PREVIEW： Epochs #212 ｜ Henry V： Part VII
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Summary
This episode is brought to you by Survival, a Parcast Original Children s Stories podcast produced by Gimlet Media. On the last Sunday of every month, Parcast Rewind replays a classic episode of Mythology that you might have missed! This week, we take a look at one of the most famous battles in history, the Battle of the Somme, and the events leading up to it.
Transcript
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Acques had been a small town, only too ready to let the English pass by peacefully.
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It was well defended by high walls and steep slopes, standing above the river Bresol, with
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There were bodies on the ground before the walls.
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He heard that, as his outriders and scouts had approached, bearing the standards of the
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English, the garrison of O had made a sortie on horseback and attacked them with much noise
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There was loud battle on both sides, but the French did not restrain the Englishmen for
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long, and being forced back to the gates, they defended themselves with arrows and missiles."
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One of the French dead was Lancelot Pierre, quote, a valiant and much renowned man of
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war, quote, and a companion and count of O. An Englishman had driven his lance through
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the plates of armour protecting Pierre's stomach, but Pierre's own lance had similarly gone
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right through his assailant's body, killing him too.
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But individual acts of valour like these, although they impressed the chroniclers, could not hold
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up the approach of the English vanguard. Before long, the French had withdrawn to defend the town.
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Although the temptation to storm the town must have been great after the hostile reception,
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Henry decided to follow the same course of action as at Arcades. He sent heralds to the gates to offer
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the inhabitants peace in return for food and drink. If they would supply bread and wine and send
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hostages for the safe conduct of the garrison, Henry would not burn the town and the villages nearby.
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If, on the other hand, they refused, he would destroy everything.
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While the men of O were considering this offer, the English made camp at a little distance.
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It was not an easy night. By this stage, they had heard that a great army had gathered ahead
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at Blanchiquet, the very crossing point to which Henry was heading. Frenchmen who had been taken
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captive were saying that there would be a battle the following day, or on Monday. We know it's still
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quite a few days away. The author of the Guesta was unsure what to think. Some of those with him
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thought that the French would be unlikely to come up from the interior of the country so quickly.
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After all, the French could not be sure that the Duke of Burgundy would not attack Paris,
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or even join Henry. On the other hand, there were those who pointed out that the noble kingdom of
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France could not be expected to withstand the indignity and dishonour of an English army marching
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through Normandy and into Ponthieu. They were bound to attack the French, is of honour bound to attack.
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What Henry himself thought is not known. He was probably placing his hopes in getting to
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Blanchiquet before the French. He knew the Dauphin and the Royal Dukes were still a very long
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way behind him. If he had to face an army, it would be composed of men gathering with Bouchicourt and
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Charles de Albrecht, the Marshal and Constable of France, on the north side of the river, and not
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the full array of the Royal Dukes. As the sun went down over Eau, everything still seemed to be on course
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for a relatively safe passage for the English through to Calais. The chances of this were further enhanced
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when the men of Eau agreed to offer hostages and sustenance to the army. It was 18 miles to Blanchiquet.
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The English would get there the following day. John the Fearless spent the early part of October
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at Chalons. On the 10th, he had made his way to Guermel. From there, he dispatched an embassy
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to the French king, supporting what his son, the Count of Charlois, had declared two days earlier,
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that he intended to mobilise his forces and join the king very soon. Despite this, he did not set out.
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He remained at Guermel for the next seven days. His vassals in Picardy, however, were responding
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to his summons. They were not joining the army at Rouen, but the separate French army now gathering
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north of the Somme under Bouchicourt and Albrecht. The French king might have been mad and the Dauphin
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inexperienced, but Bouchicourt and Albrecht knew what they were doing. The English would soon find
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themselves sandwiched between two armies and forced to fight. Other French magnates were riding to the age
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of the French king. Today, the old Duke of Bury, the Dauphin's great-uncle, arrived at Rouen, where
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he had mustered 1,000 men-at-arms and 500 archers. The king himself also arrived at Rouen today,
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accompanied by the Dauphin. Other French lords were already there, so now the army had a direct
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chain of command. This was important, for it was being rumoured today that the Duke of Clarence had
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landed at Calais with another large army. Which way were the French in Normandy to turn their attention?
