The Battle of Bosworth

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The Battle of Bosworth 1485

PLAN

Introduction

1. The prelude of the battle

2. The battle

3. The aftermath

Conclusion

Introduction

dramatic reversal Tudor dynasty

The battle of Bosworth, originally named the Field of Redemore and fought on the 22^nd August 1485, saw one of the most dramatic military reversals in English history. A rebel force defeated a royal army more than twice its size leaving Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, dead on the field and placing Henry VII on the throne as the first of a new, Tudor dynasty. The battle is, for its period, relatively well documented and, despite Oman's words, clearly has a major tactical interest. Thus understanding exactly where and how it was fought should contribute significantly to our understanding of military practice in 15th century England.

Thus, during the 15th century, civil war raged across England as the Houses of York and Lancaster fought each other for the English throne. In 1471, the Yorkists defeated their rivals in the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. The Lancastrian King Henry VI and his only son, Edward of Lancaster, died in the aftermath of the Battle of Tewkesbury. Their deaths left the House of Lancaster with no direct claimants to the throne. The Yorkist king, Edward IV, was in complete control of England. He attainted those who refused to submit to his rule, such as Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry, naming them traitors and confiscating their lands. The Tudors tried to flee to France but strong winds forced them to land in Brittany, then a semi-independent duchy, where they were taken into the custody of Duke Francis II. Henry's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, uncle of King Richard II and father of King Henry IV.The Beauforts were originally bastards, but Henry IV legitimised them on the condition that their descendants were not eligible to inherit the throne. Henry Tudor, the only remaining Lancastrian noble with a trace of the royal bloodline, had a weak claim to the throne and Edward regarded him as "a nobody". The Duke of Brittany, however, viewed Henry as a valuable tool to bargain for England's aid in conflicts with France and kept the Tudors under his protection.

Charles Oman, in his influential book “The Art of War in the Middle Ages”, dismissed Bosworth in a few words, saying: `this can hardly be taken for serious military study - since it was not settled by strategy or tactics, but by mere treachery.'1 Yet today the battle of Bosworth is one of the most contentious of battles in English military history, because at least three alternative sites have been proposed for the battlefield, while at least four significant books and numerous articles have been devoted to the battle. The dispute will be finally resolved and the detail of the action accurately placed within the historic terrain of 1485, because it provides the greatest challenge to the rapidly developing field of battlefield studies. Then Oman's words are likely to be shown to be very far from the truth.

1. The prelude of the battle

Henry's crossing of the English Channel in 1485 was without incident. He sailed from Harfleur on 1 August and, with fair winds, landed at Mill Bay (near Dale) on the north side of Milford Haven on 7 August, easily capturing nearby Dale Castle. Although hailed by contemporary Welsh bards as the native prince to bring their country back to glory, Henry received a muted response from the local population. No joyous welcome awaited him on shore, and few individual Welshmen joined his army as it marched inland. Historian Geoffrey Elton suggests only Henry's ardent supporters felt pride over his Welsh blood.It was a different story when Henry moved to Haverfordwest, the county town of Pembrokeshire. Richard's lieutenant in South Wales, Sir Walter Herbert, failed to move against Henry, and two of his officers, Richard Griffith and Evan Morgan, deserted to Henry with their men. Another prominent local figure, Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd, also joined Henry.

However, the most important defector to Henry in this early stage of the campaign was probably Rhys ap Thomas, who was the leading figure in West Wales.Richard had appointed Rhys Lieutenant in West Wales for his refusal to join Buckingham's rebellion, asking that he surrender his son Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Thomas as surety, although by some accounts Rhys had managed to evade this condition. However, Henry successfully courted Rhys, offering the lieutenancy of all Wales in exchange for his fealty. Henry marched via Aberystwyth while Rhys followed a more southerly route, recruiting 500 Welshmen en route to swell Henry's army when they reunited at Welshpool. By 15 or 16 August, Henry and his men had crossed the English border, making for the town of Shrewsbury.

