For educational purposes
The Battle of Naseby on the 14th of June 1645 all but decided the outcome of the English Civil War.
As the sun set on the dramatic day, the Oxford field army of King Charles I had been comprehensively beaten and completely destroyed.
The King had shown considerable personal courage during the battle, however, his cause was not helped by Prince Rupert's infamous attack on the baggage train which meant that the day was lost before he could return to the field.
The Battle of Naseby on the 14th of June 1645 all but decided the outcome of the English Civil War.
As the sun set on the dramatic day, the Oxford field army of King Charles I had been comprehensively beaten and completely destroyed.
The King had shown considerable personal courage during the battle, however, his cause was not helped by Prince Rupert's infamous attack on the baggage train which meant that the day was lost before he could return to the field.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00You
00:30on
00:52June the 14th 1645 a
00:55Moreland field in the English county of Northamptonshire was the setting for a defining moment in the destiny of a nation
01:10For two and a half years the bloody civil war between the forces of Parliament and those of King Charles the first had divided
01:19England and it was on that early summer's day
01:22That the decisive battle of this bitter conflict was fought
01:42In the parliamentary camp there was deep anxiety before the Battle of Naseby because this was the new model armies first battle
01:50if the new model army performed well, then there was a chance of of actually bringing the war to a
01:56decisive conclusion sometime in 1646 or
01:591647 if there were to be a reverse or even worse a a major defeat
02:04Then the parliamentary cause will be back in the situation that had been in 1643 and 1644
02:10effectively stalemated
02:12So there was a feeling that the war had to be ended soon
02:16but
02:17Nobody knew that it was going to be ended in the middle of the field halfway between Leicester and Northampton
02:29Here we combine the latest computer animation techniques with 3d graphics
02:34To illustrate the ebb and flow of the battle and the key moments in the fighting
02:40These techniques show that had the royalist cavalry not been absent from the field at a crucial time
02:47The outcome of the Battle of Naseby may have been very different indeed
03:02The winter months of late 1644 and early 1645 were dismal and cold
03:10But as the freezing snows finally melted, hopes on the royalist side were high
03:18Despite their calamitous defeat at Marston Moor the previous summer
03:23There had been an upswing in the fortunes of the King's army
03:26Victory at Lost Withiel and Crepy Bridge had come as some consolation for the loss of the north
03:32On the parliamentary side, the failure to press home a numerical advantage at Newbury in the autumn of 1644
03:39Had posed uncomfortable questions about the composition of their army
03:48In December 1644, Oliver Cromwell made a powerful address to the House of Commons
03:54In which he argued that the King's army was too small and too weak
03:58In December 1644, Oliver Cromwell made a powerful address to the House of Commons
04:01In which he argued that it was the divided nature of the parliamentary forces that had prevented victory so far
04:08His message was that it was time to form a new unified national army
04:18Over the next few months, the new model army was born
04:28The failure of Parliament to take advantage of the tactical success at Marston Moor
04:33Really clarified in Cromwell's mind the need for fundamental reforms in Parliament's military forces
04:39And he could see that the haphazard way that Parliament managed and funded its forces was useless
04:49It was almost like jobs for the boys
04:51As long as there were a number of armies in the field, you needed a number of separate commanders
04:56And Cromwell had become very suspicious of the motivations of the commanders
05:00He actually felt a lot of these people were interested in actively prolonging the war
05:05Because it gave them wealth and status and power
05:08The army needed to be essentially professionalised
05:11The army needed to be brought under the command of officers who would hold no civil office
05:17Who would not be MPs, who would not have selfish interests at heart
05:21But rather had as their primary interest the winning of the war
05:26So what Cromwell sought to do was to put an end to that situation
05:32To force all the people who had commissions in the army
05:36And who were members of the House to resign their commissions
05:40Unless we remodel the army, Cromwell says, we cannot defeat the King
05:46On the 21st of January 1645, Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the New Model Army
05:56At the time, Cromwell held no formal position within it
06:01But Parliament insisted he take command of Fairfax's cavalry
06:05A position that was his by the time of the Battle of Naseby on January 1st, 1645
06:13At the time of the Battle of Naseby on June 14th
