The first civil war in England

After the long parliamentary opening, opposition members lashed out at the king's policies and arrested the king's minions, Earl of Stratford and Archbishop Lauder. Charles I tried his best to defend them, but the people in London kept demonstrating. Fearing the power of the people, the king was forced to sign the death sentence in Stratford in May 164 1. Two days later, the evil slave was hanged.

Parliament also passed the "three-year bill", which stipulates that parliament should be convened at least once every three years, and the king may not dissolve parliament without its consent. It abolished the privileged institutions of feudal autocracy, such as the Royal Court, the Northern Committee and the Supreme Court.

164 1 year 1 1 month, the parliament passed a large protest, with 204 articles in full. It listed the atrocities of Charles I and demanded that the king guarantee the freedom of industry and commerce, and the government was responsible to the parliament. Charles I not only refused to approve the protest, but also declared that Pim, Hampton and other opposition leaders "rebelled".

1642 65438+ 10, he personally led people to arrest Pim and others, but met with strong opposition from the people of London. In view of the enthusiasm of the popular revolution in London, the royalists are fighting alone. Charles I left London on June+10/October 10 in 65438, and went north to organize the royalist army in York City. On August 22nd, Charles I put up the flag of Wang Jun in Nottingham, declared a crusade against the rebels in Parliament, and provoked the first civil war.

After the civil war began, Britain was divided into two camps: feudal nobles, upper-class monks of the Anglican Church and some big bourgeoisie and bureaucrats closely related to the king to support him. Most of them are Anglicans and Catholics. New noble, the bourgeoisie, urban civilians, craftsmen and yeomen are the main people who stand on the side of the parliament. Most of them are Puritans.

Judging from the strength comparison between the two sides, the parliament has an absolute advantage.

The area controlled by parliament is the southeast, including London. The economy here is developed, the population is dense, the products are rich, and the financial resources are abundant. More than 4/5 of the national tax revenue comes from these areas. Parliament has an important port and naval fleet, which can cut off the maritime contact between the king's army and the outside world. The parliamentary army has a large number (about 6,000 people) and is supported by the people.

The areas controlled by the king are the west and the north. The economy here is backward, the population is sparse and the financial resources are insufficient. There are only 2,000 people in Wang Jun, only 1/4 of the parliamentary army.

But in the first two years of the civil war, the parliamentary army lost many times, but Wang Jun took the strategic initiative. There are three reasons: first, although there are many parliamentary soldiers, most of them are militia without military training; Most of the soldiers in the king's army are loyal professional troops, and their fighting capacity is naturally strong. Second, in the hearts of the British people at that time, the king was still dignified and noble, so many people did not support the parliamentary army, but took a wait-and-see attitude. Third, parliamentary officials are mostly cautious and incompetent, not as good as king officials. 1642 On September 9th, Earl Essex III, Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentary Army, led an army from London to the north. After the troops arrived in Northampton, there were nearly 20 thousand parliamentary troops. However, Essex did not take the initiative to launch an attack with superior forces, but lined up to show its strength and waited for the king to "change his mind." Knowing that he was weak, Charles I left Nottingham on September 13 for the southwest where the royalists were powerful, and arrived in Shrewsbury on September 20 to set up camp.

Essex also led the army westward, during which the situation changed greatly on September 23. The king recruited many soldiers in some counties in the Midwest and Wales. Feudal landlords, Catholic nobles and their accompanying cavalry came to join the army one after another, and the number of Wang Jun increased greatly. Taking advantage of Essex's passive waiting, the king secretly left Shrewsbury for London on June+10/October 65438+February. Three days later, Essex got the news and hurried back to the division to catch up. 10 10 On October 22nd, the leading troops of the parliamentary army caught up with Wang Jun on Mount Aji near Kensington, Warwickshire.

On the 23rd, the two sides fought for the first time on a large scale. Wang Jun invested about 7,000 troops, and 7,500 parliamentary troops participated in the war. 14 or so, the two armies went to war. As soon as the parliamentary army led by Sir Fotis Wei launched an attack, it was strongly countered by the cavalry commanded by Prince Rupert, the nephew of Charles I, and the parliamentary cavalry on both wings fled in panic. However, the youthful Prince Rupert was brave and foolhardy. He only chased more than two miles in one breath and didn't know the whole battlefield.

