had repositioned and hammered their long stakes into the ground, they were ready to attack. Henry had warned his men that the French were going to cut two fingers from the hand of any captured archer to inspire them to fight with all their might. This was untrue, the French were flying the Oriflamme flag which indicated that no prisoners would be taken (8E) or released (with missing fingers or otherwise). Any captured Englishmen would simply be killed. At the yelled command of "Nestroque!" (6M) or possibly "Now Strike!", the English archers unleashed a volley of arrows which, according to contemporary accounts, literally darkened the sky. Once they were attacked, the French had no choice but to advance.
The French cavalry charged straight away to drive the English archers from the field (7E). (At least those that that were ready. Many of the mounted knights were walking their horses or otherwise unprepared for battle.) They were very skilled riders who could control their horses through the muddy conditions (3E). However, the English arrow fire (from both in front and behind of them) proved overwhelming. Many of the horses were killed on the field. Those that survived panicked at the relentless arrow fire and the site of thousands of stakes and retreated (3M). The cavalry maneuvers further churned the already rough ground. Their retreat was also blocked by the thousands of foot soldiers who were already advancing down the field.
The French men-at-arms were wearing heavy steel armor which could not be pierced at long range by arrow fire (2E). However, it was not impenetrable. The helmets had eyeholes and mouth slits that were vulnerable to arrows. To avoid this risk, the soldiers looked toward the ground as they marched, which lowered their already limited field of vision (5M). The armor also became more vulnerable the closer they got to the English archers. Arrows fired at close range could penetrate lower quality armor. Even when the armor was not penetrated, the English arrows could hit with such force as to cause concussions or other injuries. The French armor also made navigating the thick mud difficult. The armor was heavy and quickly got heavier as mud caked onto it. When men slipped and fell (2M) or stumbled over the ruts in the ground (1M), they had difficulty getting back up again.
The French advance was met with problems immediately. The retreating cavalry collided with the foot soldiers and injured or killed many of them. Soldiers who wished to retreat from the onslaught of arrow fire were unable to due to the thousands of advancing men behind. Men at the front were pushed forward whether they wished to go or not. The advancing men had to step over the bodies of horses and their fellow soldiers (7M). Many French soldiers were trampled to death by their own countrymen. Others drowned in the mud when they were unable to regain their footing or remove their mud-caked helmets (3C). Thousands of Frenchmen likely died untouched by English weapons.
Despite the ordeal of marching through the mud, many Frenchmen did make it to the English line. But things weren't as simple as hoped there either. The narrowing field meant that the advancing French were tightly pushed together (6C). After losing a quarter-mile of width from the battlefield, the French were so crammed that many of them couldn't even wield their weapon. The cavalry that survived at the front was unable to maneuver (4M) and the men were exhausted from the long slog through the mud (1C). Most importantly, the constant arrival of more soldiers trying to force their way to front for a chance at killing Henry pushed others to their death on the English stakes (7C).
Nonetheless, the French managed to conduct some fierce hand-to-hand combat against the English. Henry made no attempt to hide himself and fought with his crown and banner. Attacking French soldier managed to knock the crown from his head. However, the bulk of the melee combat took place on the English left flank, which was commanded by the Duke of York. This was due to the archer fire driving more French soldiers to that side of the field (5E). The Duke was the highest-ranking Englishman to die at Agincourt and according to English records, almost a quarter of his men perished with him – far more than any other division.
However, the victories the French won were small and ultimately inconsequential to the battle. The fact remained that they were fighting in impossible cramped conditions and that the battlefield was quickly getting littered with their own dead. The English had no such restriction (8C). They could maneuver more easily and quickly regain what little ground the French managed to take. The French nobles also brought some ideas to the battlefield that quickly proved outdated. They had considered the English archers as far beneath their social class and as such didn't think they would dare to attack them. They were gravely insulted at the idea of being shot at by peasants. Unfortunately for them, the archers disregarded the chivalric custom and joined the melee upon seeing the French soldiers attack the Duke of York and Henry V. The archers took the mallets and axes they used to hammer the stakes into the ground to bash their enemies in the head (5C).
The fighting continued for about three hours. As the tide of the battle started to turn and the English realized that victory was theirs, they started to remove injured Frenchmen from the field with the hope of ransoming them (2C). Capturing a wealthy noble prisoner could change the fortune of a poor English soldier. The French officially surrendered and Henry named the battle after the nearby castle in Agincourt. When a small band of French civilians from a nearby village raided the English baggage train, Henry V panicked and thought another French attack was beginning. He ordered that the English kill all the prisoners they had captured. It is unclear how many prisoners were actually killed at this time, but the English quickly realized that they were under no further danger and they resumed searching the field for survivors or valuable weapons and armor.
