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| Real historical Battles in Berkshire | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 23 Jun 2015, 08:50 PM (365 Views) | |
| daib0 | 23 Jun 2015, 08:50 PM Post #1 |
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Berkshire has been the scene of battles; during Alfred the Great's campaign against the Danes, which included the Battle of Englefield, the Battle of Ashdown and the Battle of Reading. Newbury was the site of two Civil War battles, the First Battle of Newbury (at Wash Common) in 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury (at Speen) in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle. The Battle at Reading took place on 9 December 1688 in Reading. It was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange. Battle of Englefield In 870, the village was the site of the Battle of Englefield. This was fought between the Anglo-Saxons, under Æthelwulf, Ealdorman of Berkshire, and the Danes, and resulted in a resounding victory for the Saxons. The battle was the first of a series in the winter of 870-1. The village is thought to be named after the battle: Englefield meaning either "English field" or "warning beacon field". The Battle of Ashdown The Battle of Ashdown, in Berkshire (possibly the part now in Oxfordshire), took place on 8 January 871. Alfred the Great, then a prince of only 21, led the army of his brother, King Ethelred of Wessex, in a victorious battle against the invading Danes. Accounts of the battle are based to a large extent on Asser's Life of Alfred, however there is some dispute about whether this is an authentic account. The Danes, full of confidence after success at Reading, marched west to attack the Saxons who had retreated up onto the Berkshire Downs to reassemble their armies. Alfred had to act quickly to avoid defeat. The King’s troops had to be quickly mustered from the surrounding countryside. Alfred reputedly took his favourite white mare and rode up onto Blowingstone Hill (near Kingston Lisle), where stood an ancient perforated sarsen stone, called the "Blowing Stone". Anyone with the appropriate skill could generate a booming sound from this stone, by blowing into one of its holes. Alfred took a deep breath and was able to sound the alarm across the downs. All over the surrounding country, men were woken and gathered to defend their homes. By the year 871 AD, most of England was no longer ruled by the English (that is Anglo-Saxons), and for years, Danish Viking invaders had poured into the country, sweeping aside all resistance and taking control of the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In 871, only the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex still offered resistance, but there had been a price to pay for holding the line. King Ethelred I (not to be confused with King Ethelred the Unready who would rule nearly a century later) had seen his three older brothers all die leading armies against the Danes. Now, only he and his younger brother Alfred were left. In late 870, King Ethelred led the army of Wessex against the Danes in their stronghold at Reading. The attack failed, and the Anglo-Saxons were forced to retreat while the Danes pursued. The Danish armies caught up with the Anglo-Saxons on the field of Ashdown, located somewhere near the border of Oxfordshire and Berkshire (the precise location is unknown). It was January 8, 871. The weather was cold and damp, and the Berkshire Downs were soaked and boggy. King Ethelred divided his army in two, positioning the halves on either side of a ridgeway. Ethelred commanded one side, Alfred the other. As the Danes approached, they also split their army. Alfred watched as the Danes drew nearer, waiting for the order to charge. However, his brother Ethelred had decided that he must pray before the battle and refused to advance until his prayer service was complete. Seeing that the Danish movement would cost him the advantage of high ground, Alfred decided to attack without help from his brother. The Anglo-Saxons' charged on the Danes on their side of the ridgeway. Although nothing specific is known about the fighting, it is likely that both sides employed shieldwalls from which to push and batter against each other. Eventually the Danes broke and fled across the downs. Only later did Ethelred launch his own troops into the attack. After more heavy fighting, his side was also victorious. The West Saxons had a slight advantage in numbers (around 800 to 1,000 men), but the Danes held the high ground. The battle, little more than a great clash of shield walls, resulted in a victory for Alfred. The battle, however, was not decisive. This was a pyrrhic victory, for a great many lives were lost on each side and the Danes were subsequently able to win several battles after receiving reinforcements. Nevertheless, the hard fighting may have made the Danes more cautious in their raids into Wessex, preferring easier targets. The Saxons prevailed but losses on each side were considerable. The Danes were forced back eastward, across Berkshire. Many hundreds of bodies covered the battlefield. King Bagsecg and the five Danish earls perished during the battle. Ashdown was one of the few victories that Wessex had seen against the Danes, and it would be their only victory in the battles of that year. In terms of strategic situation, the battle had little meaning. However, later that year, King Ethelred would be struck down, and Alfred would take up the crown as the last hope for Wessex. The knowledge and respect he gained on the battlefield of Ashdown were likely instrumental in his ability to eventually turn the tide against the Danish invaders and slowly begin the reconquest of England. Battle of Reading (871) The first Battle of Reading was a battle on 4 January 871 at Reading in what is now the English county of Berkshire. It was one of a series of battles, with honours to both sides, that took place following an invasion of the then kingdom of Wessex by an army of Danes led by Bagsecg and Halfdan Ragnarsson in an attempt to conquer Wessex. Both battle and campaign are described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and this account provides the earliest known written record of the existence of the town of Reading. The Danes had established a camp at Reading, defended by the Thames and Kennet rivers on two sides, and by a rampart on the western side. Three days after their arrival, a party of Danes rode out towards nearby Englefield, where a West Saxon force under the command of Æthelwulf, the Ealdorman of the shire, was waiting for them. In the ensuing Battle of Englefield many of the Danes were killed, and the rest driven back to Reading. Four days later, Æthelwulf had been joined by the main West Saxon army, led by King Æthelred and his brother, Alfred the Great. The entire Saxon force marched on Reading. The assault was directed mainly at a gateway through the ramparts, and fierce and bloody fighting followed, before the attack was repulsed. Among the many dead of both sides was Æthelwulf. The Saxon forces were forced to retreat, allowing the Danes to continue their advance into Wessex. Following the Battle of Reading, Æthelred and Alfred reformed their army, and a few days later won a famous victory at the Battle of Ashdown, forcing the Danes to retreat to Reading once more. Two weeks later the Danes won the Battle of Basing, and then, on 22 March, the Battle of Marton. In April Æthelred died, to be succeeded by Alfred. The Danish army remained in Reading until late in 871, when they retreated to winter quarters in London, and much of King Alfred's 28-year reign was taken up with the Danish conflict. The First Battle of Newbury (at Wash Common) in 1643 The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Following a year of Royalist successes in which they took Banbury, Oxford and Reading without conflict before storming Bristol, the Parliamentarians were left without an effective army in the field. When Charles laid siege to Gloucester, Parliament was forced to muster a force under Essex with which to beat Charles's forces off. After a long march, Essex surprised the Royalists and forced them away from Gloucester before beginning a retreat to London. Charles rallied his forces and pursued Essex, overtaking the Parliamentarian army at Newbury and forcing them to march past the Royalist force to continue their retreat. Essex reacted by making a surprise attack on the Royalist lines at dawn, capturing several pieces of high ground and leaving Charles on the back foot. A series of Royalist attacks led to large number of casualties and the slow retreat of Essex's force, which was driven from the central hill and almost encircled; Essex succeeded in rallying his infantry, however, and pushed forward in a counter-attack. The slowing of this counter-attack in the face of the Royalist cavalry forced Essex to send for reinforcements, who, while marching to him, were attacked and forced to retreat. This left a hole in the Parliamentarian line, dividing the army into two wings through which the Royalists hoped to pass, splitting the Parliamentarians and allowing Charles's troops to encircle and defeat the enemy. In line with this, the Royalists moved forward to press the attack, but were forced to halt by the London Trained Bands. With night falling, the battle ended, and both exhausted armies disengaged. The next morning, low on ammunition, the Royalists were forced to allow Essex to pass and continue his retreat to London. Reasons for the Royalist defeat include shortage of ammunition, the relative lack of professionalism of their soldiers and the tactics of Essex, who compensated "for his much lamented paucity of cavalry by tactical ingenuity and firepower", countering Rupert's cavalry by driving them off with mass infantry formations. Although the numbers of casualties were relatively small (1,300 Royalists and 1,200 Parliamentarians), historians who have studied the battle consider it to be one of the most crucial of the First English Civil War, marking the high point of the Royalist advance and leading to the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant, which brought the Scottish Covenanters into the war on the side of Parliament and led to the eventual victory of the Parliamentarian cause. Second Battle of Newbury (at Speen) in 1644 The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year. The combined armies of Parliament inflicted a tactical defeat on the Royalists, but failed to gain any strategic advantage. In the early months of 1644, the Parliamentarians had won victories at Cheriton in the south of England and Nantwich in the northwest. Also, they had secured the allegiance of the Scottish Covenanters, who sent an army into the north east. These developments both distracted the Royalists and weakened their forces around Oxford, King Charles's wartime capital. Early in June, the Parliamentarian armies of the Earl of Essex and Sir William Waller threatened to surround Oxford. King Charles made a night march to escape to Worcester. He was still in danger but on 6 June, Essex and Waller (who disliked each other) conferred at Stow-on-the-Wold and fatally decided to divide their armies. While Waller continued to shadow the King, Essex marched into the West Country, to relieve Lyme Regis which was under siege, and then to subdue Devon and Cornwall. This allowed the King to double back and return to Oxford to collect reinforcements. On 29 June, he then won a victory over Waller at Cropredy Bridge. Waller's army, most of which was unwilling to serve far from its home areas in London and the southeast, was subsequently crippled for several weeks by desertions and threatened mutinies. This allowed the King to march after Essex's army. Essex was soon trapped against the coast at Lostwithiel. He relied on support from the Parliamentarian navy, but contrary winds prevented the Parliamentarian ships leaving Portsmouth. Although Essex himself escaped in a fishing boat and his cavalry broke out of encirclement, the rest of his army was forced to surrender on 2 September, losing their arms and equipment. The troops were paroled, but suffered severely from exposure and attacks by country people during their march to Portsmouth. Although they were re-equipped, only 4,000 infantry (out of 6,000 who started) were fit for service. On 2 July