Agincourt

“	Henry V's campaign to claim the French crown has failed, and now he must retreat home to England. However, a large French army is assembling and will not let Henry pass without a fight.	”
—In-game scenario description in the Definitive Edition

Agincourt is a campaign scenario in the Battles of the Conquerors in Age of Empires II. The player controls the English troops of Henry V trying to get back home after a failed initial invasion of France. This scenario is based on the Battle of Agincourt that took place on October 25th 1415.

Intro[]

The rains come again, until there is nothing left of road, wood, or field, nothing in the entire world but mud. The exhausted English soldiers hoist their longbows over their heads, trying to protect the precious yew wood from the water.

The empty wagons can scarcely roll forward, even though all of the supplies have long been eaten. Terrifying hoof beats resound from the rear. The French knights have come.

The English have been in a slow retreat ever since the debacle at Harfleur, where King Henry the Fifth's glorious siege dragged on and on, costing the lives of 3000 Englishmen.

Now, Henry has all but abandoned his dream of establishing his hereditary claim to the French crown. Like his men, he only wants to reach Calais and the ships that will return them home to England.

On the road back to Calais, the French army overtakes Henry. Knowing that the English are fatigued, starving, and outnumbered three to one, the French have no interest in negotiation. The English make their stand on a wooded hilltop.

The archers plant stakes in the ground to offer some barrier against the deadly French cavalry.

Henry's only hope is that his lightly-armored infantry prove more nimble than the impetuous French knights, and that the range of his archers can even the odds before the French horses are upon them.

The rains come again, until there is nothing left of road or wood or field, nothing in the entire world but mud. The exhausted English soldiers hoist their longbows over their heads, trying to protect the precious yew wood from the water.

The empty wagons can scarcely roll forward, even though all of the supplies have long been eaten. From the rear terrifying hoof beats resound. The French knights have come.

The English have been in a slow retreat ever since the debacle at Harfleur, where King Henry the Fifth's glorious siege dragged on and on, costing the lives of 3000 Englishmen.

Now Henry has all but abandoned his dream of establishing his hereditary claim to the French crown. Like his men, he only wants to reach Calais and the ships that will return them home to England.

But on the road back to Calais, the French army overtakes Henry. Knowing that the English are fatigued, starving and outnumbered three to one, the French have no interest in negotiation. The English make their stand on a wooded hilltop.

The archers plant stakes in the ground to offer some barrier against the deadly French cavalry.

Henry's only hope is that his lightly-armored infantry prove more nimble than the impetuous French knights and that the range of his archers can even the odds before the French horses are upon them.

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Starting age: Imperial Age
Starting resources: 80 wood, 85 gold
Population limit: 75
Starting units:
- Henry V
- 2 Monks
- 12 Two-Handed Swordsmen
- 20 Elite Longbowmen
- 3 Knights
- 2 Battering Rams

Differences between difficulty levels[]

On Standard difficulty, there are fewer French Knights.
On Standard and Moderate, the player starts with 1 additional Monk.

Objectives[]

Main objectives[]

King Henry V must survive.
(later) Acquire a Transport Ship in order to send Henry V home to England.

Secondary objectives[]

Destroy the University in Voyeni/Voyennes (green) to recover and learn from the great texts stored there.
Destroy the Blacksmith in Amiens (cyan) to recover armor and weapons.
Break through the enclosure around the French Knights' trebuchet and capture it for the English.

Hints[]

Because you are in enemy lands, cut off from supplies, you will be unable to establish a town or train new units. You must survive with your initial army.
Since you lack resources, converting enemy villagers will serve only to let you repair siege weapons.

Scouts[]

Your scouts report: The English (1, Red) must navigate or conquer several French towns before they can return home. Harfleur (6, purple) is in the southwest, Amiens (4, Cyan) is atop a cliffed plateau in the south, Voyeni/Voyennes (3, Green) is in the center of the area, Frevent (5, Yellow) is to the southeast, and French Knights (2, Blue) roam the north.
England lies to the northwest, across the English channel. You will need Transports to reach it.
Bridges are out or heavily fortified down most of the length of the River Somme, but there may be an undefended crossing further southeast.

