Osprey Campaign S.

2 primary works

Towton 1461

by Christopher Gravett

Published 16 April 2003

On a bitterly cold Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, the army of King Edward IV met that of his Lancastrian enemies on a snow-covered battlefield south of the village of Towton in Yorkshire. The struggle lasted all day in the longest and bloodiest battle of the Wars of the Roses, and ended with the Lancastrians demolished.

On a bitterly cold Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, the army of King Edward IV met that of his Lancastrian enemies on a snow-covered battlefield south of the village of Towton in Yorkshire. The struggle lasted all day in the longest and bloodiest battle of the Wars of the Roses. With the arrival of Yorkist reinforcements under the Duke of Norfolk, the Lancastrian line eventually broke and their troops fled, many being caught and slaughtered in the death trap known as 'Bloody Meadow'. Christopher Gravett examines the campaign that marked the resurgence of the Yorkist cause and established Edward IV as king.

Tewkesbury 1471

by Christopher Gravett and Graham Turner

Published 22 October 2003

Following their victory at Towton in 1461, The House of York continued to triumph. By 1470, however, relations between Edward and his lieutenant, Eari of Warwick, had broken down and Warwick had joined the Lancastrian cause. On 14 April 1471 at Barnet, Edward defeated and killed Warwick. On the same day Henry VI's wife and son, Queen Margaret and Prince Edward, landed at Weymouth. Learning of the disaster, they united with Warwick's army and made a stand at Tewkesbury. Edward IV bombarded Somerset's division, who reacted with a surprise attack on the Yorkist line. However, Edward IV counterattacked and routed Somerset's men. The Lancastrians fled. This title examines how, after Tewkesbury, the Lancastrian cause had been virtually wiped out.