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To Henry? To the defence of the towns? To the river crossings? To the marches of Calais? Or to the
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defence of Boulogne? About this time, the newly gathered French royal family and the other members
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of the council drew up a battle plan, probably with the intention of stopping Henry at Blanchequay.
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The vanguard was to be commanded by Bouchicourt and Charles d'Albrecht. They would be followed by a
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second battle under the Duke of Alencon, the Count of Eaux and other lords. On each wing of the army,
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there would be a battle of foot soldiers, and one on the right commanded by the Count of Richemont,
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and one on the left by the Count of Vendôme. David, Signor de Ramberez, would command a contingent
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of heavily armoured cavalry, with the mission to charge into and break up the ranks of English archers.
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And a separate squadron of several hundred mounted men-at-arms, under Louis de Bozredon,
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was given charge of attacking the English baggage. The anticipated army would be composed of the troops
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gathering at Rouen, as well as those waiting beyond the Somme, gathering at Abbeville and Pernon.
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Wherever the English positioned themselves, whether their backs were against the Somme or otherwise,
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the French were preparing to attack. Sunday the 13th, which is the feast of St. Edward the Confessor.
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The feast of St. Edward the Confessor has special significance for the Lancastrian dynasty.
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Not only was it the feast of the principal English royal saint, Henry's father had been sent into
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exile on the same day in 1398 by his cousin, Richard II. Exactly one year later,
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he had been crowned King of England in Richard's place. As a result, Henry IV had built a chapel in
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Canterbury Cathedral, dedicated to St. Edward the Confessor. Henry V had shown himself to be no less
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fond of the English king saint than his father. One of the banners he was carrying now bore the arms of
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St. Edward. The English army must have set out for Blanchequay shortly after packing up their tents
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at first light. Already there had been worrying reports from prisoners taken along the way that
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there was a huge French army waiting to intercept the English at the Ford. These reports received
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confirmation late this morning when the army was still six miles away from the crossing point.
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According to Monstrullet, a Gascon gentleman serving in the company of Charles d'Albrat was arrested.
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Wurin's chronicle describes him as being mounted and armed. Monstrullet's chronicle refers to him as a
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devil. As a Gascon, it may be that he crossed the Somme and came to the English purposefully,
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out of a greater loyalty to Henry as the Duke of Aquitaine than to his feudal lord, the d'Albrat family,
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having been once subjects of the English kings. The man was taken before the Duke of York,
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the leader of the vanguard, and questioned. He said that he had left Charles d'Albrat at Abbeville.
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When asked about the fold at Blanchiquet, he told them that it was very heavily guarded.
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Guillard Dauphin and Beauchiquet, that's not the Dauphin by the way, someone else, and Bouchicourt
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were both there with 6,000 fighting men. If all this was true, it meant that the English were trapped
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between two armies, one under d'Albrat and Beauchiquet between Abbeville and Blanchiquet,
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and the Ducal retinues gathering at Rouen. The Duke of York realised the significance of this
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information and sent the Gascon to the king. There he was questioned again. Henry heard everything
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he had to say. Then he dismissed him, halted the advance, and called an immediate meeting of his
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council. The meeting lasted two hours. We cannot know for certain what was said, but it proved to
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be a turning point for Henry, a breaking point even. Everything he had done all year had been
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carried out with the greatest resolution. There had been those who had said he should have cancelled
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the campaign when the Earl of Cambridge's plot had been revealed. He had ignored them and pressed
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on. The siege of Harfleur had hugely sapped the strength of his army, and there had been those
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who had said he should not have started on this march. Nevertheless, he had ignored them and set
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out, determined to make his way to Calais. He was equally determined to meet the French in battle,
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even to the point of telling them exactly where he would be, and now he was being forced to
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acknowledge that he had been outmanoeuvred. His resolution to march on regardless, and to test
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his cause against God's will, had only succeeded in endangering the tired and hungry survivors of
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the long siege. If at this point he tried to persuade his counsellors otherwise, he failed to win them
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over. Their advice was that the army should find another crossing. No doubt Henry had already sent scouts
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ahead to examine the conditions at the Fords, and they had probably come back with the information
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that many French troops were stationed there. The number of 6,000 men was probably not a huge
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exaggeration. If Boussicot and d'Albrecht and the Signor de Ramberez had been joined by the Duke
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of Alençon, as was likely, then there would have been at least 4,000 fighting troops north of the Somme.
