25 October in history: Agincourt, Balaclava, Cape Finisterre

Quick answer

25 October is a day of famous charges. In 1415 Henry V's tired, sick army, cut off on its way to Calais, stood behind a hedge of stakes at Agincourt while the French nobility struggled toward it through deep mud, and won a victory that strengthened his claim to the French throne. In 1854, at Balaclava in the Crimea, a thin line of Highlanders turned back Russian cavalry, the Heavy Brigade charged uphill and won, and then a misunderstood order sent the Light Brigade down a valley lined with guns. And in 1747, off Cape Finisterre, Edward Hawke's fleet fell on a French convoy's escort and took six of its eight ships of the line.

The Battle of Agincourt, 1415: the longbow's day

25 October 1415 · 611 years ago

England won at Agincourt on 25 October 1415, when Henry V's outnumbered longbowmen cut down the French knights in the mud. The odds, losses and legend.

Read the full story of The Battle of Agincourt, 1415: the longbow's day ›

Second Battle of Cape Finisterre, 1747: Hawke and the sacrificed escort

25 October 1747 · 279 years ago

Off Cape Finisterre, Edward Hawke's British fleet caught a large French convoy guarded by warships under Henri-François des Herbiers in the Austrian Succession war. Six French warships were captured, a decisive British win that cut France's colonies off from support.

Read the full story of Second Battle of Cape Finisterre, 1747: Hawke and the sacrificed escort ›

The Battle of Balaclava

25 October 1854 · 172 years ago

The Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 was tactically inconclusive, with Russian and British-led Allied forces each holding key ground above the Crimean port. It is remembered above all for the Charge of the Light Brigade, one of the most famous and futile cavalry charges in military history.

Read the full story of The Battle of Balaclava ›

Also on this day

In 1944, off the island of Samar, the escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts of Taffy 3 fought off Admiral Kurita's battleships in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the St. Lo became the first American ship, and the first major warship, sunk by a kamikaze attack. The battle is told on our 23 October page.¹

Frequently asked questions

Why did the English win at Agincourt?

Rain had turned the narrow field between two woods into deep mud. The English archers, behind a line of stakes, broke the French cavalry charge, and the heavily armored French men-at-arms could not use their numbers as they struggled forward on a narrow front.

How big were the armies at Agincourt?

Nobody knows exactly. EBSCO gives about 6,300 to 6,500 English against 20,000 to 30,000 French, while Anne Curry, in her later research based on the surviving pay and muster records, puts the English at about 9,000 and the French at about 12,000.

What was the Charge of the Light Brigade?

A British cavalry attack at Balaclava on 25 October 1854. An order that did not say which guns were meant sent the 673 men of the Light Brigade down the North Valley at a Russian battery, under fire from three sides. The National Army Museum gives about 260 killed or wounded and 475 horses lost.

What was the Thin Red Line?

The stand of Sir Colin Campbell's 93rd Highlanders at Balaclava, who drew up in two lines instead of a square and turned back the Russian cavalry with two volleys. The name comes from William Howard Russell's report in The Times, which the National Army Museum quotes as "that thin red streak tipped with steel" and Military History Matters as "a thin red streak topped up with a line of steel".

Why does Cape Finisterre sometimes have a different date?

Britain still used the Julian (Old Style) calendar in 1747, so British sources give 14 October. In the Gregorian (New Style) calendar the date is 25 October.