Although the cavalry on the two wings of the Parliamentary Army retreated, the infantry in the middle, with the support of artillery, repelled the attack of the infantry in Wang Jun and fought back to defeat it. Count Lindsay, the infantry commander of Wang Jun, was wounded and captured, and the king's flag also fell into the hands of the parliamentary army. The king was once alone and almost captured. Fortunately, Rupert led the Wang Jun cavalry back to the battlefield in time and saved the king's life. At this time, Wang Jun was in flight, making a mess. But Essex did not attack.

That night, the two sides spent the night on the battlefield. At dawn the next day, Charles I found that his 1/3 infantry and many royalists had left the team without authorization because of the cold weather and fear of war, so they had to temporarily stop fighting and have a rest. After the arrival of senate guard, the power became stronger. However, Essex was satisfied with its present achievements and moved its base camp westward to Warwick, which gave Wang Jun a breathing space.

In the battle of Ajishan, the two sides were tied and did not win. Parliamentarian soldiers suffered more casualties, while Wang Jun officers suffered more losses. Both sides claimed victory. The king took advantage of the westward withdrawal of the parliamentary army, assembled his troops and quietly headed for London. 65438+1October 29th captured Oxford,165438+1October/2 captured brentford, which is only 7 miles from London, and the capital is in a hurry.

At this critical moment, more than 4,000 London militiamen, composed of artisans, apprentices and urban civilians, went to the front line and joined the parliamentary army under the command of Essex, greatly increasing the number of parliamentary troops and inspiring their morale. Charles I was forced to give up his plan to attack London because of his limited strength. However, Essex ordered no pursuit and only passive defense. Charles I was able to return to Oxford peacefully. Wang Jun spent the winter on the spot, gathered strength and prepared to fight again next year.

Although the crisis in London was relieved, the whole military situation of 1643 was still very unfavorable to the parliamentary army. In the north, Wang Jun occupied several big cities in Yorkshire and moved south to Lincolnshire. West Wang Jun drove parliamentary troops out of South Wales and occupied Dorset.

On July 26th, Prince Rupert led Wang Jun to capture Bristol, Britain's second largest seaport city, and seized a lot of materials, making the port a "military warehouse" in Wang Jun. Subsequently, the prince led troops to besiege Gloucester, a western town of the Parliamentary Army. In the southwest, the parliamentary army commanded by General Waller was almost wiped out. In the autumn of the same year, Wang Junbing attacked London in three ways, and the capital was once again in a hurry.

This time, the London militia once again showed great strength. They formed four teams, and together with the parliamentary army under Essex's command, crossed the western hilly region and lifted Wang Jun's siege of Gloucester in early September. Then, the parliamentary army and the London militia returned to rescue London. On September 20th, a fierce battle broke out between newbury and Wang Jun, which defeated Wang Jun's attack and saved London from danger again.

Nevertheless, by the end of 1643, Wang Jun controlled five counties in the north, counties in the west and Wales, and Oxfordshire and Berkshire in the middle, accounting for almost three-fifths of the country.

At the beginning of the civil war, the parliamentary army lost many times for both political and military reasons.

Politically, it is mainly because the Presbyterian church, which holds the leadership of parliament, wavers in compromise and is unwilling to make a complete break with the king. Satisfied with vested interests, they tried to force the king to compromise through war, but they had no intention of overthrowing the royal power. Essex, the commander-in-chief of the parliamentary army, and others are passive and lazy. They just want to show their military strength and wait for the king's concession.

From the military point of view, due to lack of training, there are many parliamentary troops but poor military quality; The main cavalry units in the royal army are mostly composed of nobles, knights and their servants with rich combat experience, and can be good at fighting. But the generals of the parliamentary army are mostly indecisive and incompetent. They lack the initiative to attack and implement the strategy of passive defense, which makes the parliamentary army fall into a passive position. In the case of losing the parliamentary army, an outstanding general Cromwell appeared.

Oliver cromwell was born into a new noble family in Huntington County. /kloc-entered the parliament in 0/628, and participated in drafting the great protest in 164 1 year. When the civil war broke out, he organized a cavalry team, joined the parliamentary army and took part in the battle of Aji Mountain.

/kloc-at the end of 0/642, under Cromwell's organization, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Essex, hereford and other five eastern counties formed the "Eastern Alliance", * * * fought against Wang Jun, and then Lincolnshire and Huntington joined the Alliance.