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By now Henry may have learnt that the 300 men at arms who had left Calais to take control of the
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crossing had been annihilated by a Picard army. Henry's strategy was falling apart. His council was
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sensible to put their faith in avoiding battle rather than deliberately seeking it. It must
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have been a depressing meeting. It was not possible to advance by way of Blanchiquet. Retreat was out
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of the question, and if they marched inland along the Somme, there was a good chance that the enemy
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troops north of the Somme and those gathering at Pernon would starve them in the field. It seemed that
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the French had indeed, quote, enclosed them on every side like sheep in folds, quote, as several counsellors
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had warned they would before they had set out, and the eight days' rations were almost all used up.
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This was the seventh day of what was supposed to have been an eight-day march to Calais.
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The bread and wine the men had received at Arques and O had not gone far, and most men had been
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drinking unhealthy river water for the last week. Some of them were carrying festering wounds,
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others were still suffering from dysentery. So it's looking dark. It's looking dark for Henry and
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the English at this stage. Henry probably considered advancing his men to the fold and trying to fight
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his way across. He knew that Edward III had done so in 1346 and, on that occasion, as if by a miracle,
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the tide had come in after the last of the English were across and stopped the French from crossing.
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Surely God would work some similar miracle for him. But if he suggested this, the counsellors would
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have countered that Edward's army had fought a way across the Somme against no more than 3,000 men.
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According to the Gascon informer, the fold was further defended now with sharpened stakes driven
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into the bed of the river, allowing the French crossbowmen to rip the English apart in midstream.
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Fighting against 6,000 in these conditions, including crossbowmen, would be very difficult.
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Thus it was, at this point, six miles short of the fold, that Henry abandoned his original plan.
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He ordered the army to head inland, following the banks of the Somme. As they made their way along the
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river, looking for a crossing nearer Abbeville, the scouts reported that all the bridges had been
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broken by the Constable and Marshal of France. So they proceeded until that night, cold, hungry and
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weary, they came to the village of Muril, where they camped. At Arundel Castle, the Earl of Arundel died.
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It was a sad end, considering his extraordinary career. After his father's execution in 1397,
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he had been trusted as a servant and regularly humiliated by his guardian,
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John Holland, Duke of Exeter. Locked up in Rygate Castle, he escaped, although still only 17,
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and managed to get out to the continent where he joined his uncle, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
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in exile. Together they went to meet Henry's father in Paris, and joined him in his attempt
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to wrest the throne from Richard II. Thomas was thus the very first Lancastrian supporter,
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and had remained loyal to the dynasty thereafter, taking part in putting down the Epiphany Rising
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in 1400, fighting alongside Prince Henry in Wales after Glendower's revolt, and taking action against
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Archbishop Scrope in 1405. By 1407, he was the prince's principal retainer, and served on the
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prince's council during the regency of 1409-1411. He was sent by the prince to fight for John the
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Fearless at St. Cloud in 1411, and proved himself efficient in battle. As his will shows, he shared
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the prince's devotion to the Holy Trinity and to the cult of St. John of Bridlington, and very soon
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after Henry's accession, he was loaded with titles and honours, Warden of the Sinkports, Constable of
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Dover Castle, and most important of all, Treasurer of England. Apart from Henry's uncles and brothers,
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only Richard Beauchamp, the late Richard Courtenay, and the Duke of York were as close to the king.
