Page 46 - History of War - Issue 10-14

GREAT BATTLES

t’s29March,PalmSunday,1461,and
the two largest armies ever assembled
IonEnglishsoilmeetuponafieldthat
liesalittleovertenmilesfromthecity
of York. The Wars of the Roses, a fair-
sounding name for a foul conflict, are still Scotland
ragingandthetwoarmiesgatherinbristling
steel ranks to fight for the competing royal
houses and their war-embroiled kings. The
redroseofLancasterispittedagainstthe
whiteroseofYork,KingHenryVIversus
King Edward IV. The battle-hardened chivalry
ofEnglandisonthefield–menborntothe
warrior’slifeandtheirprowessforgedinthe Towton
crucibleoftheHundredYearsWar.Bythe
day’s end they will stain the freshly fallen England
snow with one another’s blood.
Arrayed along the battlefield’s northern
rim is a Lancastrian force numbering around
25,000, which is sworn to the cause of
Henry VI. As the son of the great warrior-
kingHenryV,hehasbeentheruleron
these shores through four war-torn decades. Under wind-snapped pennants, the
Approaching from the south is a Yorkist troop Lancastrian force now takes its battle station
totallingintheregionof20,000,whichis along a northerly ridge overlooking a tract still
pledged to Henry’s rival, the newly acclaimed knownasNorthAcres,whichnestlesbetween
EdwardIV.‘TheRoseofRouen’,ashe’sknown, the villages of Saxton to the south and Towton
is a warlike young man pressing his claim as to the north. The Lancastrians’ youthful
the rightful heir of the Plantagenet dynasty, and commander-in-chief, the Duke of Somerset,
thelawfulkingofEngland. arrays his men in a sound defensive position
By nightfall, these two armies will have on the higher ground where his archers can rain
struggled for somewhere close to ten long down a storm of arrows on the enemy below,
hours–mostmedievalmêléesendedwithinan forcingthemintoanoffensiveposition.The Many viewed King Henry VI, as a usurper, while
hour or two. Very soon, whole sections of the attackersmustthentrudge100metresuphill others felt he had a rightful claim
nearby waterway, Cock Beck, will be choked towards them wearing their full armour. Making
with corpses as one throng finally dissolves matters worse, the plate-mail favoured by However, Edward’s army is fatigued. It
undertheonslaughtoftheotherandisput 15th-Century English lords, as well as by many suffered the exertions at Ferrybridge at the end
totheswordduringafuriousrout.Theageof of their knights and men-at-arms, could weigh of a long and hasty march north from London
chivalrous behaviour at war is long dead; the upwardsof110lbs.Suchistheefficacyofthe –adistanceofmorethan200miles.Forall
battleendsinapitilessmassacre.Indeed, English longbow against armoured cavalry that hisweaknessesasaking,theLancastrian
Towton still stands as the bloodiest encounter most pitched battles are fought on foot. figurehead, Henry VI, has reigned for almost
everwitnessedinthisland.Thepatchof Despite the inclement weather, the 40years;Edward,ontheotherhand,was
ground north-east of Castle Hill Wood will later Lancastrian soldiers are in good cheer, buoyed acclaimedkinginLondononlythreeweeks
become such a grim killing field that it will be by their advantageous position. Fighting close previously.Thisonlyaddstotheuneaseamong
renamed the Bloody Meadow. to their base in York, many are rested and some in the Yorkist horde.
comparatively well fed, while some are still Still, the majority of the Yorkists remain
The morning of battle flushed with their recent success against the firm-hearted. After all, their new king is no
The day is ill set from the start. Dawn breaks YorkistsatthesecondBattleofSt.Albans, usurper. Far from it, Edward is the rightful heir
beneath a slate-grey sky making even the foughtalittleoversixweeksbefore.The to the Plantagenet crown. It was Henry VI’s
veterans among them anxious as men on both Lancastrianhostisalsothelargerandthe grandfather, Henry IV, who had set the Wars of
sides rise from their billets. Palm Sunday marks Yorkists are still awaiting the arrival of the the Roses in motion with his usurpation of the
thestartofHolyWeekandmorethanafew Duke of Norfolk’s troops who are travelling English throne from the Plantagenet Richard II
nervous men express their concerns about northwards. The red rose force also boasts back in 1399.
fighting on such an auspicious day – souls as more of the land’s nobility, ensuring that it has Furthermore, a great many among the
well as lives are at stake. The pious King Henry themostexperiencedandbest-armedfighters Yorkists are stirred by heartfelt passions,
VI for one, while still sheltering behind the in its ranks. believing that they fight for their homes
fortified walls of York, is highly agitated by the The Yorkists, meanwhile, count only one andtheirfamilies–tothemenofsouthern
day’s impending tumult. earlamongtheirnumber,thoughitisthe England, the Lancastrian force is an invading
Despite the unease, campfires are kindled redoubtable Warwick. Despite this, their war- foe.HenryVI’sarmy,putintothefieldbyhis
before men breakfast on hard bread and soft leaders, are not without military acumen and war-mongering queen, Margaret of Anjou, is
cheese. It’s the middle of Lent and many have only yesterday Lord Fauconberg, ‘a grizzled populatedbynortherners,withagreatmany
forsaken meat, though some enjoy dried or littlemanwiththeheartofalion’according Scots among them, sent to war by their queen
pickledfish,andthosewithaleabouttheir to one historian, won a bruising encounter Mary Gueldres. The Lancastrian march south
person count themselves fortunate indeed. at Ferrybridge where Edward IV’s excellent to the second Battle of St. Albans, and its
The air is bitterly cold and a hard northerly wind generalship saw him constantly reinforce his subsequent journey back north, included
blowsmercilessly–astormiscoming. vanguard and eventually win the day. cavalcades of rape, robbery and pillage. The
Lancastrian leaders gave their troops free rein
“THE MAJORITY OF THE YORKISTS REMAIN FIRM-HEARTED. to plunder at will any towns and villages south
of the River Trent. This incensed the common
AFTERALL,THEIRNEWKINGISNOUSURPER.FARFROMIT, folk of the southern counties.
The York-supporting Earl of Warwick, known
EDWARDISTHERIGHTFULHEIRTOTHECROWN” toposterityas‘theKingmaker’,wasever
the great propagandist and seized upon the

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