The Battle of Towton 1461 | Wars of the Roses | History Documentary

The Battle of Towton 1461
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
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During a snow blizzard on Palm Sunday, 1461 the biggest, longest and probably bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil took place near Towton in Yorkshire.
The battle was fought during the Wars of the Roses - the dynastic feud that split the ruling royal house of Plantagenet between two rival faction: the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.
Estimates suggest that well over 50,000 Englishmen fought each other on this day and that 28,000 were killed.
It resulted in a crushing victory for the Yorkists and their leader, to be crowned King Edward IV of England.
This is the story of that gigantic, bloody battle - the Battle of Towton 1461.
Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV) was now leader of the Yorkist faction after his father was killed at the Battle of Wakefield.
Edward was just 18 years old.
Edward along with Warwick and an army of over 20,000 men marched north from London towards Yorkshire to take on the leader of the Lancastrian faction, King Henry VI and his formidable wife, Margaret of Anjou.
On the 29th March 1461, Palm Sunday, 12 miles south east of York these two gigantic armies met at Towton.
Something between 50-60,000 men (although some medieval chroniclers claimed a figure closer to 75,000).
The Lancastrians moved to block him and they drew up on a rise south of the village of Towton, blocking the road to York.
The battle was fought in a snow blizzard.
Some sources at the time claimed the fighting lasted 10 hours.
It certainly lasted until dusk.
Just when Lancastrian victory was dawning, the Duke of Norfolk finally arrived with his reinforcements.
Whether under Edwards orders or using his own tactical nouse, Norfolk sound his men round to attack the Lancastrians left flank.
Despite gallant resistance the Lancastrian line broke.
As they fell back towards the Cock Beck it became a rout.
It is generally agreed by most historians that something like 28,000 (two-thirds of them from the Lancastrian army) died at the battle of Towton.
It is regarded as the biggest, longest and the bloodies battle ever fought on English soil.
King Henry, Queen Margaret and young Edward Prince of Wales rode as hard as they could the 150 miles to the Scottish border and safety.
Edward returned in triumph to London and there on the 28th June 1461, he was crowned King Edward IV at the age of 19.
#thebattleoftowton #battleoftowton #warsoftheroses
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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or KZbin animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree and continue to have a passion for the subject I studied.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

[@richardthompson9836]

Greetings from Orlando, FL. I got rid of my TV over a year ago due to hours of pure rot and lame content. Being half British, thanks to my GI father and beautiful English mother, l love British/UK history. Thank you for always making my day by filling it with rich history.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Richard, Thank you for your kind words. Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@bebo4374]

I’m half English too. Meet me under the 2nd pier at midnight for a fight to the death.

[@forsakingfear3652]

Live 5 miles from Towton, it's a lovely walk and well signed about the history of the battle.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Does feel a bit eerie up on the battlefield.

[@DavidBroadley-tw7ks]

Don't your people talk about it

[@kathyastrom1315]

I recently discovered while working on my family history that I have a 17th great grandfather who was killed at Towton (he was a prominent Lancasterian), so thank you for this education on the battle!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your family research. So far I've only got back into the 1700's and no royalty or battle heroes! Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@davebenjafield7037]

My 18th great grandfather was King Edward 3rd.

[@michaelkus8869]

My grandfather was Clifford he died at the same battle I found out doing my own research isn’t history great I bet they went down like champions 🦁

[@davebenjafield7037]

@@michaelkus8869 : Most likely covered in mud, blood and sh1t.

[@JaEDLanc]

Imagine just 2 million people in England, my own 17th great uncles dog cocked its leg up on and peed on the bridge.

[@GGdeTOURS37]

Thank you for telling us about this interesting part of England history - Guillaume - City of Tours - France

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you enjoyed my story. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@mrmarmellow555]

Hoping Thier is YORKSHIRE PUDINNGZ Instead of 🐸🐸🍗'z On Youre LOVERLY TOURZ 😘☕☕🍮😜

[@anthonygoodwin4732]

Another first class summary. If history was delivered like this when I was at school, humanities would not be under threat at universities….please keep it up 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Anthony, many thanks for your support.

[@SudeepMukherjee]

Thank you Professor. Personally I am not even remotely linked with England but love history and wars. Your passion for the subject is evident in your narration. Thank you once more specially for explaining the origin story of War of roses for a foreigner like me.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Sudeep, Thank you for your kind words. Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@leonidaslantz5249]

People please support this channel on Patreon. No one tells a better historical story than The History Chap.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks Leonidas, I appreciate your support.