Since 22 June 1485 Richard had been aware of Henry's impending invasion, and had ordered his lords to maintain a high level of readiness.News of Henry's landing reached Richard on 11 August, but it took three to four days for his messengers to notify his lords of their king's mobilisation. On 16 August, the Yorkist army started to gather; Norfolk set off for Leicester, the assembly point, that night. The city of York, a traditional stronghold of Richard's family, asked the king for instructions, and receiving a reply three days later sent 80 men to join the king. Simultaneously Northumberland, whose northern territory was the most distant from the capital, had gathered his men and ridden to Leicester.

Although London was his goal, Henry did not move directly towards the city. After resting in Shrewsbury, his forces went eastwards and picked up Gilbert Talbot and other English allies, including deserters from Richard's forces. Although its size had increased substantially since the landing, Henry's army was not yet large enough to contend with the numbers Richard could muster. Henry's pace through Staffordshire was slow, delaying the confrontation with Richard so that he could gather more recruits to his cause. Henry had been communicating on friendly terms with the Stanleys for some time before setting foot in England, and the Stanleys had mobilised their forces on hearing of Henry's landing. They ranged themselves ahead of Henry's march through the English countryside, meeting twice in secret with Henry as he moved through Staffordshire. At the second of these, at Atherstone in Warwickshire, they conferred "in what sort to arraign battle with King Richard, whom they heard to be not far off". On 21 August, the Stanleys were making camp on the slopes of a hill north of Dadlington, while Henry encamped his army at White Moors to the northwest of their camp.

On 20 August, Richard reached Leicester, joining Norfolk. Northumberland arrived the following day. The royal army proceeded westwards to intercept Henry's march on London. Passing Sutton Cheney, Richard moved his army towards Ambion Hill--which he thought would be of tactical value--and made camp on it. Richard's sleep was not peaceful and, according to the Croyland Chronicle, in the morning his face was "more livid and ghastly than usual".

A number of secondary works suggest that Richard's army had to prepare hurriedly for the action because Henry's forces advanced sooner than expected. There is no clear evidence for this in the primary accounts, indeed the contrary seems to be true. It is not unpreparedness that Oxford exploits, otherwise he might have made a direct frontal assault on an incompletely deployed royal battle array. In fact it seems likely that Richard's army was deployed in good time, for it is the strength and width of the battle formation that Oxford reacts to. Richard had been in close proximity to the battlefield since the previous evening. It was he who had chosen to advance to engage Henry at this time and he who chose the ground on which the battle would be fought, taking a defensive position and forcing Henry's army to attack. While deploying in sufficiently strong a position to maintain an advantage over the rebels, he will presumably have wanted to ensure them sufficient space to encourage them to draw up in battle array for a frontal attack, so that the strategy of firepower and overwinging could be employed to effect. Thus Richard's deployment must surely have been far enough back from the marsh to have enabled Henry to march across it in column and to deploy without the danger of being attacked before his forces were fully deployed. If Richard had deployed too close to the marsh then he would have forced the enemy either to retire or to manoeuvre for a flank attack.

2. The battle

The Yorkist army, numbering about 10,000 men, deployed on the hilltop along the ridgeline from west to east. Norfolk's group (or "battle" in the parlance of the time) of spearmen stood on the right flank, protecting the cannon and about 1,200 archers. Richard's group, comprising 3,000 infantry, formed the centre. Northumberland's men guarded the left flank; he had approximately 4,000 men, many of them mounted. Standing on the hilltop, Richard had a wide, unobstructed view of the area. He could see the Stanleys and their 6,000 men holding their position at Dadlington Hill, while to the southwest was Henry's army.

