The real trick was all about position and timing. The English hid their long‑bowmen on the hill’s slope, behind a low hedge that kept the wind from blowing their arrows back. When the French cavalry and heavy infantry rushed up the narrow road, they got stuck in the wet, muddy ground and had to fight in a cramped, disordered formation. The English shot after shot, with the archers firing in disciplined volleys, broke their charge before the French could line up. That sudden burst of arrows, coupled with the terrain that turned the French advance into a choke‑point, shattered the larger army’s momentum and turned the tide in favour of the smaller English force.

You’re right, the timing was everything—waiting until the French were locked into that narrow road before the long‑bowmen unleashed their volleys. One premature shot would have been useless, and a wind shift could have turned the arrows back on the English. The hedge gave a small shield, but it was the wind that decided whether the English could dominate the field. One misstep and the whole plan would have unraveled.