Page 79 - History of War - Issue 25-16

CROMWELL’S REBEL ARMY

WINNING TACTICS

AT DUNBAR

A tired and hungry New Model Army triumphed against the odds with
the help of daring leadership and some rousing hymn singing

The Battle of Dunbar was arguably Cromwell’s the fatigued New Model Army started to retire to
greatest victory. He had invaded Scotland with a their supply base at Dunbar. However, the Scots
veteran army of 15,000 men (10,000 foot and got there i rst and blocked their path, positioning
5,000 horse) to pre-empt an invasion of England themselves on Doon Hill overlooking the Berwick
by Charles II. His army was supplied from the road – the only route back to England.
sea on the east coast of Scotland as the Scots The Scots were also numerically superior, some
had adopted a scorched-earth policy between 22,000 men, and ighting on home territory. With
Edinburgh and the border. By September 1650, some of his men suffering from illness, Cromwell
was outnumbered almost two to one and with battle
now the only option, even he acknowledged that the
situation had turned desperate: “We are upon an
engagement very dificult… the enemy hath blocked
up our way… through which we cannot get without
almost a miracle.”
To add to Cromwell’s misery, the Scots were
commanded by David Leslie, a highly experienced
soldier. Leslie and Cromwell had fought together
at Marston Moor where the former had played
an important part in the Parliamentarian victory.
However, on 2 September, under pressure from the
Scottish Kirk and parliament to attack, Leslie moved
down from his commanding position on Doon Hill
and towards Dunbar town to launch an attack on the
English encampment. Cromwell immediately saw
this mistake and decided to meet the challenge the
next day, 3 September.
Left: The Dunbar victory medal, showing Cromwell’s bust,
was given to Parliamentarian soldiers that fought

EGROUP WITH 1. CROMWELL
G ATTACKS
pt the Scottish right At dawn, Cromwell assaults
he i eld, Cromwell the Scottish right in a surprise
neral Lambert cavalry charge with the English
regroup their own cavalry while shouting their battle cry, “The
Colonel Pride’s infantry i ghts Lord of Hosts!” Meanwhile,
Parliament’s army had to i ght a large with the Scottish centre. As they Major-General Monck strikes
Scottish force of nearly 20,000 men, prepare for the next stage of the the Scottish centre with his
commanded by the Duke of Hamilton. By battle, the cavalry sing the 117th infantry. Throughout this,
contrast, Cromwell only had 9,000 troops, Psalm to boost morale. discipline is vital.
and of those just 6,500 were experienced
soldiers. Despite this, Cromwell’s force was
much more disciplined than the Scots, who
additionally were spread out over 20 miles
around Preston. This meant Hamilton couldn’t
communicate properly with his troops. The
Scottish commander had placed his cavalry in
the vanguard, while his infantry was left trailing
behind traversing over boggy ground, which
hampered their speed.
Cromwell saw these advantages, and on
17 August, attacked the infantry in the rear of
Hamilton’s army. However, the boggy ground
also restricted the New Model’s movement,
particularly as it was reliant on the Ironsides for
success. This left a brutal and bloody struggle 3. FINAL CAVALRY CHARGE
for control of Preston, as Cromwell’s troops
clashed with the Scottish infantry. While Pride slugs it out in the centre, Cromwell relaunches his cavalry to
charge the rear of the Scottish infantry. Pride’s infantry surges forward
At the end of the day, the i ghting had cost
the Scots 8,000 killed or captured. One action and the Scots’ position collapses. Leslie’s army retreats west and then
north. Cromwell and the New Model Army are triumphant.
at the Ribble Bridge had seen hard i ghting 1 MILE
lasting more than two hours, but the battle was

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