English Civil War: The Main Battles
Although this was a civil war, and the whole country was affected, there were
remarkably few major battles.
1. Edgehill 23rd October 1642
The Royalist Army marched from Shrewsbury to London commanded by King
Charles and Prince Rupert. Parliament and Cromwell’s Army, under Robert
Devereux, third Earl of Essex was marching from London to Worcester. When
the armies were a few miles apart, Prince Rupert persuaded Charles to take to the
high ground at Edgehill. Both commanders used their troops in the same way with
infantry in the middle and cavalry at the sides.
The Parliamentary army opened the battle with a volley of cannon fire. Prince
Rupert led a Royalist cavalry charge on the right side of the battlefield and the
Parliamentarians fled. Meanwhile another group of Royalist cavalry charged the
left side of the field and the Parliamentarians fled. If the Royalist cavalry had
rejoined their army it is likely that the Royalists would have won the battle.
However, both cavalry commanders chose to pursue the fleeing Parliamentarians
leaving Charles without a cavalry regiment. Seeing that he now had an advantage,
Essex commanded a general assault on the Royalists. Although the Royalists held
ground for a while, daylight was fading and as both sides were exhausted it was
decided to call the battle a draw.
2. Adwalton Moor 30th June 1643
The Royalist commander, William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, decided to try
and enclose the Parliamentarian army in Bradford. However, Fairfax, the
Parliamentary commander decided that his army had a better chance if they went
on the attack. The two armies met at Adwalton Moor, an area covered with fields
enclosed by fences and hedges. This was not good country for the Royalist cavalry
and Fairfax knew that this would give him an advantage even though his army was
heavily outnumbered. Fairfax decided to adopt a defensive position and
successfully withstood several Royalist charges. Feeling optimistic, several groups
of Parliamentarian soldiers decided to pursue the Royalists rather than
maintaining their defensive line. The Royalists were able to easily force the
Parliamentarians to retreat to Bradford. Royalist victory!
3. Roundaway Down 13th July 1643
The Parliamentary commander Sir William Waller, had managed to push back the
Royalist army, commanded by Lord Hopton, to Devizes. Lord Henry Wilmot was
the Royalist commander who led a force to assist Hopton. When Waller realised
that Hopton was approaching he took up battle position on Roundaway Down, just
north of Devizes. He positioned his infantry in the middle and cavalry at the sides.
The Royalists were the first to charge and for some reason there was no
Parliamentarian counter-charge. After two more charges the Parliamentary
cavalry had fled. Waller then turned his attention to the Parliamentary infantry.
However, they stood firm until a force led by Hopton attacked them
from behind. Caught between two Royalist armies the majority of
Parliamentarian soldiers simply fled from the battlefield. Victory for
the Royalists!
4.
First Battle of Newbury 20th September 1643
Robert Devereux, third Earl of Essex, was attacked by a small
company led by Prince Rupert, who wanted to slow his return to London.
Rupert managed to slow the Parliamentarians enough to allow Charles I
to reach the Parliamentarian town of Newbury before Essex.
Charles positioned his army across Essex's route ensuring that the
Parliamentarians would have no choice but to fight. The Royalists chose
to attack Round Hill first. However, they were unable to mount a successful
attack because the area was covered with hedgerows and bushes making it
difficult for the cavalry to be effective. The Royalists suffered a number of
losses and were driven back. A second Royalist attack on Round Hill was more
successful and the Parliamentarians were pushed back. But the Royalist cavalry
had been badly fired upon and no further attacks were made. The battle was
declared a draw.
5. Marston Moor 2nd July 1644
Prince Rupert sent a message to William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, to meet
him at Marston Moor. News of Rupert's position in the North reached Oliver
Cromwell, the Parliamentary Lieutenant General, and an army was sent to meet
the Royalists. The combined Royalist forces were outnumbered by the
Parliamentarians but they decided to fight anyway. They reached their battle
positions in the early evening and assumed that the battle would not begin until
the early morning. Unfortunately for them the Parliamentarians had decided to
mount an attack that evening and the Royalists were totally unprepared for the
attack. For the first time since the Civil War had began, Rupert's cavalry, at one
end of the field, were beaten by a Parliamentarian cavalry charge. The
Parliamentarians were feeling optimistic and successfully defeated the Royalist
infantry, killing those who did not flee. Victory for the Parliamentarians!
6. Second Battle of Newbury 27th October 1644
Charles positioned his army on the northern border of Newbury. He hoped that
the Parliamentarians would not attack until Prince Rupert had joined him and
strengthened his army further. The Parliamentarian commander, Edward
Montague, positioned his army on the north-eastern ridge. Sir William Waller led
a large force of Parliamentarians around the edge of the Royalist army. As day
broke on the 27th October, Edward Montague and William Waller attacked
simultaneously. The battle lasted all day with the Royalists sandwiched between
two Parliamentarian forces. Each time the Parliamentarians made some gains they
were beaten back by the Royalists. Heavy losses were sustained by the
Roundheads. By nightfall, both armies were exhausted and Charles decided to
retreat to Oxford. Although Cromwell wanted to pursue the Royalists, he did not
have the backing of his army commanders and the Royalists were able to flee the
battle scene safely. Result was a draw but with many casualties on both sides.
7. The Battle of Naseby 14th June 1645
The Parliamentarian, General Fairfax, had laid siege to Oxford in a bid to lure
Charles had no choice but to turn and fight. The
Charles into battle.
Parliamentarian cavalry were commanded by Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton.
The Royalist cavalry were commanded by Marmaduke Langdale and Prince Rupert.
The Royalist cavalry, under Prince Rupert, made the first attack and had some
success over parliament. However, Langdale's cavalry had not fared so well, they
had been pushed back by Cromwell. The Parliamentarian New Model Army under
Cromwell then took to the field concentrating mainly on the Royalist infantry. The
battle lasted just three hours and in that time most of the Royalist foot soldiers
were killed or taken prisoner. The Royalists also lost all of their artillery and most
of their baggage. Charles fled the battlefield as soon as it became apparent that
he had lost the battle. Victory to Parliament and War Won!