The History Express

Military

The Battle of Towton was fought on 29 March 1461 during the English Wars of the Roses, near the village of Towton, now in North Yorkshire. A culminating battle in the dynastic struggles between the houses of Lancaster and York for control of the English throne, the engagement ended in an overwhelming victory for the Yorkists. It brought about a change of monarchs in England, with the victor, the Yorkist Edward IV having displaced the Lancastrian Henry VI (on the throne since 1422) as king, and thus driving the head of the Lancastrians and his key supporters out of the country.

It is described as "probably the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil",[2] and according to historical sources, probably the longest.[3] According to chroniclers, more than 50,000 Yorkist and Lancastrian soldiers fought for hours amidst a snowstorm on that day, which was Palm Sunday. A newsletter circulated a week after the battle reported that 28,000 died on the battlefield.

Contemporary accounts described Henry VI as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, such as the Wars of the Roses. He had periods of insanity while his inherent benevolence eventually required his wife, Margaret of Anjou, to assume control of his kingdom, which contributed to his own downfall. His ineffectual rule had encouraged the nobles' schemes to establish control over him, and the situation deteriorated into a civil war between the supporters of Margaret and those of Richard, Duke of York. After the Yorkists captured Henry in 1460, the English parliament passed an Act of Accord to let York and his line succeed Henry as king. Margaret refused to accept the dispossession of her son's right to the throne and, along with fellow Lancastrian malcontents, raised an army. Richard of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield and his titles, including the claim to the throne, passed to his eldest son Edward. Nobles who were previously hesitant to support Richard's claim to the throne considered the Lancastrians to have reneged on the Act – a legal agreement – and Edward found enough backing to denounce Henry and declare himself king. The Battle of Towton was to affirm the victor's right to rule over England through force of arms.

On reaching the battlefield, the Yorkists found themselves heavily outnumbered. Part of their force under the Duke of Norfolk had yet to arrive. The Yorkist leader Lord Fauconberg turned the tables by ordering his archers to take advantage of the strong wind to outrange their enemies. The one-sided missile exchange, with Lancastrian arrows falling short of the Yorkist ranks, provoked the Lancastrians into abandoning their defensive positions. The ensuing hand-to-hand combat lasted hours, exhausting the combatants. The arrival of Norfolk's men reinvigorated the Yorkists and, encouraged by Edward, they routed their foes. Many Lancastrians were killed while fleeing; some trampled each other and others drowned in the rivers, which are said to have made them run red with blood for several days. Several who were taken as prisoners were executed.

The power of the House of Lancaster was severely reduced after this battle. Henry fled the country, and many of his most powerful followers were dead or in exile after the engagement, letting Edward rule England uninterrupted for nine years, before a brief restoration of Henry to the throne. Later generations remembered the battle as depicted in William Shakespeare's dramatic adaptation of Henry's life—Henry VI, Part 3, Act 2, Scene 5. In 1929, the Towton Cross was erected on the battlefield to commemorate the event. Various archaeological remains and mass graves related to the battle were found in the area centuries after the engagement.

The Third Battle of Ypres (German: Dritte Flandernschlacht; French: Troisième Bataille des Flandres and Dutch: Derde Slag om Vlaanderen), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (/ˈpæʃəndeɪl/), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire.[a] The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders, as part of a strategy decided by the Allies at conferences in November 1916 and May 1917. Passchendaele lies on the last ridge east of Ypres, 5 mi (8.0 km) from Roulers (now Roeselare) junction of the Bruges (Brugge) to Kortrijk railway. The station at Roulers was on the main supply route of the German 4th Army. Once Passchendaele Ridge had been captured, the Allied advance was to continue to a line from Thourout (now Torhout) to Couckelaere (Koekelare).

Further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuport (Nieuwpoort), combined with an amphibious landing (Operation Hush), were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The resistance of the 4th Army, unusually wet weather in August, the beginning of the autumn rains in October and the diversion of British and French resources to Italy, enabled the Germans to avoid the general withdrawal which had seemed inevitable in early October. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from local attacks in December and early in the new year. The Battle of the Lys (Fourth Battle of Ypres) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres of 1918, were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast and reached the Dutch frontier.

A campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, as did General Ferdinand Foch, the Chief of Staff of the French Army. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Matters of dispute by the participants, writers and historians since 1917 include the wisdom of pursuing an offensive strategy in the wake of the Nivelle Offensive, rather than waiting for the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France.