By June of 1643, the Eastern Alliance Army had reached 12000, with Manchester as the commander and Cromwell as the deputy commander and cavalry commander. This army is mainly composed of yeomen and craftsmen. It is disciplined, brave and good at fighting, and is well received by the masses. Gradually developed into the main force of the parliamentary army. At the same time, while the parliamentary army was defeated in the north, west and southwest, the Eastern Union Army won Lien Chan from May 1643 to 10/0, in Grantham, gainsborough and Winsby, Lincolnshire.

When the war entered 1644, the situation of the parliamentary army improved greatly. As early as September 1643, the British Parliament and the Scots signed the holy alliance and the Convention. 1June 644 Scottish troops crossed the border and invaded Britain. Earl Levin led the Scottish army to liberate most of Yorkshire, and joined forces with the parliamentary army under the command of Ferdinand Fairfax. At the same time, the Eastern Union forces recovered most of Lincolnshire. In May, the Eastern Alliance Army joined forces with the above two armies. In June, the parliamentary army began to besiege York, a fortress in northern Wang Jun.

In order to prevent the fall of Wang Jun's "Northern Capital", Charles I ordered Prince Rupert to lead Wang Jun from Lancashire to the north to help York. At the end of June, Rupert joined the garrison of York City under the command of Newcastle. The parliamentary army automatically withdrew from the encirclement and retreated westward.

At the beginning of July, the two armies fought the first large-scale battle since the civil war in the wasteland of meston.

Meston Wasteland is located 7 miles west of York City. It is about 1.5 miles from east to west, with a wide deep ditch on the south edge and a small highland covered with shrubs and rye on the south. At 9 am on July 2, Rupert led his troops to a village at the eastern end of the wasteland and quickly occupied the whole wasteland. When the parliamentary army, which was withdrawing from the west, learned about it, it immediately turned around to meet the enemy. 14 or so, the parliamentary army assembled in the small highland south of the ditch. The two sides deployed according to the principle that the infantry was centered and the cavalry was flanked.

Wang Jun's deployment is that Newcastle leads the infantry in the middle, Prince Rupert leads the cavalry on the right, and Goering leads the cavalry on the left. According to the experience of Ejin Mountain, Rupert deployed troops step by step to lure the enemy into the trench, with the main force behind, to defend and counterattack. Ferdinand Fairfax led the infantry in the middle, Cromwell led the cavalry on the left, and Thomas Fairfax led the cavalry on the right. Wang Jun is in the north of the ditch, and the parliamentary army is in the south of the ditch.

It's a hot summer, with sultry weather and showers from time to time. Both sides are waiting for each other to attack first. Until 18, there was still no movement on the position. Rupert's army was exhausted after nearly 1 month's trek. Rupert and Newcastle both thought there would be no fighting that day and were going back to the rear for dinner and rest.

However, just as Rupert and Newcastle were preparing to spend a quiet night, at about 19, the left-wing cavalry of the parliamentary army shouted: "The heavenly soldiers are coming! The heavenly soldiers are coming! " First, rush down the high ground and go straight for the enemy. Then, the middle infantry and right-wing cavalry also rushed to the enemy line. Cromwell led the left-wing cavalry through the deep ditch, and soon wiped out the cavalry on the Wang Jun 1 line. Later, Les led the Scottish cavalry into battle and washed away Rupert's second-line cavalry. Rupert himself escaped in the direction of York city under the pursuit of Scottish cavalry, and finally saved his life.

The battle lasted about 1.5 hours, and the left wing of the parliamentary army has won. At the same time, however, the middle infantry and right-wing cavalry of the Parliamentary Army were fiercely countered by Wang Jun infantry of Newcastle and Wang Jun cavalry led by Goering. Under Wang Jun's counter-attack, the parliamentary infantry retreated one after another, and finally retreated behind the small highland, and its right side was hit by Goering cavalry, which was in a bad situation. At this critical moment, Cromwell ordered Rice to pursue Rupert's remnants, and he himself led the cavalry to detour behind Goering, attacking from north to south and defeating Goering's cavalry in one fell swoop. Subsequently, Cromwell concentrated his forces on the Wang Jun infantry stuck in the middle of the parliamentary army position, and won a great victory.

