[tet68]

The Face of Battle is quite good, Keegan is a military historian and as such is quite aware of the shortcomings
of military historians and the ways they look at battle.
He goes into good detail about the adversaries, the lethality of their weapons and methods, and reasons behind
how these confrontations turned the way they did.

The Agincourt tapestries show bodies piled 5 and 6 high,
which would have required the contestants to actually climb
over the wounded, dying and dead to be able to continue the struggle, Keegan recognizes that in reality the bodies were probably only 2 or 3 deep, with horses carcasses mixed in.
Still a difficult place to keep your footing, and with a
wall of other knights pressing on your back to get into
battle, forcing you forward over the bodies into the swords
and pikes, axes of the foe.

Glad I live now.

[GVnana]

Nasty stuff, indeed. The historians have made much about the vast slaughter of the French nobility. Another interesting point that was brought out in the History Channel's program was the motive of ransom. They theorized that the French were naturally aiming at the English nobility for captives. But the French were physically trapped. (Also in that program, soil samples were taken from Agincourt and the stuff was a sticky, gluey mess -- impossible to maintain a footing.)

Once the English bowsmen had them on the ground, they made short work of the French with hammers and knives. Also, toward the end of the battle, Henry had ordered no captives, and put an end to whomever remained.