The ransoming of prisoners of war was a very common practice at the time. Capturing a valuable prisoner could change the fortunes of the soldier who pulled it off. Families and government officials would pay large sums of money for the prisoners' safe return. Unfortunately, there were also many survivors that were not valuable enough to capture and take back to England. These men were unlikely to raise significant amounts of ransom. These people were simply killed on the field. Many of their bodies were cruelly mutilated to make it more difficult for family members to identify their loved ones.
The French losses were catastrophic. Exact casualty rates are unknown but it was certainly in the thousands. Much of the nobility of France lay dead on the field or had been captured as prisoners. Members of the Armagnac faction were particularly hard hit since the Burgundians did not participate in the battle in as great of numbers. The French Constable Charles d'Albret was killed in the battle and the Armagnac leaders Jean Le Maingre and Charles d'Orleans were both captured by the English. At some point in the battle, the bearer of the Oriflamme standard was killed. The flag, which was meant to terrify the English, was never recovered from the field. The battle claimed the lives of only about 100 Englishmen.
Despite the overwhelming victory the English achieved, the aftermath of the battle was mixed. Henry V was declared Charles VI's heir to the throne and married his daughter, Catherine of Valois. Through the Treaty of Troyes, he had secured for himself the right the French throne upon the death of Charles VI, who was at the time 51 years old and suffering from mental illness.
However, it was not to be. Henry died of dysentery 7 years after Agincourt. Charles VI died just two months later. Henry V's son was only an infant at the time and wouldn't be able to take the English or French throne for many years. Instead, Charles VII (son of Charles VI) successfully claimed the French throne. However, things were not so simple for the French either. The truce between the Armagnac and Burgundians forces broke down after the battle and the civil war in France resumed. Thanks in part to the heavy Armagnac losses at Agincourt, the Burgundians were able to control much of Northern France, including Paris, in the years that followed.
The Battle of Agincourt rekindled the dormant Hundred Years' War and started a particularly bloody era known as the Lancastrian War. Within a few years of the battle, France was essentially divided in two. The Burgundians signed the Treaty of Amiens with the English and crowned Henry VI as King of France at age 9. He ruled over the northern and western areas of France, including Paris. But even this English victory lasted only 18 years. The Hundred Years' War was officially ended when the Burgundians and English forces were defeated by Armagnac forces at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, nearly four decades after Agincourt. Apart from the port city of Calais, England lost the control of their French territory and governance returned to its prewar state. Up to 3 million people had died in the fighting, many of them in the Lancastrian era.
When studying Agincourt, it can be tempting to give too much focus to the extenuating circumstances that led to the English victory. The terrain advantages, muddy conditions, and poor French leadership played a part in the French loss to be sure, but by themselves these advantages were likely not enough to propel the English to victory against the vastly numerically superior French. The English fought consistently for three hours after a night of very little sleep, very little food, and with many of them suffering from a disease that drains their energy. Somehow, they found the bravery and adrenaline needed to fight past the breaking point. The English soldiers at Agincourt felt fervent dedication to the cause and fought fiercely and remarkably in the face of overwhelming odds. The battle has inspired some of the world's greatest writers and soldiers and will continue to do so for centuries to come.
21.0 Bibliography
- Barker, Juliet (2005). Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England. New York, NY: Back Bay Books.
- The Battle of Agincourt. (Nov 10, 2006). http://www.britishbattles.com/100-years-war/agincourt.htm
- The Battle of Agincourt, 1415. (2006). EyeWitness to History, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/agincourt.htm
- Battle of Agincourt: 10 reasons why the French lost to Henry V's army. (Oct 23, 2015). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8648068/Battle-of-Agincourt-ten-reasons-why-the-French-lost.html
- Fiennes, Ranulph (2015). Agincourt: The Fight for France. New York, NY: Pegasus Books.
- Longbow Archers: The Battle for Agincourt, 25 October 1415. (Mar 1, 2003). http://www.longbow-archers.com/historyagincourt.html
- Overy, Richard (2014). History of War in 100 Battles. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- University of Southampton. Agincourt 1415 [online class]. https://futurelearn.com/courses/agincourt