[@bignewtv]

My name is Torrey Jensen, and I'm from Olympia Washington USA. My grandmother was Wilda Jensen/combs. She was able in the 1980s to trace her history all the way back to Sir David Mathew. The knight responsible for saving the life of King Edward the IV during the battle Woton . She did it all by writing letters to family members in the U.K. who she had never met before. Before She passed away in 1994 , she gave all of her research to my dad. Then, when passed away in 2021, he gave it all to me. I would like to find out if I could go back even further than Sir David Mathew, if that is even possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for this information.

[@jamesedwards171]

This was awesome sir. I am a former history teacher, with two novels published o the American Civil War. It is refreshing in a way to hear the story told of the Wars of the Roses in such a way as to cause them to seem as if it was merely yesterday, and not nearly 600 years ago. Thankyou for the excitement.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi James, Thank you for your kind words. Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@harryshriver6223]

I cannot imagine the losses to manpower literally on one day in a country's history. This reminds of the losses suffered from the American Civil War, so much was lost which can never be replaced, RIP to all of the victims of the battle no matter which side you stood. Kudos to you, Chris for another great video!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Harry, as a general rule, civil wars are very destructive. Proportionately as many people died in the English Civil War as British losses in the First World War.

[@tooyoungtobeold8756]

Another excellent video. I have stopped off at Towton Battlefield, whilst driving through Yorkshire.

[@TheHistoryChap]

I have too. It is strange to be walking on the site where so many men died.

[@grzzz2287]

Thanks for another very engaging and informative history lesson Chris! Given the relatively tiny population of England at the time, the scale of the slaughter was horrific

[@TheHistoryChap]

Mike, thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed. If you haven't already, please make sure to subscribe for future videos - as I am working on the battles of Barnet & Tewkesbury at the moment. kzbin.info

[@alancoe1002]

Horrific, yes. The numbers, absurdly exaggerated.

[@colinhunt4057]

@@alancoe1002 Exaggerated? Evidence please. The mass graves still being found at the battlefield suggest you don't know what you are talking about.

[@rajhussain9108]

Thanks Chris, your usual mix of enthusiasm and factual story telling have inspired another great history lesson! Keep up the wonderful work 😃

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for your support.

[@cashenjoe1]

Fantastic! I learned a great deal! Thank you from New England!

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you enjoyed my story. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@DemocracyDeb]

Thank you for another engaging description of the battles of the War of the Roses. Your style of description and maps give a memorable visual of this decisive battle. 🙏🏻

[@TheHistoryChap]

Deborah,Thank you for your kind words. Here's to that speaking tour in the USA!

[@rebasingh258]

Your presentation are always very good. You do a great deal of research and present the matter in a very interesting manner.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Very kind of you. Thanks

[@Hugo-vz3eu]

I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and I have been binge watching a lot of your videos! Great content especially with the lesser known wars of the British for example (I enjoyed the zulu wars video and the boer war one too, the videos about the british colonial wars were really cool) . Theres a reason why your videos have over 44, 000 views and your channel has only 17,400 subscribers, thats because its great videos! Keep producing more content like that and you will see your subs are going to explode (its only a matter of time now), you would make a great history professor!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hugo, Thanks for your kind words. I am thoroughly enjoying telling these stories. Best wishes, Chris

[@richardglady3009]

Great video. Love the coverage of the actual battlefield. That always helps the viewer understand the battle. Thank you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Richard, thank you for your kind comments. It's a good battlefield to visit with some very useful information boards.

[@lindaridd4393]

Thank you Chris I adore your videos, horrid battle in the blizzard, amazes me the strength of those people, so brave

[@TheHistoryChap]

Many thanks Linda. If you haven't already, please make sure you subscribe to my channel. kzbin.info

[@joeritchie4554]

WOW! I have read about the War of the Roses, but I never got to learn anything in-depth. Thank you so much for teaching the interesting history of England.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Joe, I'm glad that you enjoyed. Thanks for watching.

[@tacraling]

Another great video! Many thanks. 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure.

[@Reignor99]

Yes! I was hoping you would cover this epic battle. Great content sir.

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you enjoyed my story. Thinking of doing a series about the many battles that took place in England (and wider Britain too). Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@jenniferhosmer9180]

Thank you!!!! Wonderful presentation! I often wonder why Warwick turned on Edward the fourth.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching.

