Harfleur

Name: Harfleur
Rating: 4.1 (254 reviews)

by Richard Foreman Book 2 in the Band of Brothers series.

First published 2016

Amazon

4.0(254)

Henry V’s army has landed in Normandy but the fortified port of Harfleur refuses to fall. Disease, shortages and repeated assaults threaten to destroy the expedition before the king can march inland. Thomas Chaucer is sent to negotiate with a French merchant who might supply the besiegers, only to encounter an enemy from the earlier intelligence struggle.

Robert Cooper proposes a night operation intended to break the defence and save the campaign. The novel combines the engineering, hunger and attrition of a medieval siege with a parallel contest between agents. Its fictional company experiences the cost hidden behind royal chronicles: men die from sickness as readily as weapons, and Henry’s ambition depends upon ordinary soldiers continuing to obey when the promised victory appears remote.