Harfleur siege: The 1416 naval struggle for Normandy

In the spring of 1416, the strategic English stronghold of Harfleur faced a critical crisis during the Hundred Years' War. Following the English victory at Agincourt, French forces led by Bernard VII d’Armagnac sought to neutralize the English presence in Normandy by encircling the fortress at the mouth of the Seine.

To bypass the need for a direct field battle, French forces implemented a blockade to starve the garrison. Lacking a robust domestic fleet, France employed Genoese mercenary ships to control access to the port and sever supply lines. As supplies dwindled and disease spread within the fortress, Henry V commissioned his brother, John, Duke of Bedford, to lead a rescue mission. Bedford assembled a fleet of approximately two hundred vessels, primarily adapted merchant ships carrying combat crews, to break the siege and secure the English foothold in the region.