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Title: Marston Moor 1644: The Beginning of the End by John Tincey, Graham Turner, Graham Tumer ISBN: 1-84176-334-9 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (1 review)
Rating: 3
Summary: Decent, No Frills
Comment: In Osprey's Campaign #119 Marston Moor 1644, John Tincey summarizes one of the more decisive battles of the English Civil War that lost northern England for the King Charles I. This summary is more interesting than the previous volume on First Newbury, and while the author tends to digress on issues of historiography, he does provide a relatively clean campaign narrative.
In standard Osprey campaign series format, Marston Moor 1644 begins with short sections on the background to the campaign and opposing commanders. The section on opposing armies is unusually long at 22 pages (plus two more pages for the actual order of battle), and includes subsections on deployment and fighting tactics. Unfortunately, much of this space devoted to opposing armies is spent discussing and comparing various modern theories about unknown or controversial aspects of the campaign. Most readers will probably find this section tedious and distracting from the campaign narrative. The author then spends 14 pages on the early stages of the campaign, particularly the relief of York, and then covers the battle itself in 26 pages. The campaign narrative is supported by five 2-D maps (the opening campaigns of 1644, the siege of York, Rupert's march north, the relief of York, and the aftermath of Marston Moor) as well as three 3-D Birds Eye View maps of the battle itself. The three battle scenes by Graham Turner (probably Osprey's best contract artist) are excellent: the relief of York, Cromwell's Ironsides charging and the last stand of the Whitecoats.
Most of the military actions of the English Civil War appear confusing to modern American readers and herein lies the value of studying such conflicts. Unlike our own Civil War, which was fairly linear in nature, the English Civil War was set in a more fluid and non-linear environment. From the King's perspective, the enemy lay in the southeast, southwest and northeast. This non-linear combat environment and low force density resulted in very mobile operational methods and control of population centers (with attendant tax resources) became the decisive terrain. One such piece of decisive terrain was the city of York in the northeast; the Parliamentarians besieged it and the King sent Prince Rupert's army to lift the siege. Rupert's relief of York is probably the best part of this volume and should be studied carefully by military professionals. The Parliamentarian army occupied a favorable blocking position on key terrain overlooking the most obvious direct route into the city and awaited Rupert's advance. Boldly, Rupert fixed the enemy's attention with a small feint and then marched the bulk of his army across an undefended bridge far to the north and then slipped into York without firing a shot.
As for the Battle of Marston Moor, Tincey does a decent job describing the battle, although it is not always clear from his account why one side or the other prevailed in certain engagements. Clearly, the fact that Rupert's army did not expect battle to begin so late in the day and was surprised by the enemy's sudden attack was a major factor (similar to the Roman disaster at Adrianople in 378). Tincey argues that discipline was also a factor, in that the superior Royalist cavalry was difficult to reign in after one charge, while Cromwell's Ironsides were capable of reforming quickly. However, one could argue that it really was an issue of managing reserves, and both armies suffered from poor command and control after the initial action began at Marston Moor. Although both sides had light cannon at Marston Moor, there is virtually no mention of their participation. Tincey is also vague on casualties, relying instead only on a 17th Century source (no mention of modern diggings on the battlefield).
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Title: Auldearn 1645: The Marquis of Montrose's Scottish Campaign by Stuart Reid, Gerry Embleton ISBN: 1841766798 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights by Stephen Turnbull, Richard Hook ISBN: 1841765619 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Towton 1461: England's Bloodiest Battle (Campaign) by Christopher Gravett, Graham Turner ISBN: 1841765139 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: First Newbury 1643 (Campaign, 116) by Keith Roberts, Graham Tumer ISBN: 1841763330 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: February, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Zorndorf 1758: Frederick Faces Holy Mother Russia (Campaign, 125) by Simon Millar, Adam Hook ISBN: 1841766968 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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