Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
It's the birthday of Henry V, the king of England immortalized by Shakespeare, born on this day in Monmouth, Wales (1387). At that time, the nobility in England still had strong ties to France, and in fact Henry V was the first king of England to grow up speaking and writing fluently in English.
King Henry V believed that parts of France, including Normandy and Touraine belonged to England, and he was prepared to go to war to claim them.
He met the French at the Battle of Agincourt. There were about 30,000 French soldiers compared Henry's army of fewer than 10,000. It appeared as though Henry had arrogantly led his men to slaughter. But the French chose a tiny, muddy battlefield, which made it difficult for them to maneuver. Henry used his archers and their superior long bows to force the heavily armored French soldiers into a crowded mass, and then his more lightly armored soldiers attacked, hacking down thousands of the almost helpless French.
The battle of Agincourt became a huge patriotic victory, pulling the citizens of England together, even though the campaign in France eventually drove Henry V to an early grave. He died of dysentery just seven years after that battle, and the lands he'd captured in France were quickly lost.
Shakespeare's play about Henry V captured what historians believe was one of the more egregious war crimes in medieval history. At the time, it was almost unheard of for knights to kill prisoners of war. But at the end of the battle of Agincourt, Henry V ordered his men to kill all the French prisoners of war as a way of intimidating any remaining French soldiers in the area. In the play, Henry's soldiers hesitate, and the order has to be repeated three times, until finally the soldiers comply and kill the unarmed Frenchmen. Though Henry V is one of the most popular of Shakespeare's histories, that scene is rarely included in productions of the play. It wasn't included in either of the two film versions in 1944 or 1989.
Doc.
King Henry V believed that parts of France, including Normandy and Touraine belonged to England, and he was prepared to go to war to claim them.
He met the French at the Battle of Agincourt. There were about 30,000 French soldiers compared Henry's army of fewer than 10,000. It appeared as though Henry had arrogantly led his men to slaughter. But the French chose a tiny, muddy battlefield, which made it difficult for them to maneuver. Henry used his archers and their superior long bows to force the heavily armored French soldiers into a crowded mass, and then his more lightly armored soldiers attacked, hacking down thousands of the almost helpless French.
The battle of Agincourt became a huge patriotic victory, pulling the citizens of England together, even though the campaign in France eventually drove Henry V to an early grave. He died of dysentery just seven years after that battle, and the lands he'd captured in France were quickly lost.
Shakespeare's play about Henry V captured what historians believe was one of the more egregious war crimes in medieval history. At the time, it was almost unheard of for knights to kill prisoners of war. But at the end of the battle of Agincourt, Henry V ordered his men to kill all the French prisoners of war as a way of intimidating any remaining French soldiers in the area. In the play, Henry's soldiers hesitate, and the order has to be repeated three times, until finally the soldiers comply and kill the unarmed Frenchmen. Though Henry V is one of the most popular of Shakespeare's histories, that scene is rarely included in productions of the play. It wasn't included in either of the two film versions in 1944 or 1989.
Doc.