Battle of Bosworth Flashcards
Date of battle 1
22nd August 1485
When was henry vii born? 1
1457
When was Richard iii born? 1
1452
1471 London 3
Edward IV (1471-1483) defeated Henry VI and a bulk of the 15,000 Lancaster troops when they failed to attack London The leader of this attack surrendered and the rebellions in the north were put down as well Henry VII upon learning of this went to France, who supported his claim
What happened after the death of Edward IV? 2
His eldest son (Edward V) was sent to London but Richard III met him at Ludlow, escorting him and later his younger brother Richard to the Tower of London
A few months later the children were declared illegitimate and never seen again
1483 Rebellion? 4
The Queen started plotting with Henry’s mother to start a rebellion
The Duke of Buckingham started a rebellion in the West as Henry sailed to England
Buckingham died fighting Richard as Henry failed to land due to storms
Henry returned to Brittany
Henry’s statement 2
After Henry publicly claimed he would unite the houses and marry Elizabeth of York, Richard’s wife died and Henry received support from Charles VIII of France as he set sail to Wales.
Henry was angered by the fact Richard wanted to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York.
Landing in wales 1
After landing in Wales, he received help from Welsh fighters and leaders and by the 15th of August he was in England
Tactical positions 2
Richard and Henry met at Bosworth field, with Henry taking positions in the moors behind a river and Richard on Ambion Hill.
Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby, was the seemingly neutral party who camped at a hill called Dadlington
Army make ups 3
Henry - Lancaster supporters, French mercenaries, and Welsh fighters made up an army of roughly 5,000.
Richard - army of York supporters and barons, an army of roughly 10,000, though these numbers are very varied
Stanley - Wild card, 5,000 troops.
Morning of 22nd 1
Henry’s troops crossed the small river and decided to play aggressively instead of defensively, surprising Richard
Fighting begins 3
Nearing the hill, Lancaster Legend John of Oxford (who was leading the main clump of attackers) shifted to attack the left flank of Richard, who was firing his artillery
John faced the left group of Richard’s army (which was split into three groups) and widened his line
Richard’s group came to support, while the final group either betrayed Richard or were afraid of Stanley making a move
Henry v Richard 4
Henry quickly defeated the left flank of the left group who were still fighting John
Richard saw Henry’s banner and charged at him with 1,000 horses, which pushed Henry back and the unit was panicking
John sent some pikemen to help Henry, who was being fiercely defended
This battle was now being pushed to the marshes in the east, where Stanley was finally making a move
Stanley’s move 1
He sent his younger brother to fight Richard from the side
This manoeuvre enveloped Richard’s army, who were rapidly losing
Richard’s death 3
Richard died from a blow to the head
He was the last English king to die in battle
His final words were ‘I’m going to fight like a king, and die trying.’