At about 22 o'clock, the battle ended. In this campaign, the parliamentary army * * * invested 27,000 troops, including 7,000 cavalry; Wang Jun invested 6.5438+0.8 million people, including 7,000 cavalry. As a result, 3,000 to 4,000 people were killed,10.5 million people were captured and a lot of materials were lost in Wang Jun. On July 16, 2006, parliamentary troops occupied York City. Through the war of reclaiming farmland in maston, the northern stronghold of Wang Jun was destroyed, and the parliamentary army reversed the situation of repeated wars and defeats, thus gaining the strategic initiative. This battle was not only a turning point in the English Civil War, but also a turning point in Cromwell's life. Cromwell was bold and circuitous in the battle and skillfully maneuvered his troops, which played a decisive role in the victory of the battle. Cromwell's troops became famous as "fighters" all over the country. After the war in meston wasteland, the situation was very favorable to the parliamentary army. The parliamentary army won and liberated the northern region. Wang Jun's morale is low, his troops are weak and he is in a critical situation. The incompetence and ineffectiveness of Essex, Manchester and others who held the leadership of the Parliamentary Army gave Wang Jun a breathing space.

1644 from August to September, Essex was ordered to fight in the southwest. Alone, surrounded by Wang Jun in Cornwall, the infantry was wiped out, and he himself escaped from the sea. In the same year1October 27th, 10, the king led an army to attack newbury, Cromwell and others led an army to beat Wang Jun's wings, but Manchester in the middle refused to leave the battlefield and returned to Oxford safely. Two weeks later, the king rallied and attacked newbury again. This time Manchester refused to cooperate with the attack on Wang Jun, allowing the king to retreat calmly again.

The masses are very dissatisfied with Essex and Manchester, the main leaders of the parliamentary army. They have repeatedly fought against each other and delayed the fighters. Independent officers headed by Cromwell protested against Presbyterian generals' control of military power and ineffective operations. Cromwell severely criticized the actions of Manchester and others at the parliamentary military conference held in Downington Fort on June 1644+0 10. He said that the parliamentary army was passive, "entirely because of the Earl of Manchester. From the battle of meston, he was afraid of winning, and he was afraid of decisive victory. " In this regard, Manchester defended: "If we beat the king 99 times, he will still be the king, and after him, his descendants will still be the king. But if the king beats us even once, we will all be hanged and our children and grandchildren will become slaves. "

165438+1On October 23rd, Cromwell made a report on this issue to the Parliament. In the report, he sharply criticized the mistakes made by Manchester, calling him a "sinner who led to the failure of the parliamentary army." At the same time, Manchester accused Cromwell of disobeying orders and trying to rebel. Parliament debated the issue. The Presbyterian Church sympathized with Manchester, and independents supported Cromwell. Later, under the strong demand of independent members such as Cromwell and the pressure of the broad masses of the people, the parliament was forced to decide to reorganize the army.

1644 12 19, the house of commons first passed the law on self-repression, stipulating that members of parliament are not allowed to hold military posts. As a result, Essex and Manchester were forced to hand over military power. 1645 In June, the House of Commons passed the new model army bill, which stipulated the establishment of a new model army of 22,000 people, of which cavalry accounted for about 1/3. Decided to allocate 45,000 pounds a month from the national budget for military supplies; Appointed Thomas Fairfax as commander-in-chief to command the whole army in a unified way; The whole army implements unified military uniforms, unified discipline and unified establishment; In order to ensure sufficient troops, it was decided to implement the principle of compulsory recruitment. These two bills were subsequently approved by the upper house.

Cromwell, as a member of parliament, should have resigned from the military, but at the insistence of Thomas Fairfax, the commander-in-chief, the parliament agreed to appoint him as deputy commander-in-chief and cavalry commander. Since then, Cromwell has been re-elected for two terms, representing the parliament in the army and the army in the parliament. The independents headed by him have mastered the real power of the army.

The implementation of the New Model Army Act is of great significance in the military history of Britain and even the world. Since then, Britain has established the first regular army in history. With Cromwell's "warrior" as the model, the Eastern Alliance Army as the foundation, and a large number of newly promoted outstanding officers as the backbone, it became the core force to destroy Wang Jun with strict discipline, high morale, unified command and flexible tactics. After the independents seized military power, they changed the passive strategy of passive defense and waiting for opportunities, and adopted the strategy of taking the initiative and forcing the enemy to fight a decisive battle. After the reorganization, the strength of the parliamentary army increased greatly, and the officers and men had a strong sense of seeking war.

