The Battle Of Naseby Flashcards
When was the battle of Naseby and who fought at it ?
1645
The royalist army of King Charles I
The parliaments new model army led by Oliver Cromwell
Stage 1: numbers, what where the numbers/ composition of both armies
Royalist: 5,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry: 9,000 Royalist
Parliamentarian: 6,500 cavalry and 6,500 infantry: 13,000 Parliamentarian
Stage 2: positions, how where each side positioned
Both armies on opposite sides on opposing grass ridges with a shallow dip between them
Parliamentarian on a slightly higher ridge
Flanks protected by thick hedges and rough boggy ground- chosen by Oliver Cromwell
Stage 3: artillery, what happened with them
Royalists advance, parliamentarians fire five of their artillery which missed the royalist infantry
Armies where so close it was deemed unwise to fire anymore as it would endanger both sides.
Royalist artillery was not used as it hadn’t been moved into position
Stage 4: cavalry (1), who charges at what ? Is it successful ?
Royalist cavalry led by Prince Rupert charge up the LHS of the battlefield at parliamentarian cavalry.
Armed with pistols and swords they where successful in chasing at least 1000 of the parliamentary cavalry on the LHS of the battlefield
Stage 5: infantry, think Musketeers and pikemen. What do they do?
-Musketeers from both sides fire at each other( probably in Swedish salvo) as the infantry advanced.
-They where so close only a few volleys where fired before they met.
-Hand to hand combat begins with musketeers using the butt of their muskets
-pikemen engage in the push of the pike, although outnumbered the more experienced royalists began pushing parliamentary infantry back
Stage 5: Cavalry (2) think parliamentarian now. What happens? Long one so
P cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell charge R cavalry.
These are P’s best cavalry troops know as the iron sides- well: equipped, trained and disciplined
Using swords and pistols they defeated and chased the outnumbered R cavalry on the RHS of the battlefield
OV quickly regroups his cavalry and charges the R infantry.
R infantry begins to collapse and the R cavalry led by Prince Rupert couldn’t defend them due to them not having regrouped after their first charge but instead looted the P baggage train.
R cavalry couldn’t do much and it’s possible they misinterpreted a signal to think they should instead leave the battlefield
Stage 6: the outcome of the battle. Think aftermath and casualties :)
Royalist infantry collapse and are defeated. Royalist cavalry didn’t help
P’s new model army was victorious at Naseby
All R infantry captured
Around 1000 royalist infantry where killed with P being half that number
Poor communications on the battlefield ?
It was hard due to musket fire and artillery as it still relied on speech and gestures. Frequently became more difficult to tell friend from foe as the battle went on
What was the role of Oliver Cromwell?
Important role in determining outcome of battle
He was sure to engage in battle when he knew his troops outnumber the royalists
His cavalry proved themselves to be skilled, determined and disciplined when charging against the royalists and again when rallying something the royalists failed to do
He lead by example
Were the cavalry decisive?
Parliament cavalry particularly the iron sides where most likely the main reason for P’s win at Naseby.
This revival of mounted knights appears to be a return of early Middle Ages unlike the dismounted knights seen later.
The cavalries importance here was made by the technical limitations of Muskets as they lacked accuracy.
Had guns been more sophisticated cavalry would of stood little chance however cavalry alone at Naseby couldn’t of won it