Henry had very few Englishmen--fewer than a thousand--in his army. Between three and five hundred of them were exiles who had fled from Richard's rule, and the remainder were Talbot's men and recent deserters from Richard's army. Historian John Mackie believes that 1,800 French mercenaries, led by Philibert de Chandйe, formed the core of Henry's army. John Mair, writing thirty-five years after the battle, claimed that this force contained a significant Scottish component, and this claim is accepted by some modern writers, but Mackie reasons that the French would not have released their elite Scottish knights and archers, and concludes that there were probably few Scottish troops in the army, although he accepts the presence of captains like Bernard Stewart, Lord of Aubigny. In total, Henry's army was around 5,000 strong, a substantial portion of which was made up by the recruits picked up in Wales. Rhys ap Thomas's Welsh force was described as being large enough to have "annihilated" the rest of Henry's force.

In their interpretations of the vague mentions of the battle in the old text, historians placed areas near the foot of Ambion Hill as likely regions where the two armies clashed, and thought up possible scenarios of the engagement. In their recreations of the battle, Henry started by moving his army towards Ambion Hill where Richard and his men stood. As Henry's army advanced past the marsh at the southwestern foot of the hill, Richard sent a message to Stanley, threatening to execute his son, Strange, if Stanley did not join the attack on Henry immediately. Stanley replied that he had other sons. Incensed, Richard gave the order to behead Strange but his officers temporised, saying that battle was imminent, and it would be more convenient to carry out the execution afterwards. Henry had also sent messengers to Stanley asking him to declare his allegiance. The reply was evasive--the Stanleys would "naturally" come, after Henry had given orders to his army and arranged them for battle. Henry had no choice but to confront Richard's forces alone.

Well aware of his own military inexperience, Henry handed command of his army to Oxford and retired to the rear with his bodyguards. Oxford, seeing the vast line of Richard's army strung along the ridgeline, decided to keep his men together instead of splitting them into the traditional three battles: vanguard, centre, and rearguard. He ordered the troops to stray no further than 10 feet (3.0 m) from their banners, fearing that they would become enveloped. Individual groups clumped together, forming a single large mass flanked by horsemen on the wings.

The Lancastrians were harassed by Richard's cannon as they manoeuvred around the marsh, seeking firmer ground. Once Oxford and his men were clear of the marsh, Norfolk's battle and several contingents of Richard's group started to advance. Hails of arrows showered both sides as they closed. Oxford's men proved the steadier in the ensuing hand-to-hand combat; they held their ground and several of Norfolk's men fled the field. Recognising that his force was at a disadvantage, Richard signalled for Northumberland to assist but Northumberland's group showed no signs of movement. Historians, such as Horrox and Pugh, believe Northumberland chose not to aid his king for personal reasons. Ross doubts the aspersions cast on Northumberland's loyalty, suggesting instead that Ambion Hill's narrow ridge hindered him from joining the battle. The earl would have had to either go through his allies or execute a wide flanking move--near impossible to perform given the standard of drill at the time--to engage Oxford's men.

At this juncture Henry rode off towards the Stanleys. Seeing this, Richard decided to end the fight quickly by killing the enemy commander. He led a charge of mounted men around the melee and tore into Henry's group; several accounts state that Richard's force numbered 800-1000 knights, but Ross says it was more likely that Richard was accompanied only by his household men and closest friends. Richard killed Henry's standard-bearer Sir William Brandon in the initial charge and unhorsed burly John Cheyne, Edward IV's former standard-bearer, with a blow to the head from his broken lance.^[111] Henry's bodyguards surrounded their master and succeeded in keeping him away from the Yorkist king. On seeing Richard embroiled with Henry's men and separated from his main force, William Stanley made his move. He led his men into the fight at Henry's side. Outnumbered, Richard's group was surrounded and gradually pressed back against the marsh. Richard's banner man--Sir Percival Thirwell--lost his legs but held the Yorkist banner aloft until he was hacked to death. The king's horse got mired in the soft ground and he was forced to continue the fight on foot. His followers offered him their horses to escape but Richard refused. All chroniclers agree that Richard fought bravely to the end; overwhelmed by the masses of Welsh spearmen around him, the last Yorkist king died on the battlefield. Richard's forces disintegrated as news of his death spread. Northumberland and his men fled north on seeing the king's fate, and Norfolk was killed.

