Post by UKarchaeology on Nov 11, 2015 14:15:24 GMT
The ship that sank France: As it's found buried in the mud of an English river, how the pride of Henry V's fleet wrought bloody mayhem on our oldest enemy
* Ship was a floating symbol of power and prestige - the pride of the fleet
* Warship was 120ft long, weighed 700 tons and was built from 3,700 trees
* She helped save hundreds of men and dozens of battles against French
The English fleet came to anchor off the French port of Harfleur in the afternoon of August 14, 1416. With 250 to 300 ships, carrying around 6,500 fighting men, the force was commanded by no less a figure than King Henry V’s brother — John, Duke of Bedford.
Bedford’s mission was vital. Since the spring of that year, the French, assisted by the Genoese and the Spanish, had been blockading an English garrison in Harfleur, and mounting regular cross-Channel raids from Normandy on the English coast.
The king wanted his brother to put a stop to it — swiftly and mercilessly. Like Henry, who had won the decisive battle of Agincourt the year before, Bedford was not a man to shy away from the thick of the fighting. His flagship, the mighty Holy Ghost, would be at the heart of the battle.
Full story: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3270065/The-ship-sank-France-s-buried-mud-English-river-pride-Henry-V-s-fleet-wrought-bloody-mayhem-oldest-enemy.html
