On 25 October 1415, the feast day οf Roman martyr Saint Crispian, an English force οf 1,000 men-at-arms and 5,000 archers waited in the morning mist for action to begin. They were tired and wet from a fitful night’s sleep on the cold, damp ground. The temperature was probably between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. They were exhausted from their forced march, and many suffered from diarrhea. Across the freshly plowed field, five times their number οf French knights, including 1,000 on horseback, waited to crush them.
What could Henry, still a young man by current military standards, have said or done to motivate these exhausted soldiers to attack the French and, in fact, eventually route them? One possible answer is the King’s use οf the “imperatives οf leadership.” John Keegan outlines these imperatives in his book The Mask οf Command. Keegan also provides the best analysis οf this medieval battle in his earlier book The Face οf Battle.
There is no record οf exactly what Henry said to motivate his troops. We do not know his thinking, his strategy, or his discussion with the other leaders who accompanied him, although a fairly detailed outline οf how the battle took place is available from a number οf sources.
French troops, provoked by flights οf English arrows, moved forward toward the enemy line and apparently became so tightly packed they could not effectively wield their arms. The battle soon became a slaughter. French soldiers, in heavy armor, slipped on the bodies and entrails οf their countrymen and fell in heaps. The archers joined the slaughter on the French flanks, and the press οf additional French troops in the rear prevented their successful retreat.
The next morning, local officials buried 6,000 French soldiers. When Henry and his troops moved north toward Calais, they were accompanied by several hundred wounded and more than 2,000 French prisoners.
William Shakespeare wrote the drama Henry V centuries after the battle. He likely had sources for information about the battle that we do not. Still, it is probable that most οf the dialogue are fictional. The passage describing Henry’s speech before the battle remains one οf Shakespeare’s most famous, and in Shakespeare’s version, the elements οf the “imperatives οf leadership” are revealed: “We few, we happy few, we band οf brothers. For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother, be he never so vile this day shall gentle his countenance and gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here and hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks who fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
Kinship is the first οf the imperatives essential to effective leadership–“We band οf brothers.” In some way, a leader can communicate with his troops that he is “one οf them.” For the company or battalion commander, the unit size is such that there is an opportunity to move about, getting to know many οf the soldiers and allowing them to get to know him. In larger units, this identification is more difficult.
In brigades, divisions, and larger commands, one way a leader can identify with those he commands is through his staff and subordinate commanders. This group becomes the commander’s intimates. For Henry, the group included his “generals”- the Duke οf York and Lord Camoys. As Henry did, an effective leader surrounds himself with other leaders with whom he can be open and honest. They are also those from whom he can hear his soldiers’ concerns and needs.
Ideally, these leaders, the “captains οf the thousands,” will be sufficiently soldierly to hold the respect οf their own men. Respect for the higher commander and his for them should be readily perceivable by the soldiers and should give them the opportunity for identifying with the higher commander. To maintain this respect and identification, a commander should examine the trappings that come with the office–reserved parking, priority housing, no-waiting status in medical clinics–and determine whether these benefits strengthen or threaten his kinship with his soldiers.
Every successful leader must be able to convey what he expects οf his soldiers. He must be able to communicate his vision and expectations in simple terms, infused with motivational factors to inspire accomplishment: “He today who sheds his blood.” English infantrymen who sat and looked across the muddy field at the superior French force knew exactly what was required οf them. Henry’s vision for his command was not abstract–the enemy stood between them and the safety οf their homes and families.
The significance οf missions our soldiers must accomplish, both in training and during deployment, might be subtler. A mission’s meaning might be lost on junior οfficers and enlisted soldiers. The successful leader must be able to crystallize the task into terms all can readily understand and repeat.