[@jeffbaxter8770]

Man, I enjoyed your concise narrative and the beautiful telling of this fascinating battle. Greetings from south africa

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Jeff, Thanks for your kind words. A few South Africa videos in my collection - Zulu Wars, HMS Birkenhead etc. Looking to do some talks on the 2nd Anglo-Boer War too. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info Chris

[@beverleyyoung3895]

Great story telling,thanks a lot,Happy New Year.

[@TheHistoryChap]

And Happy New Year to you too.

[@chowderpilot3843]

I really appreciate your use of numbers to illustrate significant facts that invariably put the subject into context. In this presentation, you compare the casualties suffered on the first day of the Somme - a day so infamously destructive it is often used as a shorthand for one of the bloodiest days of war in human history - and the casualties suffered on the first day of Towton - on a per capita basis - taking into account the differences in population between the two periods. The casualties at Towton were not only greater in number, but that staggering loss was suffered by a population 1/23 the size it was in 1916! This took my breath away and really brought home the scale of the bloodshed at Towton and the devastating effect that this would have had on such a relatively small population. Thank you again for making history so compelling!....🧐

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for your kind words. The challenge I find is what to leave out of my stories! Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@43enfield]

I’ve only recently discovered your channel, I wish I had found it before, really interesting. I particularly enjoyed your video on the wars of the roses. I have always found it difficult to make sense of the who, what, when and where of this important period of English history. You made it much clearer. Thank you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Stephen, many thanks. It is confusing and no wonder why it is passed over at school! Next up is the battle of Tewkesbury, so please do subscribe to my channel so you don't miss it: kzbin.info

[@ukgroover]

Another brilliant talk on history. I really love the way you speak with such deep knowledge and understanding of this subject. Thanks for the great work.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for your kind words. Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@justindavies6012]

Thats was fantastic. Concise, gripping and clear. Thank you

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Justin, thank you. I’m glad that you enjoyed my story. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@justindavies6012]

@@TheHistoryChap i most certainly have.

[@billevans7936]

Another fine story...im enjoying much

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@leth9320]

Very interesting. Thanks for this channel.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment and I am glad you are enjoying. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@cindysuecox1]

I love your channel, I learn a lot and this about Towton.. it's such a huge battle, I love this era - Wars of the Roses, and I'm unashamedly a supporter of #York

[@TheHistoryChap]

Strange that there don’t seem to be many supporters of Lancaster.

[@cg2bx264]

‘Kingmaker’ book 1 by Toby Clements builds up to and ends with the battle of Towton, fantastic read/listen!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for sharing

[@fredazcarate4818]

Brilliantly done. Great video lad; I enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to your next video on the subject. God bless you and your family.

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you enjoyed my story and thanks for your kind feedback. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos - Tewkesbury is next on my hit list. kzbin.info

[@JamesHatfield49]

I live very near Towton and this looks like it will be a great video on such a great battle in English history. I read somewhere that it is the bloodiest battle fought on English soil. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🌹

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks James. I hope that you enjoy it. I have included some images which I took last October when I visited the battlefield.

[@guvdagroove]

read the book fatal coulours it tells ya the whole towton campaign

[@JamesHatfield49]

@@guvdagroove That sounds interesting thank you. I also recommend Dan Jones’ “Hollow Crown” book on the Wars of the Roses

[@guvdagroove]

@@JamesHatfield49 alot of that is very brief he misses alot of it out

[@JamesHatfield49]

@@guvdagroove True, but it was what got me interested in the wars and is very entertaining to read. Dan Jones is good at making things more accessible and enjoyable so that you can delve deeper later. 😁

[@davebellingham1188]

Excellent content, really enjoyed how you told the story

[@TheHistoryChap]

many thanks.

[@thesnoopmeistersnoops5167]

Kingmaker (book 1) did a great job of the build up to Towton. For French/english medieval politics nothing I’ve read has come close to the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon. Great work by the way. Thumbs up.

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you enjoyed my story and many thanks for the book suggestions. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@ianknight2053]

Thank you Chris.

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure.

[@trickysam04]

Thanks again Chris. Superb.

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure Robert. If you haven't already lease make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. Currently working on the battles of Barnet & Tewkesbury in the same war. kzbin.info

[@timfenton5153]

Excellent, looking forward to the next one, thanks

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Tim, I’m glad that you enjoyed my story. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@yvonnefarrell1029]

Great presentation on this anniversary of a battle I knew nothing of. It seems to me, an American with Yorkshire ancestors, that if both sides had gone to church that #PalmSunday they would have seen what a real king looks like. Jesus Christ riding on a donkey, humble and calling others to serve each other as He had served them, healing, hearing, disputing without killing, such a contrast to this battle. It also puts me in mind of the US Civil War's Battle of Fredericksburg (VA), where in a farmyard there were so many casualties one could walk through the field on the bodies of the dead. Thank you again for this dynamic presentation.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Yvonne, thanks for watching and for putting the battle into the perspective of Easter.