The choice of Flanders, its climate, the selection of General Hubert Gough and the Fifth Army to conduct the offensive, debates over the nature of the opening attack and between advocates of shallow and deeper objectives, remain controversial. The time between the Battle of Messines (7–14 June) and the first Allied attack (the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 31 July), the extent to which the internal troubles of the French armies influenced the British, the effect of the exceptional weather, the decision to continue the offensive in October and the human costs of the campaign, are also debated.

The odds seemed insurmountable. In the heat of the Second World War, Germany was operating at the peak of its powers and seizing control of huge portions of the European landscape. But on September 15, 1940, the German army came face to face with a foe they had clearly underestimated. It was a bloody battle fought entirely in the skies over Britain, and it led to Hitler's first major defeat. "13 Hours that Saved Britain" recounts this battle with great insight and poignancy.

The film features a collage of stunning archived footage and cinematic recreations, as well as interviews with dozens of eyewitness and pilots who fought on the frontline. The story they weave is one of exceptional bravery and determination in the face of assured annihilation.

France had just fallen to the German army, and there was every reason to believe that Britain would be conquered with similar ease. Over 400 enemy fighters cascaded upon the countryside that day, but they were met with a force of resistance they could not have anticipated. The film captures each passing hour of the battle from a variety of fascinating perspectives. Fighter pilots recall the twirling masses of metal that filled the airspace, the intensity of combat, and the strategic maneuvers that ensured victory.

Perhaps the most revealing testimonies come from the witnesses - most of whom were young children during the war - who stood below and watched the events unfold with awe-stricken wonder. They might have observed the war through the detached lens of adolescence, but their memories are filtered through an adult understanding of horror and sacrifice.

Good old-fashioned beer - an institution loved by all, not least the ancient Egyptians, as this documentary shows. Jim Merrington, an executive of a British brewery and a keen amateur Egyptologist, takes us on an archeological dig to try to find the secret of the ancient recipe in the land of the Pharaohs.

Child choristers have been singing at Salisbury for 900 years. This film follows Salisbury Cathedral's current choristers. The Cathedral's separate boy and girl choirs each contain 16 of the most musically gifted 8-13 year-olds in the country. Their role, now as always, is to sing, day-in day-out some of the most sublime music ever written in one of Britain's most beautiful buildings.

To mark the Battle of Britain's 70th Anniversary, actor Ewan McGregor and his brother Colin, a former RAF pilot, lead viewers through key moments of the action when "The Few" of the RAF faced the mighty Nazi Luftwaffe. Together, the brothers take us on a journey to honor the heroes of 1940, bringing the amazing story of the Battle of Britain to a new generation. As Spitfires and Hurricanes once again fly over the White Cliffs of Dover, they reveal the inspiring personal stories of "The Few" who were there and those still with us today. Using great aerial footage mixed with impressive archival film, this is the definitive program on the Battle of Britain.

Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's is a three-part BBC Four documentary series on the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Baroque period. It was written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak and first broadcast in March 2009. ... won a Royal Television Society Award for best arts programme.

England – The Royal Naval Hospital and Queen's House at Greenwich; Rubens, Van Dyck and Charles I's art patronage (including Banqueting House and its ceiling paintings); William Dobson's work during the English Civil War; the London churches of Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor; Blenheim Palace, the English Baroque invention of the country house within a landscaped garden and the career of John Vanbrugh; St Paul's.

Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's is a three-part BBC Four documentary series on the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Baroque period. It was written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak and first broadcast in March 2009. ... won a Royal Television Society Award for best arts programme.

Spain, its South American Empire, the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic – Velázquez and Las Meninas; Zurbarán; Baroque church architecture at Santiago de Compostela and in the Southern Netherlands; Rubens and the Southern Netherlands; Rembrandt, Frans Hals and Vermeer in the Dutch Republic.

Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's is a three-part BBC Four documentary series on the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Baroque period. It was written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak and first broadcast in March 2009. ... won a Royal Television Society Award for best arts programme.

Italy – Baroque's origins in Rome and Spanish Naples, including Borromini's architectural work such as San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Bernini's fountains, churches like Sant'Andrea al Quirinale and sculptures such as The Ecstasy of St Theresa; Andrea Pozzo's illusionistic work at Sant'Ignazio and Annibale Caracci's The Loves of the Gods; Caravaggio's career in Rome and Naples; Jusepe de Ribera, his 'Cabal of Naples' and its activities against rivals such as Caracci's followers Domenichino and Guido Reni.