Customer Reviews

Towton 1461: England's Bloodiest Battle (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Osprey Campaign #120, Towton 1461, English museum curator Christopher Gravett describes the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. While the battle itself is interesting, the campaign is set in the midst of the Wars of the Roses - a period of history that is confusing, complicated and murky. In large part, Gravett succeeds in bringing a tough subject to light and his summary is professional throughout.

Towton 1461 has a rather lengthy 9-page introduction, followed by somewhat brief sections on opposing commanders and forces. The campaign and battle narratives are adequately covered in 34 pages, supported by three 3-D "Birds Eye View" maps (all of the Battle of Towton in various phases) and five 2-D maps (England in 1460-1, the march to Towton, skirmish at Ferrybridge, final positions before battle and England after Towton). The volume also has four battle scenes by the talented artist, Graham Turner: the fight at Ferrybridge, the melee at Towton, the rout and the opening barrage. The final section, on the battle's aftermath in overly long at ten pages and includes and unusual discussion of modern examination of a gravesite on the battlefield. The section on the Battlefield Today and bibliography are decent.

Although any work on the Wars of the Roses is hindered by a paucity of detailed information, the author works through this deficiency rather well. He is somewhat less effective in explaining the complicated politics behind the campaign, and this subject virtually demands an appendix with capsule biographies on the major participants. The author's background as an authority on medieval arms and armor enables him to add considerable insight into his discussion of what 15th Century close combat was like at Towton. Furthermore, the Battle of Towton was rather unique in being a large-scale engagement fought amidst snow squalls.

In terms of military history, a study of Towton has relatively little to offer, since it was essentially a straight-up infantry on infantry fight until one side cracked. The leadership example of the young King Edward IV, who raced to join his troops in bucking up a crumbling flank, is interesting. Neither side made any egregious errors or did anything overly innovative, although each side employed a ruse or deceptive effort. Unlike many other battles of this period, cavalry only played a role in the pursuit phase, but the main battle was a pure infantry fight. While exact numbers are contentious, the author argues that about 45,000 troops from both sides fought in the battle and about 13,000 were killed in the space of a 6-hour battle, making Towton a very bloody day indeed.

This is another excellent addition to the Osprey Campaign Series. It describes Towton, a major engagement during the War of the Roses and one of the bloodiest battles to ever occur in England. During the introductory chapters the author provides a succinct background to the era and effectively introduces the reader to the major personalities and relevant events that led up to the campaign. This was especially helpful as I knew almost nothing about the War of the Roses, and had never heard of the Battle of Towton, before I read this book. The battle itself is particularly well described. One draw back (which is not really the authors fault) is that there is a fair amount of doubt about what actually happened. The few available primary accounts are vague and contradictory. However, the author does a great job of piecing together the available information and presenting the most plausible course of events. When several explanations are possible he describes all likely courses of action. Overall, this book should be a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in medieval warfare or English history.

One particularly appealing aspect of the book is the inclusion of forensic evidence collected from grave pits at the battle site. Several very dramatic photographs are included that show incredible injuries to some of the battle participants; in one case a skull exhibits an ~1 inch square puncture wound possibly caused by a pollaxe, in another case the front of a skull has been crushed by a sword or axe. There is even a forensic reconstruction of the facial features of one solider based upon his skeletal remains. Thus, readers can almost literally look into the faces of soldiers that took part in this battle.

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 meant that I have always been fascinated by this battle above all others in the campaign called the War of the Roses. The area of the battlefield is relatively large and in the present day there is a cross 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 and 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 is full of all the information necessesary to be able to get a vivid picture of what the battlefield was like at the time and to show how the opposing armies lined up their troops. It gives a detailed account of the battle, a battle that the Lancastrians appeared to winning until the Yorkists were re-inforced by more troops arriving and then the brutal and bloody rout that followed 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.

The bloodiest battle of the wars of the Roses and the bloodiest battle to ever occur on English soil occurred in early spring 1461.Casualties however appear to have been overestimated and Gravett seeks to give a truer picture downgrading the casualties from reportedly as high as 60,000 to Gravetts more realistic figure of 13,000. Excellent photos and artists renditions,you can feel the cold wind howling and see the snowflakes.Although the House of Lancaster under the MIA(missing in action) king Henry VI,seemed to have the initial advantage,the snow and frontal wind made his archery barrages inneffectual.This set a "bad omen" type of atmosphere for Henry's army,although they were still capable of winning.Edward the IV's archery barrage was flowing with the wind with the snow blowing away from his archers' faces.Undoubtedly Henry's army was already facing a "morale" problem from this inequality.
Very little to no artillery was used here at Towton,yet 10 years later at Tewkesberry,Edward would use field artillery very effectively.So now the hand to hand combat at Towton begins with the archery duel over.Both sides appeared evenly matched until the Duke of Norfolk(a commander under Edward arrives to reinforce the right wing of the army.)A panic grips king Henry's left wing due to Norfolk and it apparently grips the whole army.A chase and slaughter follows with Edward becoming the new legitimate king.There are 2 battles after this,Hexham and another where Edward mops up.There are some good photos of skeletal remains of soldiers whose mass graves were found later some as recent as 1994.Another great Osprey addition.

I am no scholar on fifteenth century warfare but I enjoy reading about history, particularly military history. "Towton 1461" provides the reader with a concise but still interesting look into a particularly brutal Medieval battle. The snowy weather conditions, the fact it was fought on Palm Sunday, and the horrific death toll all combined to give the confrontation a legendary feel. The section of the book describing skeletons of men who died in the battle was especially interesting. The paintings of the battle were well done. Overall this has been one of my favorite Osprey Campaign Series works to date.