[@milesbrown8016]

Very well documented and presented..

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Miles, I'm glad you liked it! Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@thelonelybolter8245]

Great video, love the history, thank you much!

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you enjoyed my story. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@ianwilkinson4196]

love your videos and chat always interesting and factual

[@TheHistoryChap]

Ian, thanks for your kind words. If you haven't already, please do subscribe to my channel and hit the little bell icon when you do so that you don't miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@dpeasehead]

I have always found this battle to be far more interesting than most of the ones fought on the continent during the 100 years war because of the fact that both armies were well led, and full of experienced soldiers who knew how to cope with archers. The opening shootout between the opposing ranks of massed archers whose outcome was determined by a single commander adapting instantly to the effects of a fleeting weather phenomenon to even the odds by nullifying the opposing archers is always amazing to me. I don't find the oft quoted figure of 28,000 fatalities during a single afternoon very credible. That's an awful lot of work for (mostly) hand held weapons in a few short hours.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@robertcottam8824]

I'd read that vast numbers drowned in Cock Beck which in flood at the time. But I'm no expert. Best wishes.

[@colinhunt4057]

@depeasehead It was not a few, short hours. It was 10 hours of mass heavily armed conflict capped by a rout at the end of the battle. There were no prisoners. The two sides hated each other. Given their respective grievances at the time, they came to kill. The 28,000 figure is highly credible given the length of the battle, the rout at the end, and the discovery of the many mass graves. The army leadership was very uneven. The Lancastrians were poorly deployed with the wind in their faces making their archery useless. They deployed with no tactical reserve, which Henry V used to great effect at Agincourt in 1415. The leadership by Edward Earl of March, Fauconberg and the Duke of Norfolk turned out to be vastly more effective than that of Somerset and Northumberland, and is entirely the reason Edward won.

[@catdaddy8603]

Wonderful presentation! I'm out in the Pacific but have always had a huge interest in English/European history, especially the Wars of the Roses.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching my video, glad you enjoyed it.

[@BLUEMOON73MCFC]

Glad I have found your channel, subscribed 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Steve, Thanks for subscribing. I appreciate your support. Chris

[@guycalabrese4040]

Top notch - as always!

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m glad that you liked it. If you haven't already, please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@erikbroderstad401]

another great episode.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it. If you haven't already please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@michaelwhite8031]

Very interesting video. I was working at the Wallace Collection when some of the bones and a facial reconstruction of one of the men killed was there, it was gruesome considering this was a wound that the soldier had received in an earlier battle.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing.

[@jonmeek3879]

Very well done

[@TheHistoryChap]

Many thanks.

[@davidguardado4739]

History was the only subject I actually enjoyed in school. That and P. E Thanks for the upload✌️ I've always been so fascinated by English history. 👍👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed. Many more stories to tell so please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@davidguardado4739]

@@TheHistoryChap yep you have a new sub here 😃🙋‍♂️ Looking forward to some great news epic stories from our wonderful past .Thanks History Chap 👍

[@kennyjones3679]

14 hours of savage hand to hand fighting.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Exhausting work! Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@DavidBroadley-tw7ks]

Pure carnage 28 000 dead and this battle never gets mentioned fighting in a snow storm for hours

[@thomaslehmann5981]

​@DavidBroadley-tw7ks plus they had marched miles and spent the night before the battle out in the open in a snow storm. Nobody is that damn tough nowadays. Not me anyway.

[@chairman823]

I cycle past here quite often. People still leave flowers and wreaths at the monument on the anniversary of the battle.

[@TheHistoryChap]

When I visited back in October there were some bedgraggled flowers on the monument.

[@ludwigderzanker9767]

Bravo !

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you.

[@wilsontheconqueror8101]

Well done! Was Towton longer than Battle of Hastings?

[@TheHistoryChap]

We are relying on medieval chroniclers who didn't have stop watches. However, it would seem that Hastings was longer.

[@christiansmith4421]

Thnx, the only thing you have remember is the soldiers survived

[@TheHistoryChap]

Heck of a battle.

