Henry V came to the English throne in 1413, inheriting a kingdom troubled by internal dissent and an unfinished conflict with France. Determined to assert his legitimacy and revive English claims across the Channel, he prepared carefully for a new campaign.
In 1415 he invaded France, besieging Harfleur and then marching his exhausted army toward Calais. At Agincourt, heavily outnumbered and bogged down in mud, his troopsโanchored by longbowmenโinflicted a devastating defeat on the French nobility. The battle became legendary as an example of leadership, discipline, and the power of terrain.
Henry used his victories to negotiate the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. The treaty disinherited the Dauphin and recognized Henry as heir and regent of France. He married Catherine of Valois, daughter of the French king. Yet his triumph was short-lived: Henry died in 1422, likely of illness, leaving an infant son as king. Within a decade, the momentum of the war would shift against England, aided by the rise of Joan of Arc.