Players[]

Player[]

Player ( Britons): The player starts in the siege of Harfleur. All military units on the battlefield are at the player's disposal, but the player has no Villagers, so they cannot build up an economy, but they can convert enemy Villagers to repair siege units.

Enemies[]

Amiens ( Franks): Located in the south. Destroying their Blacksmith will give the player Imperial Age Blacksmith technologies. They are protected by several gates, towers, and use a variety of units.
French Knights ( Franks): Stationed in the north, they are the main opponent and consist mainly of Knights. The player needs to deal with their Castle and towers along the way. The player may capture their Trebuchet by destroying the Palisade Wall around it, and will obtain their Transport Ship at their Dock.
Frevent ( Franks): Located in the southeast, they have a Dock across the river. However, they play virtually no role in this scenario, only defending themselves with Spearmen. King Henry's soldier suggests taking a break here.
Harfleur ( Franks): In the southwest, where the player's army starts outside. Harfleur is badly damaged, and they are the weakest opponent, having only thirteen Knights.
Voyennes (Voyeni before the Definitive Edition) ( Franks): In the center of the map. Destroying their University will give the player Chemistry (referred as "Greek fire" in the in-game dialogue). The southern Gate is well-defended by a Castle.

Strategy[]

As the player cannot train more troops or build buildings outside of Palisade Walls, the only way to bolster their army is through conversion. It is possible to convert some Knights from Harfleur, Light Cavalry and Skirmishers from Voyeni (the Skirmishers are upgraded to Elite Skirmishers early in the scenario), Crossbowmen from Amiens, and Spearmen from Frevent. However, Amiens and Voyennes research Heresy a few minutes after the beginning of the scenario, rendering conversion more or less pointless. Converted units aside, the player's army is not great at attacking Castles head-on, but their Longbowmen outrange the French Castles and towers, allowing them to whittle defenses down safely, albeit very slowly.

The player starts outside the French city of Harfleur, with a few dozen soldiers (mainly Longbowmen), a few Monks, two Battering Rams, and no Villagers. Retreat slightly to avoid the towers' arrow-fire, and then kill the Knights that come out of the gate. Two more Knights remain in Harfleur after the initial battle, and these may be converted easily by the two Monks if they are lured out. The objective is to get to the Docks in the north and steal a Transport Ship, but the bridge there has been destroyed.

Destroy the Gate to Voyennes, and send the troops through to use their bridge. On the way, destroy the University to gain Chemistry (increasing archer damage). There is another way to cross the river, but it involves getting past a Castle, which is best avoided.

If the player wishes, they may then head to Frevent, which offers very little challenge to their army. It may be wise to convert some of their Villagers, as they can be used to repair the Battering Rams. Converting some Spearmen can also help in the battle against the Knights later, since Frevent will keep spawning Spearmen, for a total of around 30, if not destroyed.

Once the player is across the river, there are two paths they can take. They can go north, to fight a large group of French Knights, or south, to invade Amiens and steal some Blacksmith technologies before going north to fight the Knights. If the player can get the upgrades without losing units in the process, they're quite useful.

The battle against the Knights is the hardest on the map, but can be made easier if the player takes advantage of the hill just south of the field. After the enemy Knights begin charging, the player can send their infantry and cavalry in first, to soak up damage while the archers fire. Keep the Monks nearby to heal, and if any Knights charge at the longbowmen, always fire on the closest one. Feel free to send Henry V in, but don't lose him. Another strategy is to use a converted Villager to build a Palisade Wall (the player starts off with a small amount of wood) along the width of the road, blocking off the Knights from reaching the men. It also helps to continually convert enemy troops too (especially Knights), although the French Knights have Heresy researched.