[@jessebartlett2325]

Good afternoon, I recently subscribed to your channel as I loved watching the Zulu and Trafalgar videos. I have a request, could you cover the life of Sir Sidney Smith and Sir Thomas Cochrane please, (Napoleonic eara, lindybaige has some good information on Sir Thomas Cochrane for reference).

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Jesse, Thank you for the suggestion.
I will add to my (ever-growing) list of potential talks. Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@SNP-1999]

So if 1:25 of every Englishman was present at the battle of Towton, the odds are high that one of our ancestors were there on that bloody day, Chris! And because we are here, it could very well mean that our ancestors were on the winning side - which suits me fine because my family comes from York and therefore I have always been an old Yorkist !🤗 Great video, Chris ! Thanks for your excellent work!

[@TheHistoryChap]

It is sobering to think that many of us would, by the law of stats, have had a distant relative there.

[@barkershill]

@@TheHistoryChap so true ,and yet so few people seem able to grasp this simple fact and get all excited about discovering an “important “ ancestor or more recently that they have Viking DNA .

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

Never realised it was there.I spent 4 years at RAF Church Fenton, now East Leeds Airport, which is only a few miles from there. Never knew anything aboyt this.

[@TheHistoryChap]

There is something very atmospheric about the battlefield.

[@54000biker]

I've visited the battlefield and had a few pints in The Crooked Billet.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Too many good pubs in that part of the world.

[@MasonBryant]

What happened to the old jingle at the end of your video? I liked that!

[@TheHistoryChap]

There have been two jingles. Not sure which are referring to.

[@tooyoungtobeold8756]

Have you produced a video on the Battle of Evesham - if yes, I can't find it.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Not yet, although I did recently visit the battlefield.

[@JonTHighfieldJunction]

I grew up in Tadcaster and have visited the site more times then I can count ☺️

[@TheHistoryChap]

Great place to visit (as indeed, is Tadcaster)

[@mikestanyer6175]

Fought many wor battles as part of the archbishop of canterburys guard, i gave up after a while thinking who am i today yorkist or lancastrian, have we changed allegiance. Good fun, if you get chance go to see the battle of Tewkesbury in june. Great event

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hope to get there this year as I am moving to Worcester

[@mikestanyer6175]

@@TheHistoryChap the royalist musuem or civil war there is fantastic. The city has fantastic arhitecture, if youve not been before

[@user-John666]

I’ve walked round the site of this battle and it’s so bizarre to think that something so historic occurred in such a quiet (and basically) nondescript place.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Totally agree.

[@user-John666]

@@TheHistoryChap it's also amazing how so many people in Yorkshire and West Yorkshire in particular, are so unaware of what took place almost on their doorstep!!

[@gordonsmith4884]

Imagine 1 million men gathering together to have a fight in a field in Yorkshire...OR go to a Leeds home game.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Ha ha...let alone a home game at York City! Statistically, it probably means that a heck of a lot of people in modern England had an ancestor at the battle.

[@HarryWHill-GA]

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Can't beat the Bard. Hope you enjoyed the video.

[@giovanniacuto2688]

@@TheHistoryChap If Edward was 19 at this battle, that quote from Shakespeare's Richard III seems anachronistic as he (Richard) would have been 9 years old at the time.. He came into his own a decade later as a commander at Tewkesbury 1471 and possibly also at Barnet earlier in the year.

[@asfcboys6317]

I've visited the site, very interesting, would recommend a visit and booking a tour with the local history group.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment and I agree that the battlefield is well worth a visit. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@britishempire1749]

Hey mate can u pls make a video on the 4th Anglo Mysore war...In which our greatest general, Wellington fought a Indian king... Wellington almost came to a defeat but the made a last move and won. ...BTW great videos mateyour explanation is so good that I can imagine myself fighting for the British army...

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for the suggestion - India is a whole new chapter for me to explore and share. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@britishempire1749]

@@TheHistoryChap Don't need to say that already subscribed mate🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@davidedbrooke9324]

A huge casualty rate even for the times.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi David, Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info Chris

[@philgreen815]

Many thanks for a fascinating look at the battle of Towton, I actually visited the site on a day when the weather matched the day of the battle, bitterley cold and miserable with a scattering of snow. I am actually having difficulty understanding? and believing? the figures quoted of the dead and the number of soldiers at the battle? are these figures reliable? at a time when most people lived in villages, to see a hundred people together would be amazing? and those able to actually count accurately would be few. The same with many accounts of ancient battles, I have no doubt there would be great problems with accurate numbers? and as you say, the sparse population of the country at the time would surely limit actual numbers greatly.

