English Civil War Battles

Edgehill

In October, 1642, Charles I and his Royalist forces began marching on London. The Parliamentary army attempted to block their way and engaged the Royalists at Edgehill on 23rd October. It is estimated that both sides had around 14,000 men. It was between the Royalist army of King Charles the First and the Parliamentarian army of Robert Devereux, third Earl of Essex.
Turnham Green

The Battle of Turnham Green occurred 13 November 1642 near the village of Turnham Green. Parliament won due to a much larger and organised army. The royalist army was too small to force its way past the parliamentarian forces and, as night fell, the King had to withdraw. The royalist army was too small to force its way past the parliamentarian forces and, as night fell, the King had to withdraw.
Newbury

On the morning of 20th September 1643 the battle of Newbury was fought between parliament's main field army under the Earl of Essex and the main Royalist army in the south, with both Charles I and Prince Rupert present.
Lostwithiel The battle of Lostwithiel was in 1644. The Royalists had doubled the amount of men in the army, 20,000 men. On 21 August, the Royalists attacked Essex's positions north of Lostwithiel, capturing the ruins of Restormel Castle. The increasingly demoralised Parliamentarian infantry fell back towards Fowey in pouring rain. They were forced to abandon several guns which became bogged down in the muddy roads. This was a setback for Parliament in Cornwall, and the last major victory for the Royalists. Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644. The English Parliamentarians were under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle. The Marquess of Newcastle was forced to fall back on the fortified city of York, where he was besieged by Parliamentary armies under Sir Thomas Fairfax. The Royalists lost as many as 3000 men, plus their artillery train. York was forced to surrender to Parliament and the north of England was effectively lost to the king. Olivers Cromwell reputation grew and the kings decreased.

Naesby Parliament's New Model Army, established by Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fairfax (among others), was now able to defeat the Royalists regularly. It was well-trained and equipped, as well as paid regularly so it was reliable. Siege of Liverpool Castle In 1643 the Parliamentarians took Liverpool Castle over as a base, and a year later Prince Rupert of the Royalists attacked the Castle from his base at Everton, and lost 1500 men in a lengthy battle.

Leaders
Thomas Fairfax Early in 1645, parliament decided to form a new, more professional army and Fairfax was made commander-in-chief with Oliver Cromwell in charge of the cavalry. Fairfax moulded the New Model Army into a disciplined fighting force and in June, the army inflicted a serious defeat on the Royalists at Naseby.
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester Prince Rupert

He was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior. Oliver Cromwell Although Cromwell lacked military experience, he created and led a superb force of cavalry, the 'Ironsides', and rose from the rank of captain to that of lieutenant-general in three years. He convinced parliament to establish a professional army - the New Model Army - which won the decisive victory over the king's forces at Naseby (1645).

Tactics
New Model Army On paper, this new model consisted of 12,000 men on foot and 6,000 men on horse both divided into twelve regiments. The New Model Army was a military force based on a persons ability rather than on your position within society. If you were good enough, you could be an officer in it. One of the leading officers in the New Model Army had been a butcher. Discipline was strict and the training was thorough. The first proper use of the New Model Army was at the Battle of Naseby (June 1645) where the Royalist army was severely beaten. Supplies/Money Parliament's main strength was that the Navy supported them. This meant that they gained access to soldiers and supplies from overseas. They also gained a lot of money from this, as the Navy were very rich and powerful. They could also send soldiers to places were there were battles by boat,

instead of on foot and this helped because the soldiers wouldn't tire on the journey, and it was much quicker. King Charles lost the English Civil War because he was short of money. Parliament had taken control of taxes before the civil war and enjoyed a substantial financial advantage. Charles men who were land owners and nobles that sided with him wouldnt give him any. The other reason was that he had untrained soldiers who were not skilled in war or fighting, and he didnt have much trained generals, unlike Cromwell. Why did Charles I lose the English Civil War? At the start of the war, the Royalists had 75% of the nobles, resulting in a better cavalry and more gold and silver meant that they were the richer. A labourer went to war on the side of his lord or local squire, and because more of the nobility supported Charles, more of the public supported Charles and the Royalists. There were some serious plagues in Oxford, the headquarters for the King, in 1643-1644 probably typhus- and both soldiers and townspeople died, decreasing the capacity of Charles army. At Marston Moor in 164, Royalist supplies were so low that the soldiers had to drink water from ditches. This was bad for the people of the King. Most people thought the King would win because many of his supporters were gentlemen who owned their own weapons and horses. However many supporters did not want to fight. Charles thought that once the war had started other Kings in Europe would send him money and soldiers. He was disappointed that nobody did help him. Why did Parliament win the English Civil War? Cromwell and Fairfax soon realised that if the King was to be beaten, they would have to form a well-trained army. In 1645, they set up the New Model Army. Cromwell made sure that his new Model Army was paid well. He trained his cavalry to charge at a round trot fast enough to break through the enemy , but fully in control. Parliament controlled London, and the richest parts of England, therefore were the richest of the two oppositions as the war progressed. The Parliamentarians recruited people who disliked King Charles I because of his religion and his advisers. Most were strongly Puritan, and believed that God was on their side. They were fighting for a cause. Parliaments armies were supported by the Scots in the first years of the war. The Scots had still not forgiven Charles for truing to force the English Prayerbook in 1639.