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Thomas now became the second of that number to die as a result of Henry's will to fight a war in
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France. Monday the 14th. The bridge at Pont Remy was Henry's next target, about four miles east-north-east
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of his camp. Seeing a large number of men drawing up on the opposite bank, he believed battle to be
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imminent, and dubbed a number of knights. Among these were Lord Ferriers of Groby, Ralph Greystoke,
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Peter Tempest, Christopher Moresby, Thomas Pickering, William Huddleston, John Hosbalton,
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John Mortimer, James Ormond, and Philip and William Halley. Knighting men was a good way to inspire them
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to feats of valour in the forthcoming battle, as they would seek to win glory and prove themselves
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worthy. As he approached the bridge, however, he saw that it was broken. So too were the causeways
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leading to it. The river here had been a broad marsh on either side, hence the causeways,
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so no bridge building was possible, even though Henry had specifically brought carpenters who
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were experienced in the craft. It was at this point that the hearts of the English fell,
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they had run out of food, they had no way forward, no way back, and there were thousands of French
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troops on all sides tracking their movements and hoping to kill them. The head of the Somme lay 60
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miles away, they had no option but to march inland, deep into hostile territory. To desert at this stage would
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be certain death for any Englishman, otherwise many men would have simply run away. The words
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that the author of the Guesta used to describe the plight of the English at this moment were
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clearly heartfelt. And this is from the near contemporaneous history, which says, quote,
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at that time we thought of nothing else but that after the eight days assigned for the march had
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expired and our provisions had run out, the enemy who had craftily hastened on ahead and were laying
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waste to the countryside in advance would face us, we who were already hungry, to suffer a really dire
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need of food. And at the head of the river, if God did not provide otherwise, they would with their
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great and countless host and the engines of war and devices available to them overwhelm us. For we were few in
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number, fainting with a great weariness and weak from lack of food. I, the author of this, and many
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others in the army, looked up in bitterness to heaven, seeking the clemency of providence,
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and called upon the glorious Virgin and Saint George, under whose protection the most invincible
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crown of England has flourished from of old, to intercede between God and his people, that the Supreme
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Judge, who foresees all things, might take pity on the grief all England would feel, at the price we
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will pay with our blood. And in his infinite mercy, God's infinite mercy, deliver from the sword of the
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French our king and us his people, who have sought not war but peace, yeah right, and bring us to the
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honour and glory of his name, in triumph to Calais. Without any other hope but this, we hastened on
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from there in the direction of the head of the river." End quote. Mortimer now. What the author of the
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Guester does not say at this point, is that Henry's high-minded intentions, not to lay waste to his
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kingdom of France, were starting to wear thin. It was all very well for him to declare that no burning,
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raping or killing should take place, but the men were now hungry, and the scouts were taking matters
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into their own hands. Henry may or may not have condoned their actions, but the English burned and looted
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as they marched to Airenes, Tuesday the 15th. The issue rolls for this day record an interesting
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payment. It reads, "...to master Robert Benham sent to Calais, with divers medicines ordered for the
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health of the king's person and others in his army who went with him." This obviously postdates the
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actual delivery of the medicines by some weeks, but it suggests that Henry had not escaped the siege of
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Half-Lure totally unscathed. What he had been suffering from, or whether he was still afflicted,
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we can only guess. But the knowledge that he was ill, and had not yet reached Calais to benefit from
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the medicines in question, makes his leadership in the face of many adversities all the more striking.
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The dejected English army approached the city of Amiens. Two days earlier in the same town,
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the order for the defence of the Somme had been read out. Charles d'Albert had chosen to concentrate
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the bulk of his forces at Abbeville in an attempt to trap Henry against the river. The people of Amiens
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had been ordered to send reinforcements, large numbers of crossbowmen, and all their artillery.