In The Mask οf Command, Keegan quotes Raimondo Montecuccoli and outlines the elements οf the “exhortation οf the host”. According to Montecuccoli, there are four ways to challenge soldiers to risk their lives. First, the commander can convince them οf the importance οf the battle, including the justice οf their cause, the good they are accomplishing, and a sense οf patriotism for the country they represent. Second, he can shame them into a fear οf infamy if they show themselves to be cowards and shrink before the challenge. Third, riches and fame can be promised as the rewards for participation in the fight–“Whiles any speaks who fought with us upon Saint Crispian’s day.” And finally, a commander can demonstrate his own confidence through a positive attitude and conviction οf a victorious outcome.
The commander has the authority to use punishment to deal with those who will not follow his orders. Henry’s soldiers undoubtedly knew they might be beaten or executed if they deserted. Equally important to punishment is the positive reinforcement provided to those who faithfully obey. Shakespeare mentions two aspects οf this: position and honor.
Many οf the archers who joined Henry were condemned men and criminals who had chosen to serve with the King’s campaign rather than go to prison or be executed. For Henry to say: “This day will gentle his countenance” was for him to promise them some improved social position as a result οf their participation. He stated that the significance οf the battle would raise them to the position οf “gentlemen.”
Military service for soldiers today can be a similar “ticket out” οf generations οf low social standing and underachievement, as many commissioned and noncommissioned officers can attest. An effective leader will stress the significance and rewards that participation with the unit will provide.
The second thing promised to Henry’s soldiers was an honor. “Gentlemen in England now abed will think themselves accursed they were not here.” In fact, Shakespeare records Henry’s wish that only those who hungered for honor as he did should stand and fight with him. “But if it is a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive…. [H]e which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart…. We would not die in that man’s company, that fears his fellowship to die with us”.
Honor is not a word frequently heard today. Yet, in some form, it is a frequent theme for those who write about the so-called Generation X. Many people believe this generation is in search οf something to believe in and follow–something larger than themselves. Commanders can promise those they lead that they will know the honor which comes from serving others and giving themselves to something beyond the common pursuit οf security and pleasure. As Charles Allen notes, “No person ever really lives until he has found something worth dying for”.
There is also honor that comes from doing something difficult and challenging, especially when it benefits others more than the one undertaking the effort. Οf course, the challenge to commanders is to be role models their subordinates will strive to imitate. They will embrace the principles οf honor they see the commander embody and will possibly adopt them as their own.
The imperative οf action includes not only a willingness to act but also the insight to think and visualize a situation before taking any action. This requires the commander to do the difficult job οf sifting through all οf the situation reports and information available on the way to making a decision.
Henry challenged his men – “He today who sheds blood with me” – to join him in the battle. Several historians record his performance in personal combat. In fact, the helmet he wore was dented by an enemy’s blow. As an effective commander, he communicated to his men he was willing to share the hardships and dangers they endured.
The trappings that accompany a senior position allow leaders to sleep in dry, warm environs even though their troops are cold and wet. But an effective leader must balance the benefits οf rank against his soldiers’ perception that he is unwilling to share their hardships. There is a need for a commander to conspicuously display his willingness to share every discomfort οf the lowliest soldier’s lot. The most effective leaders have convinced subordinates οf their willingness: “We ate, then he ate…. [W]e slept, then he slept.”
Keegan’s imperatives οf leadership remain as examples οf critical aspects οf a commander’s behavior. Readily apparent in Shakespeare’s account οf Henry’s actions at Agincourt, these imperatives can be summarized as follows:
I am with you (example).
I am one οf you (kinship).
I have looked at the thing which we must do (action: seeing and knowing).
We will do it (prescription).
Because you can do it (sanction).
References
- John Keegan, The Mask οf Command (New York: Penguin Books, 1987).
- Keegan, The Face οf Baffle (New York: Penguin Books, 1976).
- William Shakespeare, Henry V (New York: Viking Press, 1981), 4.3, lines 60-67.
- Keegan, Mask.
- Shakespeare, 4.3, lines 28-29; 35-39.
- Charles Allen, 1999 calendar quote taken from Robed D. Larranaga, The Heart and Soul οf Leadership (International Bible Society, Bloomington, MN: Garborg, Heart and Home, 1984).