Henry IV died in 1413; his son, Henry, succeeded him, becoming King Henry V. The new king set about putting England on a course of greatness. He landed on French shores in 1415 with a force of 12,000 men and 20,000 horses. The initial destination was Harfleur, and the English siege of that port town was eventually successful–but not before an illness had ripped through the victorious army, depleting it by several thousand.

Henry pressed on toward Calais, but he didn't get there before encountering a French army 20,000 strong. The result was the Battle of Agincourt, which occurred on Oct 25, 1415. In a somewhat repeat performance of what happened at Crécy in 1346, the English again had far fewer forces but again overcame those odds in extraordinary fashion. Henry V himself led the fighting. English and Welsh longbows, nearly 80 percent of the English force, cut down the first French charge, the second got bogged down in the mud, and the third didn't have the heart to trudge through so many French dead and fled the field.

Henry capitalized on his stunning victory by retaking Normandy. Five years after Agincourt, Henry and King Charles VI signed the Treaty of Troyes. As part of the terms of that treaty, Henry married Charles's daughter, Catherine of Valois, with the idea being that their children would inherit the French throne. Henry was, in effect, the heir to the throne, displacing the Dauphin, the king's son.

After a brief setback in which Henry lost his brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence–who couldn't replicate his brother's success against a larger French force and died on the field of battle in March 1421–Henry targeted Meaux, a town held by the Dauphin. What was planned as a short siege lasted eight months. Henry finally had his victory in May 1422. He didn't live much longer. The king fell ill, and he died on August 31. His son, also named Henry, was 9 months old.

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