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This had been done, albeit very reluctantly, for it left them vulnerable. Now at Abbeville,
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there were several thousand fighting men and twelve heavy cannon, more than two thousand cannon balls,
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and large stocks of saltpeter, sulphur, gunpowder, and various other machines of war. At Amiens,
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there were no stockpiled munitions. The people of Amiens were lucky. The English marched straight past,
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at a distance of about three miles. It is likely that the soldiers from Abbeville,
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who had been tracking them along the far bank, had bolstered the defences of the town. Also,
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troops stationed upstream at Courbet and Pernon may have shifted to Amiens in response to the English
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advance. D'Albert's plan was flexible enough to defend the inland towns. The dejected English had no
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option but to press on into the dangerous interior of France. Wednesday the 16th. At first,
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Henry's progress had been fast, 16 or 17 miles per day, as fast as one could reasonably go,
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with 10,000 men and several hundred carts and wagons. But since the council meeting,
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six miles short of Blanchiquet, that speed had fallen off. From that moment to the end of today,
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the army had covered between 10 and 11 miles per day. There were several reasons for their slowness.
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The main one was that they were desperate to find a way across the river. Though the army was
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travelling along a line of hills nearby, frequent forays had to be made down to the water to
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investigate every bridge and every possible ford, and every potential site for a new temporary bridge.
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Of course the bridges were all broken and the fords guarded. No doubt the subsequent frustration
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led to the burning and looting along the way, another delaying factor.
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They had to find food as well. Their suppliers of dried beef and walnuts had all long since gone,
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so they had to forage for everything that they ate and drank. The weather did not help. It rained hard
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and was windy, and the nights were very cold. Riding or marching for hours in such miserable conditions
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must have been difficult, especially when the men were starving, weak and frightened.
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Beauvais was a town in the lordship of the Duke of Burgundy, being held for him by the Count of Vodemore,
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brother of the Duke of Lorraine. Although the count was still with Beausicourt at the time,
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the question remained. Would the townsmen fire on the English, or would they hold to John the
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Fearless's promise not to impede Henry in his quarrel with the King of France? It is perhaps
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significant that Thomas Elham, writing three years later, notes that Henry chose to stay at this town,
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perhaps seeing his reception by the garrison of the castle there as a test of John the Fearless's
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loyalty. The garrison, situated on a well-defended rocky outcroft, fired no cannon, nor did they make a
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sortie and attack. Instead, they negotiated with Henry for the safe passage of the army.
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They surrendered hostages, and under cover of night, they sent out eight massive baskets of bread,
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each one carried by two men, to help sustain the army. Henry also asked the captain of the castle
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to look after two very sick knights in the army, directing the men in question to give up their
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horses as an advance payment of their ransoms. A number of low-status men, presumably archers,
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today broke into the vineyards and presses in the region around Beauvais, looking for wine.
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Not surprisingly, they found it, in large quantities. When this was reported to Henry,
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he was very angry. Some men asked why he had forbidden them to drink wine, asking to fill up
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their bottles with it. Now they were here. Henry replied that, quote, he was not troubled by the
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idea of bottles, but that the problem was that many would have their stomachs as their bottles,
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and that was what bothered him, for he was worried they would get too drunk, end quote.
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No wine and no women. One does not imagine there was very much song either, apart from the pipes
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and drums of war. What with the lack of food and lack of comfort, campaigning with Henry V was a
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grim experience. One man did get his reward today. Henry promised his esquire, William Hargrove,
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that when they returned to England, he would make him the usher of the Order of the Garter,
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together with the house in Windsor Castle that went with the office, receiving the usual wages
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as his predecessor. This position carried the right to bear the Black Rod before the King
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and his heirs on feast days, and is today known after the symbol of the office, Black Rod. Anyone who's
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watched the ceremonial opening of Parliament, today I mean, you'll see Black Rod banging on the doors of
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the House of Commons. So that office still exists to this day, albeit in a bit of a different form.
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