Harfleur, siege of

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Harfleur, siege of, 1415. In August 1415 Henry V laid siege to Harfleur at the mouth of the Seine. After a heavy cannonade, the town surrendered on 22 September. But Henry's forces had suffered serious losses from dysentery and when he marched northwards towards the safety of Calais, he found his way blocked at Agincourt by a superior French force. Henry's intention was to encourage English settlement and turn Harfleur into a second Calais, but it was recaptured by the French during the reign of his son.

J. A. Cannon