ABSTRACT
This article challenges the theory of battle history set out in the works of Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Burne. For Burne, tactical factors determined the outcome of any given conflict. His didactic solution to medieval battle reconstruction rested on the application of his theory of'inherent military probability'. Here a case study is used to reveal the fallacy of Burne's approach. Detailed consideration of the battle of Verneuil (17 August 1424), one of the most important of the Hundred Years' War, exposes Burne's account as a misleading fiction. In its place the author proposes an entirely different model that allows real understanding of the mental outlook of the participants.