[@TheHistoryChap]

The battlefield has a connection with history. Up there on that exposed hill felt that I was walking in the footsteps of the past.

[@mondayschild3493]

i think there were large numbers of mercenaries involved

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

I am of the opinion that the battle was fought further south level with Saxton, in the very dip. If 28,000 men were killed there has to be mass graves and they are obvious where they are if you look and clearly that is where the majority of the bodies fell. Subscribed.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for your support.

[@spanishpeaches2930]

I've been to the battle site. It is on a very bleak, exposed plateau. Must have been bitterly cold, windswept and unforgiving that day. Note to anyone who wants to visit. You cannot park on any part of the road there, but there is a pull- in where a small , stone cross is. Easy to miss though.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, I had to brake hard to avoid missing it! Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@thelegionisnotamused8929]

And another one. I will say, as a first generation American, I’m learning about European history.

[@TheHistoryChap]

The Wars of the Roses is a fascinating & brutal period in English history. Was the basis for "Game of Thrones"

[@mrquirky3626]

When you see entire battles in movies like Braveheart and Gladiator lasting only 5 to 10 minutes of screen time, it boggles my mind that the real life battles could go as long as 10 hours. If you're a soldier on the front lines who survives the battle, were you typically swinging a weapon for 10 straight hours? Would you be constantly relieved from the lines every few hours to regroup and rest? Were some soldiers able to break from the action for meals or armor repairs? How long would each individual actually be fighting for? I can only imagine when you have 50,000+ troops spread out across several hills and fields, that throughout the day only some groups are fighting at a time while others, after breaking and routing their opposition, are either resting or moving to another position to continue the fight.

[@TheHistoryChap]

You raise a good point. I very much doubt anyone was physically fighting for 10 hours. There would have been lulls in the fighting as there is in modern warfare. Generally medieval battles didn't last a long time so Towton (rather like Hastings) was the exception rather than the rule. I hope you enjoyed my talk and if you did please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@robertwatson818]

@@TheHistoryChap Romans had a technique of rotating soldiers from the front ranks to the rear. This kept the front line fresh. No one can fight indefinitely.

[@ModelTrainOutsider]

All that I have read says this was the bloodiest day on English soil. I am not sure which other battles compete. I am visiting the UK in June this year and hoped to visit some famous battlefields from the Scottish Wars and the 30 Years War. "Disappointed" is not an appropriate word to use, but I am shocked to find there is little to nothing to mark the site of such an important battle in English history.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for commenting. Plenty of battles to visit but most have very low key memorials. This was the bloodiest but others had significant political results, e.g. Bosworth. If you want some ideas for your visit in June pop over to my website and hit the contact button (www.thehistorychap.com)

[@DraftySatyr]

I sympathise with your feeling of disappointment at the relative lack of marking or commemoration of the Medieval/Middle Ages battles on English soil. I'm making an assumption that you are American so I can understand your dismay; compared to how the battlefields of the American Civil War and the War of Independence are marked and documented, with high quality museums and guides, the low-key nature of UK battlefields must be startling.

[@kathyastrom1315]

@@DraftySatyr At the end of the history podcast Revolution’s take on the English Civil War, the show’s creator quotes John Adams, who visited the sites of some of those battles, only to be disappointed by the local people’s lack of knowledge/interest in the historical significance of the battles, and he scolds them to embrace the importance of the war.

[@Wotsitorlabart]

@@DraftySatyr I'm guessing that when the American Civil War battlefield museums were set up those battles were actually in within living memory for many people, very much like the WW1 battlefields for the British. Battles such as Towton were a long long time ago and, outside of history books and KZbin videos, there is little public connection with those events.

[@MaverickSeventySeven]

Given the enormous complexity of such a subject, which really can not be fully covered no matter how much time one has, this was very well presented! Maps, maneuvers and tactics help enormously! Have to Congratulate You on mentioning the POPULATION NUMBERS!! So few Historians ever mention the (perceived?) Population as you have so rightly Emphasised, and highlights the appealing loss to the Nation of those killed! How in God's Name those Soldiers and Kings had a decent clue as to what was where geographically speaking beggars belief ! (As a young lad being driven to the South Coast from Berkshire to get on a ferry at Dover, with a reasonable sense of the geography of England, "are we there yet?" was heard every fifteen minutes.....:-) ) So wonder if Soldiers felt the same sometimes, especially fighting overseas......?

