"Sieges determined the course of the English Civil Wars, yet they receive scant attention. In contrast, the major set-piece battles are repeatedly analyzed and reassessed. As a result our understanding of the conflict, and of its outcome, is incomplete. John Barratt, in this lucid and perceptive account, makes the siege the focal point of his study. As well as looking at the theory and practice of siege warfare and fortification, he considers the often-devastating human impact. Using a sel...

Previous studies of the Royalist high command have concentrated largely upon a handful of notable individuals such as King Charles himself and Prince Rupert. In this ground-breaking study, John Barratt re-examines these key figures, but he also explores the careers and characters of some of the lesser-known, but equally able Royalist officers. These men played decisive roles in the war, but hitherto they have received little attention.

Between 1642 and 1646 two armies fought for control of Southwest England in one of the decisive confrontations of the English Civil Wars. In this short, turbulent period Royalists loyal to King Charles I clashed with the forces of Parliament in a series of hard-fought campaigns that crisscrossed the West Country landscape. Rearguard actions, sieges, skirmishes, retreats and pitched battles punctuated the course of the conflict, yet no previous book has retold the story of the Southwestern ...

The 200 years that separate the navy of Drake's day from that of Nelson were critical for the development of Britain's sea power, and the decade of the Commonwealth, of Cromwell's rule, is one of the turning points in the story. In the aftermath of a disastrous civil war and the execution of Charles I, the navy fought to defend the frail republic against the rivalry and hostility of other European nations and to extend British influence across the globe. In this fascinating reassessment of...

"Paints a vivid picture of such battles as Pilleth in Wales, Homildon Hill in Scotland and of course Shrewsbury, so bloodily fought at Battlefield." — Shropshire WeekendThe opening years of the fifteenth century saw one of the most bitterly contested political and military convulsions in the history of the British Isles, a conflict that is too-often overlooked by military historians. Henry IV, who had overthrown and probably murdered his predecesso...

The political machinations, the strategies, and the hour-by-hour accounts of the war that locked Elizabeth I and Philip II in a battle for naval supremacy.The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the turning points in English history, and it was perhaps the defining episode in the long reigns of Elizabeth I of England and Philip II of Spain. The running battle along the Channel between the nimble English ships and the lumbering Spanish galleons has achieved almost...

Late summer 1643 saw the Royalists in the English Civil War at the height of their military success. After three months of almost unbroken victories, the king's forces had gained control of much of the north and west of England, whilst Prince Rupert's seemingly invincible cavalry raided out from Oxford to the outskirts of London, Parliament's stronghold. In July the wave of Royalist successes climaxed with the storming of Bristol. It seemed that one more success might be s...

The appalling effects of civil war are often suffered most horrifically by the ordinary men, women and children involuntarily caught up in it, as it tears asunder the very fabric of their lives. Such was the fate of the citizens of Chester, who for almost four years found themselves at the centre of the battle between King and Parliament. Chester's inhabitants withstood the terrors of bombardment and the rigours of starvation, in one of the most fiercely contested sieges of the Civil War. ...

The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 was the culmination of the ferocious struggle between two kings, James II and William III. This book makes use of research and sources, including eyewitness accounts, to analyse the opposing forces, their strategy, tactics and conduct of the war and the reasons for its eventual outcome.

On 2 July 1644, six miles from York, 18,000 Royalists led by Prince Rupert, the nephew of King Charles I, fought 27,000 Parliamentarians in an attempt to relieve the Royalist force besieged at York. He failed. The defeat was catastrophic and the North was lost to Parliamentarian troops. John Barratt looks afresh at the battle and explores the disagreements among the Royalist leaders that had a devastating effect on the outcome of the battle.

A historian of the English Civil Wars shares a fascinating study of the seventeenth century New Model Army, examining its formation, tactics, and significance.The New Model Army was one of the best-known and most effective armies ever raised in England. Oliver Cromwell was both its greatest battlefield commander and the political leader whose position depended on its support. In this meticulously researched and accessible new study, Keith Roberts describes how Cromw...

In this stimulating and original investigation of the decisive battles ofthe English Civil War, Malcolm Wanklyn reassesses what actually happened on the battlefield and as a result sheds new light on the causes of the eventual defeat of Charles I. Taking each major battle in turn - Edgehill, Newbury I, Cheriton, Marston Moor, Newbury II, Naseby, and Preston - he looks critically at contemporary accounts and at historians' narratives, explores the surviving battlegrounds and retells the sto...