@@@@@ We’re munching on our bread and cheese in the cool of the early morning and the sun is still behind the castle towering above us when the castle gate opens - and a large force of mounted knights and running men comes hurrying out. They obviously intend to form up and come straight down the hill at us. We are expecting some sort of sortie. It’s inevitable that the king test us to see if we are really a serious threat. That’s why we slept and ate in our ranks and have been standing to arms since long before the sun came up. Even so the sudden arrival of the king’s men is a surprise and there is a lot of shouting and running about as we all hurry to our places.
The king’s men will have surprise and momentum going for them because of the relatively steep downward slope of the castle hill and their ability to determine when they are going to attack and where they will hit our line. We have something going for us too – battle experience and the long days of intense training and the long Swiss pikes and long bows the French knights and their soldiers have never faced before.