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, most of the population would have seen the world in a very localised context. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@grahamjordan1040]

As a time traveler I can assure you that it was as brutal as it gets

[@TheHistoryChap]

You seem to have done a lot of time travelling.

[@beardmeetsworld0707]

Ive always found it odd that such a monumental battle, in terms of numbers etc, is so little known publicly. I understand there is a very poor archaeological record at the suppossed site(?) Edward was - or certainly had the potential to be - one of Englands great 'battle kings'. Instead, thanks to Bill Shakespeare, it is his younger brother Richard who holds the imagination, despite holding the crow for less than 2 years. Anyone interested in this period should read Conn Iggulden's books on the period; brilliant characterisations really bringing the subject to life. Thanks for the vid 👊🏻

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing

[@alancoe1002]

The size of this battle has been greatly overblown. A battle fought at the end of winter, when forage is at its lowest. Edward could not have marched with speed as he did with an army larger than about 10,000 men. Also Towton is three battles fought in three different locations: Ferrybridge, at dawn, Dintingdale at mid day, and in late afternoon Towton proper. Total battlefield deaths were 6-7,000 at the most. The too-high numbers are based on one letter written to a papal envoy by the Kingmaker's brother, who wanted the battle to be legend, which it has become: people are perpetuating this myth to this day. It likely that there were more troops present at Bosworth than Towton. Logistically impossible for those crazy numbers.

[@tashatsu_vachel4477]

Measure the frontage occupied by both sides at the start of the battle, read how they were deployed, and how they needed to advance in column due to it being easier to control such numbers of men. It is clear from every source that this battle was really something so much larger than ever seen before or indeed to the time accounts were written - so in some cases this would include Flodden and Pinkie. The frontage is supported by battlefield finds over the years, and we have a general idea where the forrest boundary was at the time as well as the road Norfolk advanced upon hidden by the Yorkist battle line. The idea people in this period and ancient periods did not understand logistics is to ignore the evidence that they clearly did, and in this case the Lancastrians had proven capable of keeping armies in the field in mid-winter and again in late winter as the battles at Mortimers Cross and St Albans show. The accounts from the time are also clear Ferrybridge was fought in the late day, not dawn, and that the fighting at Dintingdale took place into the night. The Yorkists rested overnight near Saxton whilst the Lancastrians occupied the high ground opposite - again, geography makes the positions relatively clear.

[@guvdagroove]

no iy wqasnt ferrybridge n dintingdale was faught the day before n the latter was a chase

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspectives.

[@alancoe1002]

​​@@tashatsu_vachel4477they understood logistics just fine. It's modern history buffs that don't want to get their hands dirty with it.

[@garrymartin6474]

You cannot go anywhere close to that battle field without experiencing feelings of dread, its an awful place.

[@TheHistoryChap]

It certainly had a feeling

[@alexanderv7702]

How about making a video on Conscientious Objectors during the Great War?

[@TheHistoryChap]

Goos idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@PointyPaints]

Edwards army didnt form up on a lower rise, they had the higher ridge, which commands the area, if you had ever been to the battlefield location, you would see this.

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m have been to the battlefield.

[@mevcarter6664]

I wish that my history lessons at school were so interesting. Instead all I got was 'crop rotation in the 14th century' 🙄

[@TheHistoryChap]

Ha ha Mev, I think I might have had the same history lesson! I’m glad that you enjoyed my story and your kind comments. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@lablackzed]

A very haunted battlefield I have walked it at night a lot of lost souls there.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@kenfox22]

So who won? The Red or White Rose's?

[@TheHistoryChap]

White Rose on the day. But eventually they lost to the red Roses who were actually led by a Tudor!

[@kenfox22]

Thank You

[@SmartSilver]

Quick hide this excellent post before someone finds it offensive.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for your kind words. Please make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future videos. kzbin.info

[@mookie2637]

As I'm sure you know Chris, there is serious reason to doubt many of the claims made about the scale of Towton (and especially the death toll), but also some of the conventional accounts of the conduct of the fighting. Some explanation for that overstatement might be Yorkist propaganda. For the 28,000 death figure to be real, the minimum total casualty count would be 56,000 or thereabouts. That's almost twice as many men as Charles VII of France fielded for the reconquest of Normandy. The 28,000 deaths probably requires 100,000 combatants to have been fielded. This is - to put it mildly - extremely unlikely. 9,000 deaths for a total of 20-30,000 is much more likely, although still on the high side - and that would include Clifford's initial action against the Yorkist camp, and the Yorkists subsequent counterattack before the main battle. . Similarly, a devoted band of detectorists have mapped their hits from the field over many years. They found none at the point at which the Old London Road crosses Cock Beck - the supposed site of the "bridge of corpses." There is also reason to doubt the conventional account of the Yorkist archers with the wind at their backs, and that their Lancastrian counterparts were "blinded". The source for this seems to be Hall's "Chronicle" - a rather dubious bit of Victorian historiography.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment and add your perspectives. i appreciate your input.

