Warfare and British Society c1250 - Present Flashcards
Army composition 1250 - 1500
Infantry and mounted knights
Mounted knight tactics 1250 - 1500
Mounted charge - charge through enemy lines
Rout and chase - scatter infantry and attack them one by one
Infantry role and tasks 1250 - 1500
Shield wall - withould enemy attacks
Mêlée - hand to hand combat
New weapons and formations 1250 - 1500
Longbow
Pikes
Schiltrons
Cannons
Cannon limitations 1250 - 1500
Heavy and expensive
Innacurate
Short range
Unrealiable
Slow reload
Trained people needed
Advantages and improvements of cannons 1250 - 1500
Useful in sieges
New technology like rods to raise the barrelmade them more accurate
Long distance cannons developed
Metal balla used to improve efficiancy
What caused the decline of the mounted knight c1250 - 1500
Longbow was effective in taking down knights, horses and infantry
Schiltrons could quickly defeat enemy cavalry
Cavalry took different roles (scouting etc)
Change in knight recruitment c1250 - 1500
Assize of arms - tax on wealth, everyone with land had to probvide knights
Mercenaries and scutage - people paid scutage instead of doing military service
Royal household - permenant paid guards of the king
Changes in infantry recruitmant c1250 - 1500
Statute of Winchester - All men 16 - 60 had to muster once a year for 40 days service
Commisioners of array - assesed recruits and weapons accross the country
After 1337, assize of arms and feudal levy fell away in favour of paid service
Changes in provisioning 1250 - 1500
Requisitioning - crown forced merchants to sell goods and ships for baggage trains
Weapons stores - such as royal armoury built up
Supply depots - set up ahead of army and supplied by road or sea
Pillaging
Who won the battle of Falkirk 1298?
English
Who fought in Falkirk
England and Scotland
What was the impact of the longbow at Falkirk?
Very effective at killing unarmoured infantry
Created gaps in scottish pikes and allowed England to attack
Impact of Schiltrons at Falkirk
Welldisciploned and hard to break but the lack of armour made them highly vulnerable towards archers.
Who won the battle of Agincourt 1415?
England
Who fought in Agincourt?
England against France
Why was Henry’s choice of battleground good?
His army was at the end of a funnel
Wet clay was in the middle of the ground. Hard for cavalry charges
Protected flanks
Sharp stakes set in the ground towards the french
Archers used forest as cover for attacks
What was the role of cavalry and archers at Agincourt?
English archers fired directly into French cavalry
French cavalry couldnt retreat because of their own advancing infantry
French cavalry got exhausted
English kights held the centre fighting on foot
What good decisions did Henry V make at Agincourt?
Fought alongside men
Good defensive position
Cavalry fought on foot
Sent archers to gall the french into fighting in bad ground
Changes in army composition c1500-1700
Not much change in composition. Artillery trains slowly increased in importance and field artillery improved.
Changes in battlefield roles c1500 - 1700
Cavalry no longer decisive force in battle.
Infantry became more dominant due to new weapons and tactics.
Change in the role of cavalry 1500 - 1700
Harrased the enemy with pistols
Dragoons took on the role of mounted archer until 1700
Change in the role of infantry 1500 - 1700
Musketeers gradually replaced archers
Pikemen increasingly fought in large squares or columns
Changes in the role of the government 1500 - 1700
Taxes increasingly used to pay for soldiers
Use of mercenaries increased.
What type of army was introduced during the english civil war? 1500 - 1700
Standing army
Why did the musket start replacing the longbow? 1500 - 1700
Muskets could piece high carbon steel and the ammo was cheaper too.
Musketeers could kill pikemen
Number of archers to train reduced. Musketeers were much faster to train.
Effect of the introduction of pistols on armies 1500 - 1700?
Replaced lances of medieval knights.
Made armour redundant with increased firepower.
Why was the flintlock better than the matchlock?
Had no dangerous exposed match and gunpowder
Matchlock was unreliable in the rain
Flintlock undetectable at night
Changes in bayonets 1500 - 1700
1660s - plug bayonet
1705 - pike replaced by socket bayonets. Musketeers became melee combatants.
How did defenses against cannons change c1500 - 1700
Earth filled walls could withstand a cannon blast
Walls were angled so cannons would bounce off
Bations provided locations to return cannon fire
Continuity in training c1500-1700
Tudor system still used (statute of winchestor) - 16 - 60 year olds pressed into serving
Men provided their own weapons and general musters were still held
Lieutenants appointed to command each countys militia
What was the main army systen in 1645?
The new model army
What were the main characteristics of the new model army?
Voluntary service
Paid service (24 pence a day for cavalry, 8 for infantry)
Soldiers could be promoted to command positions
Impact of warfare on civilians before the civil war
Ships were requisitioned for the navy
Requisitioned horses and supplies distrupted businesses and led to shortages
Taxes increased and trade reduced. This meant lower pay and higher prices
Damage to civilans was only on the coast and borders
Impact of warfare on civilians during the civil war
Requisitioning continued
Plunder was very common
High taxes
Large homelessness rates from seiges
Who fought in the battle of Naseby?
Royalists and Parliamentarians
Who won the battle of Naseby?
Parliamentarians
When was the battle of Naseby?
1645
Why was the parlimentarian battleground choice at the battle of Naseby good?
The center was an ideal place for cavalry
They had protected flanks
They were behind a ridge, enemy couldnt see them
High position gave tactical advantage
Continuity in army composition 1700 - 1850
Permanent standing army of around 50,000
Decline of cavalry continued
Artillery stayed the same
Change in army composition c1850 - c1900
British empire growth meant army size increased to 250,000
Government more involved in organising army size and finances
Specialisation and professionalism c1700
Soldiers still pressed into service
Bright red uniform
Infantry all had muskets and bayonets
Support from immobile cannons
Specialisation and professionalism c1900
Command structures more defined
Camo or brown/grey uniform
Steamtrains and ships used as main transport
Rifles and machine guns led to specialised infantry roles
Long distance artillery and light field artillery bombarded enemy
Continuity in roles on the battlefield c1700 - 1900
Cavalry - still important for reconnaisance and harrsasment but new tech left them weak.
Infantry - still the decisive factor in battle