Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47812 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
The Wars of the Roses was a complicated, bloody affair between the houses of Lancaster and York, and witnessed much changing of sides. That disjointed feuding persisted for a staggering thirty years and was a north versus south affair. However, the period and conflicts covered by this Battleground title - Wakefield & Towton - is refreshingly clear. The events, bracketed by Christmas 1460 (Wakefield) and Palm Sunday (Towton), have all the ingredients of a block-busting film: a manipulative woman married to a weak King - Henry VI - representing the House of Lancaster pitted against a seemingly decent man, the Duke of York; battles, betrayals, pitiless murder, beheading, ridicule and disgrace, revenge and the crowning of a Yorkist king - Edward IV. All this tucked away in the County of Yorkshire and, although the dramatic events of those days are covered in scholarly works, they have never been presented for popular consumption - until now. In the days leading up to Christmas, 1460, the Duke of York arrived from London at his castle at Sandal with 5,00 men at arms.

A few miles away, at Pontefract Castle, was a larger force of Lancastrians under the command of Lord Clifford - some 18,000 men. The Yorkists were out foraging for food in the woods and town of Wakefield itself when the Lancastrians attacked them. The outcome was inevitable, the Duke of York fought to the end and died in battle. He was decapitated and parts of his body were transported to York where they were impaled on Micklegate Bar. On hearing of the death of his father, Edward, Earl of March gathered together a force and headed north to seek revenge. On 29 March he caught up with the Lancastrians and the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil took place at Towton during a snow storm. After six hours the Lancastrian line collapsed and a fearsome rout followed in which thousands were slain. Lots of places to visit to see where the battles were fought: Wakefield. Sandal, York, Towton, Pontefract and Fotheringhay. An intriguing tale of treachery and deceit that took place right here on our own doorstep.

Customer Reviews

The Bloodiest Battle on English Soil
I live not much more than a stone throw away from the battlefield of Towton and I don't know whether it is this fact or something else that has always drawn me to this particular battle above all others in the campaign called the War of the Roses. The area of the battlefield is relatively large and today there is a cross set as a memorial to the battle and those who died in it at the side of the road that runs across the battlefield.

The Battle of Towton has been given the title of the Bloodiest Battle ever fought on English soil and there is no reason to doubt this. It was fought in atrocious conditions, in fact in the middle of a snow storm on Palm Sunday. When the Yorkists finally routed the Ancestries a wave of slaughter spread over many miles. The beaten Lancastrians were followed back towards Tadcaster and York and many of them died in the `Cock beck' that bordered the battlefield.

The book has plenty of photographs and diagrams to show how the opposing armies lined up their troops and it gives a detailed account of the battle and the following route as the Lancastrians were chased from the field. The fighting was brutal and after the archers had done their bit, mainly hand to hand. There have been many skeletons unearthed from the many mass graves that littered the battlefield and some of the skulls have a square hole in them, a shape that suggests they had been pole axed. For anyone interested in battles in general and the battle of Towton in particular, it is a must read.

a good, clear guide for the non expert
If you are looking for a good, concise guise to conflicts that are notoriously tricky, then loook no further. There are a lot of photos of the modern battles sites and drawings as to how they have looked at the time. The subject no longer seems so dry and has rlevance to today. Heartily recommended