Still,the King was determined not to retire until he had struck a greater blow.Therefore,against the advice of all his counsellors,he moved on with his little force towards Calais.
When he came up to the river Somme he was unable to cross,in consequence of the fort being fortified;and,as the English moved up the left bank of the river looking for a crossing,the French,who had broken all the bridges,moved up the right bank,watching them,and waiting to attack them when they should try to pass it.
At last the English found a crossing and got safely over.The French held a council of war at Rouen,resolved to give the English battle,and sent heralds to King Henry to know by which road he was going.'By the road that will take me straight to Calais!'said the King,and sent them away with a present of a hundred crowns.
The English moved on,until they beheld the French,and then the King gave orders to form in line of battle.The French not coming on,the army broke up after remaining in battle array till night,and got good rest and refreshment at a neighbouring village.The French were now all lying in another village,through which they knew the English must pass.They were resolved that the English should begin the battle.The English had no means of retreat,if their King had any such intention;and so the two armies passed the night,close together.
To understand these armies well,you must bear in mind that the immense French army had,among its notable persons,almost the whole of that wicked nobility,whose debauchery had made France a desert;and so besotted were they by pride,and by contempt for the common people,that they had scarcely any bowmen (if indeed they had any at all)in their whole enormous number:which,compared with the English army,was at least as six to one.For these proud fools had said that the bow was not a fit weapon for knightly hands,and that France must be defended by gentlemen only.We shall see,presently,what hand the gentlemen made of it.
Now,on the English side,among the little force,there was a good proportion of men who were not gentlemen by any means,but who were good stout archers for all that.Among them,in the morning-having slept little at night,while the French were carousing and making sure of victory-the King rode,on a grey horse;wearing on his head a helmet of shining steel,surmounted by a crown of gold,sparkling with precious stones;and bearing over his armour,embroidered together,the arms of England and the arms of France.
The archers looked at the shining helmet and the crown of gold and the sparkling jewels,and admired them all;but,what they admired most was the King's cheerful face,and his bright blue eye,as he told them that,for himself,he had made up his mind to conquer there or to die there,and that England should never have a ransom to pay for HIM.There was one brave knight who chanced to say that he wished some of the many gallant gentlemen and good soldiers,who were then idle at home in England,were there to increase their numbers.But the King told him that,for his part,he did not wish for one more man.'The fewer we have,'said he,'the greater will be the honour we shall win!'His men,being now all in good heart,were refreshed with bread and wine,and heard prayers,and waited quietly for the French.The King waited for the French,because they were drawn up thirty deep (the little English force was only three deep),on very difficult and heavy ground;and he knew that when they moved,there must be confusion among them.
As they did not move,he sent off two parties:-one to lie concealed in a wood on the left of the French:the other,to set fire to some houses behind the French after the battle should be begun.This was scarcely done,when three of the proud French gentlemen,who were to defend their country without any help from the base peasants,came riding out,calling upon the English to surrender.The King warned those gentlemen himself to retire with all speed if they cared for their lives,and ordered the English banners to advance.Upon that,Sir Thomas Erpingham,a great English general,who commanded the archers,threw his truncheon into the air,joyfully,and all the English men,kneeling down upon the ground and biting it as if they took possession of the country,rose up with a great shout and fell upon the French.
Every archer was furnished with a great stake tipped with iron;and his orders were,to thrust this stake into the ground,to discharge his arrow,and then to fall back,when the French horsemen came on.
As the haughty French gentlemen,who were to break the English archers and utterly destroy them with their knightly lances,came riding up,they were received with such a blinding storm of arrows,that they broke and turned.Horses and men rolled over one another,and the confusion was terrific.Those who rallied and charged the archers got among the stakes on slippery and boggy ground,and were so bewildered that the English archers-who wore no armour,and even took off their leathern coats to be more active-cut them to pieces,root and branch.Only three French horsemen got within the stakes,and those were instantly despatched.All this time the dense French army,being in armour,were sinking knee-deep into the mire;while the light English archers,half-naked,were as fresh and active as if they were fighting on a marble floor.
But now,the second division of the French coming to the relief of the first,closed up in a firm mass;the English,headed by the King,attacked them;and the deadliest part of the battle began.
The King's brother,the Duke of Clarence,was struck down,and numbers of the French surrounded him;but,King Henry,standing over the body,fought like a lion until they were beaten off.