1in April 645, Fairfax took the initiative to attack Oxford, the king's stronghold. In order to get rid of the predicament, the king decided to break eastward and attack London with a camera. Fairfax immediately ordered evacuation and pursuit. On June 12, the parliamentary army pursued Wang Jun to Northamptonshire, only 8 miles away from Wang Jun's station. The next day, Cromwell led his troops to see Fairfax. On June 14, the two sides launched a decisive battle near Nasby.

This is a decisive battle. Both commanders are well aware of this. Parliamentary troops are concentrated in10.4 million, including 6,500 cavalry, and 7,500 assembled by Wang Jun, including 4,000 cavalry.

Nasby, located in the northwest of Northamptonshire, is an ancient mountain village with seven or eight hundred residents. The trench and supplies of the parliamentary army are placed in the village. About 1.5 miles north of the village, there is a small highland, which is the position of the parliamentary army. The parliamentary army is arrayed above the small highland in the north, with the infantry under the command of Fairfax in the middle, which is divided into two roads; The cavalry are placed on the left and right wings, Cromwell is on the right, Elton is on the left, and Elton has 1000 dragoons on the far left. Wang Jun faces south, with the infantry commanded by the king himself in the middle, the Yorkshire cavalry commanded by Landale on the left and the cavalry commanded by Rupert and Morris on the right. There is a small grassland between the two armies.

/kloc-in the early morning of 0/4, in order to induce Wang Jun to fight quickly, the parliamentary army retreated slightly from the top of the highland according to Cromwell's suggestion. Prince Rupert personally came to the front line for reconnaissance and found that the parliamentary army was retreating. In order to prevent the parliamentary army from "escaping", Wang Jun was ordered to attack quickly. 10: 30, Wang Jun attacked on all fronts. Rupert led the cavalry to Elton's cavalry position. Elton led the troops to fight back, but his shoulder and leg were seriously injured, and he once fell into the hands of Wang Jun, and the team was in chaos. But Rupert made another old mistake. He chased Elton's cavalry all the way to Nasby village in an attempt to seize the trench and supplies of the parliamentary army, only to find that the trench of the parliamentary army was protected by artillery. Rupert wasted precious time to occupy the village.

At the same time, Cromwell commanded the right-wing cavalry of the Parliamentary Army to run from the highlands to the Landale cavalry who were climbing the mountain in lightning speed. Fairfax's infantry also fought against the infantry commanded by the king himself. Cromwell's cavalry rushed into the enemy lines, fought with swords, and defeated Landale's cavalry. However, Wang Jun infantry launched a fierce attack on Fairfax's middle infantry. Fairfax held high the banner and led the troops to resist desperately. Wang Jun's offensive was too fierce, and the parliamentary infantry lacked combat experience and began to retreat. At this critical juncture, Cromwell left 1 regiment to continue to monitor the remnants of Landale, and concentrated the rest of the cavalry in the rear of the infantry in Wang Jun. The infantry in Wang Jun was attacked from front to back, and immediately became chaotic and quickly disintegrated. After Rupert captured Nasby village, he hurried back to the battlefield and found that Wang Jun fled. After he joined the king, he collected the remains and tried to fight again. However, the parliamentary troops rushed over with overwhelming force, and Wang Jun officers and men were terrified out of their wits and fled for their lives. The king led about 2000 cavalry to Leicester. In this war, Wang Jun suffered heavy casualties and captured more than 5,000 people, including more than 500 officers. All the guns and ammunition, the trench, the flag of 100 (including the king's own flag) and the king's personal letters and documents all fell into the hands of the parliamentary army. In the three-hour battle, Wang Jun's main force suffered a devastating blow. Since then, Wang Jun has never recovered.

After the Battle of Nasby, the parliamentary army continued to pursue the remnants of Wang Jun, and Bristol was recovered in September 1645. By the first half of 1646, 50 fortresses occupied by Wang Jun had surrendered to the parliamentary army. 1646 On June 24th, parliamentary troops captured Oxford, the stronghold of Wang Jun. Before that, King Charles I fled to Gorham, where Scottish troops were stationed, and was placed under house arrest by Lord Levin. In February of the following year, the king was extradited to the British Parliament by Scots and imprisoned in Humby Castle near Nasby. 1March 647,1June 6, the parliamentary army captured Wang Jun's last stronghold in Wales-Hallek Castle. At this point, 1 civil war ended in parliamentary victory.