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

Another production with your consistant high standard. You nailed it and brought it to life. No punchline..... Obviously there are only records of this event which, and I stand to be corrected, were handwritten by 'Scribes' ? (People who could write). The painting shows heavily armoured soldiers and horses. You compared the losses against the Tally on the first day of the Somme. Something that Ive always wondered about when there have been huge battles.....how many horses were lost ? As Cock Beck ran red with the blood of the soldiers, I wondered about their trusty steeds..

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it....more coming this way!

[@jesterrevan8686]

3% of the male population dead in one day? Horrendous. For the nobility and country at large to accept casualties like that and continue to pursue the war for more than 20 years thereafter is remarkable.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@dpeasehead]

@JesterRevan: Towton was unique in its scale and fury. Fortunately. This was not the age of continuous industrial scale warfare. Over all of those years, there were relatively few pitched battles and long peaceful intervals marked by skirmishes and sieges and much smaller battles.

[@timalder8940]

Lord Falkenberg sounds like a good bloke (rl reasons) lol

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching.

[@neil03051957]

Casualties seem a little high?

[@TheHistoryChap]

Medieval record keeping !

[@jog9395]

why have they not made a movie or TV series about the war of the roses..what material they have.

[@TheHistoryChap]

No one would believe all the twists and turns!

[@gideon6331]

No one knows what happened to all the dead. Only a few bodies have been found most recently under a farmhouse which is in the area.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to share.

[@jordanleigh8119]

Another battle that some name the bloodiest battle in English history is when king athlstan united United England and became the frist king of England in 937 at the battle of brunanburh.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Jordan, thanks for commenting. If you consider English / British populations 500 years before Towton it is debatable. And the Anglo-Saxon chroniclers were even more liberal with their numbers than their medieval counterparts. Nevertheless, it was a defining battle in English history (more so than Towton).

[@handsfree1000]

How can two horrible people who have a dispute persuade thousands of people (complete stranger to each other) fight to the death? If everyone said no we’re not fighting....are we really free to make our own mind up

[@TheHistoryChap]

One of the problems with this period in English history was that the losses in France during the preceeding years resulted in lots of soldiers looking for work back in England. Thus nobles were able to create small armies of very well trained men.

[@carlmanvers5009]

'A million Englishmen turning up for a fight in Yorkshire' in today's money? Don't discount it if there's a good enough reason.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Ha ha. Hope they don't travel by public transport!

[@mondayschild3493]

Without going into detail i think i have found the battle of losecote field over 20 miles from Empingham on a slight rise in marshland with over 300 musket balls found and a knights badge, this would suggest a large amount of Flemish gunner mercenaries taking part.The same might be said for Towton, maybe a proxy war between the low countries/Bavaria and France, this could be the reason for the high numbers due to the high amount of mercenaries taking part.The Fishpool hoard i would say was buried by a mercenary as there was a large number of Burgundian coins, some of the jewellery is blue and white maybe House of Wittelsbach France used England's turmoil of the Wars of the Roses from their victory as a proxy, siding with the Lancastrians against the Yorkists who were backed by the Burgundian State

[@TheHistoryChap]

That’s a wonderful contribution to this comment section. Thank you for taking the time to share.

[@nicolasrose3064]

"No other choice but to seize the high ground...". "No other choice"....!? Gaining the advantage of the high ground, isn't something that is done begrudgingly..... "We've tried everything Sir, we're left with no other choice, we are going to have to seize the high ground...", or, "having tried and failed at every attempt to avoid having to, they were left with no other choice, but to seize the high ground...".

[@TheHistoryChap]

I really do love rants from KZbin viewers

[@nicolasrose3064]

@@TheHistoryChap I love it when a response to a rant is a veiled, alluding, loaded inference.....

[@tosgem]

If I was born in those days of yore I would have wielded my Japanese Katana at this battle for the Lancastrians and willed them to victory

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing