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May 22, 1455
The First Battle of St Albans
-The first battle of the Wars of the Roses was the Battle of St Albans
-Richard Duke of York lead a force of 3,000 men towards King Henry VI, with a force of 2,500 men, (Lancastrian) in London
-The King stopped the march in the town of St Albans
-Richard Duke of York attacked and defeated the Lancastrians and caused around 300 casulties
-Margaret of Anjou and her son Edward fled up North Strengths: Flank attack - Yorkists -
Sep 23, 1459
The Battle of Blore Heath
-Richard Duke of York decided to centralize his forces of 5,000 men, around Ludlow and then attack the Lancastrian forces
-He was intercepted by Lancastrians with 10,000 men Strengths: 5,000 men knew what they were doing in battle compared to the 10,000 men that were not well equipped and not strong wariors -
Oct 12, 1459
The Battle of Ludford Bridge
-Yorkist factions regrouped at Ludford bridge at the town of Ludlow and started to move towards Worcester
-King had large force of men, Yorkists fell back when they encountered them
Strengths: Lancarstrians had the king on their side and the Calais garisons were not prepared to usurp the king
Weaknesses: Yorkists had men change sides and they had to flee the battle -
Jul 10, 1460
The Battle of Northampton
-The Earl of Warwick, his father, The Earl of Salisbury, and The Earl of March (Edward IV) sailed from Calais to Sandwich on their way to London. Warwick attacked Lancastrian army who were marching down from Coventry
-Yorks attack, they sweep victory and take king as prisoner
-King under Yorks control and agreed in November he was the rightful heir
-Margaret was assembling an army in Wales at this moment in time
Weaknesses: Lord Grey swithced to Yorkists. Weather effected communication and equip -
Dec 30, 1460
The Battle of Wakefield
-Richard of York travelled with Earl of Salisbury up North to meet Lancastrian forces at York
-Richard left his stronghold and directly attacked the Lancs force even though it was twice the size of their army
Weaknesses: His army were outnumbered, they were defeated, leader died (Richard Duke of York). Earl of Salisbury and York's son were captured and exectued, 8,000 men to 18,000 -
Feb 2, 1461
The Battle of Mortimers Cross
-Earl of March moved up to London to link up with Warwick, during his travels he discovered a Lanc force in central Wales
-Earl of March decided to change direction to engage with the enemy
-Earl of March continued travels East to be with Warwick near London
-2 months later he was crowned king
Srengths: Earl of March decided to attack unexpectdley meaning the other men were not ready for battle -
Feb 7, 1461
The Second Battle of St Albans
-Warwick positioned his army at St Albans
-Before the Yorks could link up the Lancs attacked
-They replayed 1st Battle of St Albans by flank attacking the Yorks like the Yokrs did to them first
-Warwick fled and left the king under a tree, so he could escape
Strengths: Flank attack on Yorks
Weaknesses: Warwick fled and left king to escape and return to the Lancs -
Mar 29, 1461
The Battle of Towton
-Yorks attack Lancs in snow storm at Towton -Yorks could shoot further because of the weather Weaknesses: The weather created issues for Lancs and the battle was uphill as the wind and storm was not in their favour
Strengths: Weather was in the Yorks favour and the reinforcements arrived at exactly the right time because of the strains in the front line -
Dec 31, 1461
Conclusion of the Battles
Overall, the Yorkists won the majority of the battles meaning they were the victors. The factors for this include the fact that they had money on their side, this was due to having the two richest noble families, The Nevilles and The Pantagenets. This meant they would have the best warriors and best equipment as well.
