Medieval Warfare focusses on the Wars of the Roses.
In the mid-fifteenth century, the ruling king of England, Henry VI, suffered from bouts of insanity. Because of this, Richard Duke of York ruled in his stead as 'Protector of the Realm'. During a brief recovery, Henry replaced Richard with his own favourites. Richard and his ally, the Earl of Warwick, feared for their safety and so gathered their armies. The Wars of the Roses had begun.
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The first battle of St. Albans was a victory for York. Henry was captured and taken back to London and Richard was soon back in place as Protector of the Realm
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Thinking that the Yorkists were retreating, the Lancastrians charged over a brook which separated the two armies. The Yorkists then turned back and caught their enemy off guard. The Lancastrian commander, Lord Audley, was killed, and soon after, the rest of their army fled
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The Yorkists claimed to be at war only with Henry's 'evil' counsellors, not with the king himself. On seeing the king was present, the Yorkist commanders fled into exile
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In June 1460 the Yorkists attacked Sandwich and captured weapons, ammunition and troops. Warwick's uncle held the town as a port for the planned Yorkists' return to England
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They defended the grounds of Delapre Abbey with a ditch filled with water and topped by spikes. The Lancastrian cannons could not fire, having been dampened by the rain, and many Lancastrians switched their allegiance to the Yorkists. The battle lasted only half an hour before the remaining Lancastrians retreated
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Richard's army was utterly defeated and the Yorkists lost five of their leaders at Wakefield. Despite this, the war did not come to an end. It was to continue for a further 25 years
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Edward's troops were worried because of the strange phenomenon. The sun appeared to them to have two smaller companions, one on either side of it. Despite their fears, Edward managed to convince them that it was a sign of the Holy Trinity and it showed that God was on their side
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This may be true, given that Henry was prone to bouts of madness, or it may be Yorkist propaganda. There are other accounts of the battle which make no reference to the king behaving in this way but they, too, could be biased. We are unlikely ever to know what really happened that day
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Contemporary accounts say that there were between 100,000 and over 400,000 people on the battlefield. Historians think that these figures are exaggerated however and a figure of 50,000 is more realistic. Even so, it would still be the largest battle ever to have been fought in England
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Henry was hidden for a few years by his allies but he was eventually captured in 1465. For the next five years he was held captive in the Tower of London
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