Alternatively, a good tactic is to position the player's troops defensively on the hill, with infantry and Spearmen (if any have been converted) in front, setting them to Defensive stance, and then sending a coverted Villager from Frevent up the road towards the French Knights' base. Once the Villager moves near enough, the entire French army will charge first at the Villager, then at the player's troops on the hill, who will benefit from their high ground advantage. Don't worry about losing the Villager, as he will likely no longer be of use, and additional converted Villagers can be kept out of the way on the off chance that they are still needed to repair your siege weapons.

Once the Knights are dead, the player sees a trebuchet behind some Palisade Walls. Do not fire at it; the player can acquire it by destroying the wall and placing a soldier next to it, and it's better if they don't damage it first.

Destroy the Towers and the Castle with the siege weapons, and go to the Dock. Place a unit next to the transport ship to capture it, and send Henry V across the channel to England. Since the French Knights have Heresy researched, attempting to convert the transport ship with Monks will only destroy it. However, should that happen, the player will receive another transport ship from England.

Slower but safer[]

Back away from Harfleur and out of range of French Guard Towers, set Longbowmen to Stand Ground, and the Knight and Two-Handed Swordmen to Defensive Stance. Keep the ram and Monk alive.
Snipe the Knights from Harfleur and usually Man-at-Arms and Crossbowmen from Amiens, and Elite Skirmishers from Voyeni. After a short while, the attacks will stop.
Head north to Voyeni's Gate. Now, if the player wants Elite Skirmishers, use the Monk, King Henry V, and one Longbowman to attack the gate to draw out the enemy. Feel free to convert as many as desired. If not, break the gate, then the Archery Range, then the University, and finally the Castle to be safe.
Frevent can be ignored. But since Frevent is a good source of free anti-cavalry Spearmen, use one Longbowman to hit the building to draw out the free unit. Have the rest ready to kill any Spearman that can't be converted due to the Monk exhausted faith. Once again, convert as many as desired. Lay waste to Frevent or leave them be.
Ignore Amiens, since it is heavily fortified, and units die rather than joining the player. But if the player really wants to have the upgrade, go ahead.
Time to engage the French Knights. From Frevent, head north, hugging the forest to the right. The player will eventually reach a small hill that is perfect for Standing-Ground-archers and defensive infantry to make a stand. Use a Knight to bait the French Knights to attack and get slaughtered. If the player has a large force of 50 Spearmen, just send in the Spearmen and the Knights will be dead.
Send King Henry V to capture the Trebuchet by destroying the palisade. Use the Trebuchet on the Castle and Guard Tower. French Knights might or might not come out from their camp where they are guarding the ship. If they do, kill them. If the player has many Spearmen left, use them to hit the camp after the Castle is destroyed. During the melee, rush King Henry V to the transport and sail for England.

Speedrun[]

AoE2_HD_-_Agincourt — AoE2 HD - Agincourt

Going to the Dock with King Henry V only

Ensure 1-3 Knights survive
Send King Henry to the southern Voyeni's Gate, then the Knights.
Move Henry near the French Knights and send the Knights frontally to make the enemy pursue, then send the Knights to the southeast while Henry runs to the Dock.
Try not to get killed and run away.
Even if the player can't use the Knights or lose them early on against Harfleur, they can also simply run with King Henry V to the Transport Ship after they manage to pass with him through Voyeni's gate.
If everything goes right, the player can reach England in less than three minutes and finish the scenario.

Surprisingly, this method of simply running to the boat still works in the Definitive Edition. It is an excellent way of getting an easy Gold Medal.^[1]

Outro[]

The Battle of Agincourt is remembered not because it was an inevitable triumph, but because it was an upset. Outnumbered English longbows were victorious over French knights only because the knights had to charge up a muddy hill through a dense forest.

The English wore little armor and were able to catch the encumbered French in the middle of their retreat. A charge by Henry and his surviving cavalry pushed aside the beaten French and opened the road to the coast.

Despite his victory, Henry did not follow through on his attack, but withdrew to England. The true winner of the battle was Burgundy, which was able to come to power in a vacuum emptied by both the English and the French.