3. The aftermath

Losses for the Battle of Bosworth Field are not known with any precision though some sources indicate that the Yorkists suffered 1,000 dead, while Henry's army lost 100. The accuracy of these numbers is a subject of debate. After the battle, legend states that Richard's crown was found in a hawthorn bush near where he died. Regardless, Henry was crowned king later that day on a hill near Stoke Golding. Henry, now King Henry VII, had Richard's body stripped and thrown over a horse to be taken to Leicester. There it was displayed for two days to prove that Richard was dead. Moving to London, Henry consolidated his hold on power, establishing the Tudor Dynasty. Following his official coronation on October 30, he made good his pledge to marry Elizabeth of York. While Bosworth Field effectively decided the Wars of the Roses, Henry was forced to fight again two years later at the Battle of Stoke Field to defend his newly-won crown.

With the Battle of Bosworth won, Henry Tudor, crowned as King Henry VII, had to solve the problem of ending any future conflict or further civil war.

The two major short-term problems to solve were:

1. To end the power of powerful families and great Lords who might in the future rebel against him.

2. To find a way in which both the Yorkists and Lancastrians can begin to put their differences aside.

In the long-term Henry has to find a way to create a united and strong England with an important role to play in Europe.

Ending the Power of the Lords

Henry abolished all private armies of the great Lords. This became a crime of treason punishable by death for anyone to disobey the royal command.

Henry then taxed the Lords heavily in order to reduce their wealth and to restrict their opportunities to rebel against the King. The money Henry raised by this taxation paid for his own royal army which kept the Lords in check.

This tactic was further strengthened through the 'Court of the Star Chamber'. This was a court of law, run by men loyal to Henry, which tried and fined Lords who were thought to be disrespectful to the King.

Peace between Lancaster and York

This was never going to be easy after long years of rivalry and bitterness. Henry managed to gain some time to put his plans into action by marrying Elizabeth of York, the daughter of King Edward IV. By doing this, Henry showed that it was possible to put family differences aside. This meant that the hatred which had existed for so many decades between the Houses of Lancaster and York could now begin to subside.

The Long-term plan

Henry's policies proved successful. England without the internal conflicts of civil war was able to enter a period of relative peace. Trade improved both within England and with other countries. Henry's vision of a united, powerful country began to take shape. England was able to play an important role in the Tudor exploration of the 'New World'.

Henry VII's great legacy was to lay the foundations for the future development of England as a nation state and for its powerful position in the world.

Conclusion

King Richard was both the second and last English King to die in battle. After the victory, Tudor had him stripped and paraded ignominiously through the streets of Leicester.

Having married Edward IV's eldest daughter, Henry further cemented his power by dating his reign from the day before Bosworth, making it possible to attain all those who fought against him as traitors. This unprecedented move allowed him to seize the extensive lands belonging to the dead King Richard, as well as the lands of his Yorkist supporters. Under Henry VII, the lords of England were weakened and the crown grew richer and stronger leading to the relatively peaceful and prosperous realm that would be inherited by the successful Tudor dynasty.

The interesting fact is that King Richard III of England slept badly on the night of 21 August 1485 and so did his army commander, the Duke of Norfolk, who had received the anonymous message: "Jockey of Norfolk be not so bold, for Dickon thy master is bought and sold."

So it proved the following day when 10,000 loyal Englishmen were outwitted by an army half their size, mostly Welshmen and French mercenaries, ably commanded by the Earl of Oxford. For the last time in English history, a monarch died on the battlefield, after a last desperate appeal for a horse. So the chroniclers have it, but details of the engagement will be altered by today's finds. What is undoubted is that Bosworth was one of Britain's most important battles, ending and beginning an era.

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