however, the Covenanters and Parliamentarians in the north had defeated King Charles's nephew Prince Rupert at the Battle of Marston Moor. This victory gave them control of the north, and also released the Army of the Eastern Association under the Earl of Manchester to serve in the south of England, once the city of York surrendered on 16 July. Waller's force crossed to the south bank of the Lambourne at Boxford, and formed up and attacked at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, with cavalry under Oliver Cromwell on the left flank, infantry under Philip Skippon in the centre and cavalry under Sir William Balfour on the right. Maurice's forces had been dispersed to forage, and were caught unprepared. Although they repelled the first attack on Speen, the Parliamentarian infantry rallied and stormed the village, capturing several cannon (including some which the Royalists had captured at Lostwithiel). Sir William Balfour routed Maurice's cavalry and also defeated the Earl of Cleveland's brigade, but was then checked by the fresh Queen's Regiment of horse and musketeers under Sir Thomas Blagge lining hedges east of Speen. Cromwell was uncharacteristically slow in coming into action and his wing was thrown back by a charge by Goring's remaining cavalry under Goring himself. The Earl of Manchester was slow to throw in his own attack, pleading that the noise of Waller's guns had not been heard over the exchanges of artillery fire at Shaw House. Just before dark, he made a determined attack on Shaw House, but was beaten back. Casualties in the day's fighting were heavy, but roughly even on both sides. The Royalists had held off the Parliamentarian forces but Charles knew his army was not up to another day's fighting. He was outnumbered and with the loss of Speen, his forces were vulnerable to another attack the next morning. He hastily retreated north, leaving his wounded and most of his guns and baggage in Donnington Castle. Much of the Royalist army withdrew over a bridge over the Lambourne which was an obvious line of retreat, but no Parliamentarian troops blocked their path, and the Royalists were free to withdraw. The dissatisfaction expressed by Cromwell and other Parliamentarians over the failure to trap Charles after the battle and the subsequent half-hearted operations, eventually resulted in the passing of the Self-denying Ordinance, which deprived Essex, Waller and Manchester of their commands, and the formation of the New Model Army, with which Parliament gained victory the next year. Battle of Reading (1688) The Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688 in Reading, Berkshire. It was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange. It was celebrated in Reading for hundreds of years afterwards On Wednesday 5 November 1688 William, then the Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel provinces of the Dutch Republic, landed in Devon at the head of a Dutch army in an attempt to wrest control of the country. Five weeks later, on 7 December, the Prince of Orange and a strong body of troops had reached Hungerford. After retreating from Salisbury James II's main force was stationed on Hounslow Heath. James posted an advance guard of 600 in Reading to stop the march of the Dutch towards London. These 600 troops were composed of Irish Catholics under Patrick Sarsfield, who wild rumour asserted were planning to massacre the townsfolk. While the Prince of Orange was in Hungerford, his English supporters came into the town, including a body of several hundred cavalry headed by northern lords. On Saturday 8 December, James sent Lord Halifax, Lord Nottingham, and Lord Godolphin to Hungerford to confer with William. Halifax presented James' proposals: that the points of dispute would be laid before Parliament; and that while Parliament deliberated, William's army would not come nearer than 30 miles from London. Halifax then handed a letter from James to William. William asked his English advisers to discuss the proposals. They met under the chairmanship of Lord Oxford, and after a long debate they advised the rejection of James's proposals. William decided to negotiate with James and put his own counter proposals in writing for Halifax to deliver to James. James II sent part of his army to Reading to stop the march of the invasion force. The people of Reading had already sent a messenger to William who was at Hungerford to ask for help. On Sunday 9 December a relief force of about 250 Dutch troops was sent to the town. Warned in advance of the Jacobite positions in the town they attacked from an unexpected direction, and got into the centre of Reading, where Broad Street gives rise to one of the alternate names for this encounter. Forcing the Irish troops back, the Dutch attack was supported by Reading men shooting from their windows. The Dutch soon forced the Irish troops to retreat in confusion leaving a number of their side slain, twenty to fifty depending on the account. There were few deaths on the Dutch side, one being a Catholic officer. Many of the dead were buried in the churchyard of St Giles' Church. James was already convinced that only Irish troops could be relied on to defend him, but this defeat by an inferior force and the willingness of the people of Reading to support a Dutch invasion further signalled the insecurity of his position. Thus on Tuesday 11 December James fled London in an abortive attempt to escape. He eventually escaped to France, where he found the support of Louis XIV and then Ireland, where most of the population supported him. His last hopes of regaining the throne were dashed with his defeat in the Williamite war in Ireland. In light of proposals he had received from James while in Hungerford, William decided not to immediately proceed to London, but to accept an invitation from the University of Oxford. On 11 December, William set off for Abingdon, but on hearing of James's flight, he turned and headed down the Thames valley through Wallingford and Henley, accepting the submission of the Jacobite troops he met on the way, arriving at Windsor on 14 December 1688 There you have it! |
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2:28 PM Jul 11