Crop Comments: Hi-Mag Mud Predetermines Major Medieval Military Outcome

I have begun rewatching the TV series “Band of Brothers.” The series’ title comes from William Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” There’s an underlying agricultural theme to the English bard’s play. That theme supports the military overtones of a 15th century battle that occurred Oct. 25, 1415.

That military engagement, between French and English forces, took place near Agincourt in Northern France, about 40 miles from the English Channel and Calais. The English troops were destined to engage the much superior French forces of mounted knights and foot-soldiers. King Henry gave his battle-weary comrades-in-arms a motivational pep talk.

That speech closed with the phrase “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” – and begot the title of the World War II drama mentioned above. Henry’s motivational speech, as acted out in Shakespeare’s play, no doubt helped the English fight valiantly, ultimately victoriously.

But nature’s role in securing an English victory was significant. In studying the Agincourt battle, I learned that the fight actually took place just outside Calais. I saw photos taken six centuries after that conflict, and the film’s narrator described the crop: well-headed-out winter wheat. The soil was described as being very dry, but showed dead furrows with water in them – not enough water to cause root rot but enough to be churned by thousands of feet and hooves into muddy ooze.

Henry was leading about 3,000 or 4,000 exhausted troops to Calais, where English ships would transport them home. But a significantly larger French army blocked their path across a large open area. The field was about 1,000 yards wide. The battlefield’s physical nature was arguably the most significant factor in determining its outcome. Recently plowed land, hemmed in by dense woodland, favored the English, both because of its narrowness and because of thick mud, through which French troop – more than their enemies – had to slog.

Historians believe that six centuries ago woodlands closed in along the sides of the battlefield, restricting the movement of foot-soldiers and particularly cavalry. French forces are believed to have outnumbered English by five or six to one. The field only drops a meter or two in altitude in its whole length, a fact which certainly wouldn’t help surface drainage. Though a much smaller force than the French, English longbow archers outnumbered their counterparts significantly. All the French wore classic personal armor – very incompatible with mud. And the English archers, tired or not, knew how to shoot.

The French formed ranks between the woods of Agincourt and nearby Tramecourt, which prevented them from outflanking their enemies. French tactical positions were poor. According to one historian, “The French had plenty of archers and crossbowmen, but nobody wanted to let them shoot, because the site was so narrow. There was only enough room for men-at-arms (foot-soldiers).”

French commanders had chosen an unfortunate place and time to fight. The battlefield had been recently plowed and seeded down, plus it had been raining heavily. With the French more heavily armed than the English, conditions underfoot were much more difficult for them. With mud absolutely everywhere, one historian wrote of “men sinking up to their knees. At the least, the French infantrymen were probably overcome with fatigue before they reached enemy lines.”

“Agincourt’s Dark Secrets” (a TV program) conducted tests and found a type of soil at Agincourt which is very retentive of moisture. A knight in full armor would have found walking through the mud “like walking with 15 bags of sugar on each leg.” In French author Pierre Naudin’s 2006 book “La Bourbier d’Azincourt” (“The Quagmire of Agincourt”), it’s noted that when the casualties, human and equine, were finally sorted from the mud, French losses outnumbered English by about 50 to one. Henry then led his victorious troops home.

I learned that, although not as high in magnesium as the dolomite regions in southern France, the northern zones of the country are “blessed” with lots of this element too. This fact, no doubt, helped determine the battle ground “personality” that fateful October day.

Magnesium has a greater attraction for water than calcium (approximately 67% greater), and thus a larger hydrated radius than calcium. This causes soil particles to remain farther apart and more dispersed. For this reason, soils with higher Mg content have less water- stable aggregates and more pore integrity. These soils are stickier and remain wetter and saturated longer.

On the bright side, dolomitic limestone is highly favorable and often used for cultivating truffles, particularly for the Perigord black truffle. It acts as a soil amendment to create the necessary alkaline environment (pH 7.5 – 8.0) and provides calcium and Mg essential for truffle development. There’s lots of great truffles in France.

Agriculturally, the Agincourt battleground soon returned to sensible rotations of wheat, hay, mustard and barley. Maize, at that time, was still a Central American phenomenon. Imagine how muddy a field of corn stubble would become if trodden by many thousands of feet and hooves.

by Paris Reidhead