The Battle of Bosworth Field

"I Live a king: If I die, I die a King" - Richard III, prior to the Battle of Bosworth." The War of The Roses consisted of a series of battles fought between 1455 and 1485 by two rival branches of the Plantagenet dynasty and for the control of the English throne. Each family has a rose as it's emblem, white for the York family and red for the House of Lancaster. For thirty years, the houses of Lancaster and York had been contesting the right of their own to sit on the throne of England. Thirteen battles had been fought and over 100,000 lives had been lost. The final battle in this bloody war was to take place in Leicestershire, and became known as the Battle of Bosworth Field.

On the throne of England in 1485 sat Richard III, a Yorkist who gained the throne legally by birthright and parliamentary act. The challenger, Henry Tudor was the only Lancastrian claimant to the throne. Henry had been exiled in France, but in July 1485, Henry amassed his own forces and set sail for Wales. Drumming up Welsh support along the way, Henry's 5,000 strong army made their way towards Redmoor Plain, a couple of miles south of Market Bosworth.

The date was August 22nd 1485 and as Henry faced Richard's 12,000 men waiting on Ambion Hill, it was clear that Henry was outnumbered by over two to one. If we pause and look at statistics here, most of us would naturally assume that a Lancastrian loss would be inevitable. Perhaps this would have clearly been the case, but for the actions of two men, Lord Thomas Stanley and Sir William Stanley.

Both men supported Henry but not openly. They not only feared the wrath of Richard but they were also at his mercy. In Richard's hands rested Lord Thomas's son, a son with an imminent death sentence hanging over his head should any kind of betrayal be discovered on his father's part. With their hands tied, the Stanleys' did the only thing they could - they sat on the fence. As the two armies faced each other, the Stanleys' army of six thousand positioned themselves in sight of both sides. They would watch and wait and pledge their support as and when they saw fit.

The battle positions were set, Richard had eight thousand bowmen and soldiers under the command of the Duke of Norfolk on the west slope of Ambion Hill. Richard himself commanded his cavalry who were on the right flank nearest the Stanley's. Henry's main force was under the command of the Earl of Oxford. His right wing was guarded by Talbot, but without the Stanleys' support, his left flank was weak.

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