History Talk – Agincourt 1415 – The Very First Battle of the Somme

On St Crispin’s Day (25 October) 1415 after a 17-day trek along the Somme River, a small, tired, hungry and desperate English army led by King Henry V was forced to stand and fight a much larger French army near the village of Agincourt. How the English scored a decisive victory over superior French numbers in such difficult conditions is the stuff of legends.

Hear military historian and battlefield guide David Wilson discuss the background to the Battle of Agincourt within the context of the Hundred Years War, including an analysis of the arms, armour and tactics used to create this significant victory. David graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1975 into the Infantry Corps and served 47 years in both Regular Army and Reserves. He is a fully Accredited Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides and he visited the Agincourt site in August 2018.