06:26The fact was, however, that in the spring of 1645
06:30No one could be sure when the two sides would next meet on the field
06:35In April, both armies were stationed in the south of England
06:39Fairfax's New Model Army at Windsor
06:42And the King's forces at Oxford
06:45Decisions had to be made about strategy and tactics as the campaigning season got underway
06:52And it was on the 8th of May at Stow-on-the-Wold
06:55That the King called a council of war with his nephew, Prince Rupert
06:59And the commander of his forces in the southwest, Lord George Goring
07:04During the meeting, Charles was presented with different options by his senior commanders
07:13Digby and Goring were for an immediate attack on the New Model Army
07:18They regarded it as a contemptible rabble
07:21One battle and they would smash it completely
07:24It's not hard to see Goring's reasoning
07:27For at that time, the New Model Army was a poorly supplied force
07:31By May 1645, for example, many units had still to receive their famous red uniforms
07:40Goring was convinced that the army could be crushed in the south while it was still in its infancy
07:46Rupert was more circumspect
07:49Rupert had actually fought the parliamentarians at Marston Moor
07:52And Rupert had come off second best at Marston Moor
07:56He had more respect for them
07:58And so Rupert advocated going north
08:01One of the King's few strongholds in the region was the city of Chester
08:06Which was then under siege by the parliamentarians
08:10Rupert reasoned that if the siege could be lifted
08:13It would open the way for the royalists to advance further north
08:17Where they'd be able to link up with the Earl of Montrose
08:21Whose small force in Scotland had secured a number of successes
08:25Montrose had enjoyed a series of spectacular victories in the propaganda sense
08:32But in real military terms, they were very slight
08:35Montrose's army was tiny
08:37And it tended to melt away after they had a victory anyway
08:40But it seems that Charles had at the back of his mind a possible link up with Montrose
08:45A lot of the King's other advisors don't want him to do that
08:49And there is a fight
08:51Do we go north?
08:52Or do we stay in the Midlands?
08:54Or do we go south and west?
08:57And the royalists dither
09:02And in the end, the King tries to have it both ways
09:09Rupert and Goring were not great friends
09:12And to avoid conflict and argument
09:15The King eventually decided on a messy compromise between the two proposals
09:22Either of the courses of action that were open to them
09:25Were good courses of action, potentially
09:27However, King Charles decided
09:29Rather than to keep his forces concentrated
09:31In order to do one of the two things that he had the option of doing
09:34Decided to split his forces
09:37One of the main consequences of the Council of War
09:40Is that Goring is allowed to effectively split the royalist field army
09:45He takes something like 3,000 cavalry and 1,500 infantry
09:50And moves down to the west country
09:52Where he can exercise his own independent command
09:58In the days after the Stow Council of War
10:02Lord Goring set off for the west country
10:05As the main royalist army of 12,000 troops
10:08Marched towards Chester
10:11The new model army too was on the move
10:14Towards the west country
10:16But when Fairfax's troops reached Blandford
10:19They also split in two
10:21With a small force of 1,000 cavalry
10:24They also split in two
10:26With a small force detached to deal with the threat of Goring in the west
10:30But with the main force sent northeast
10:33To besiege the royalist stronghold at Oxford
10:45When the King reached Market Drayton on the 22nd of May
10:49He was forced to reappraise his position
10:52The siege of Chester had been lifted
10:55And it was his capital at Oxford that was now under threat
11:04In response, Prince Rupert proposed a full-scale assault
11:08Against a town held by Parliament
11:10That would draw the enemy away from Oxford
11:13So it was that the royalist army abandoned its march north
11:17And headed east to besiege the town of Leicester
11:23By attacking and seizing Leicester, King Charles hoped to do two things
11:27First, he hoped to join together two royalist enclaves in the east-central Midlands
11:31And thus put a thorn, if you like, right in the centre
11:34Of an important recruiting and provisioning area for the Parliamentarian cause
11:38But perhaps at least as important
11:40Was his aim of drawing away the new model army from Oxford
11:44So by attacking a city that mattered an awful lot to the Parliamentarians
11:49He hoped to be able to draw the new model army north
11:52Engage it in battle, and perhaps turn the tide of the English Civil War
11:57By attacking Leicester, King Charles takes the initiative
12:01He forces Parliament to react to him
12:04Rather than just reacting to the parliamentary siege of Oxford
12:09King Charles takes control of the war for a brief period
12:15Charles actually believed that the storming of Leicester would be a very easy business
12:19In fact it wasn't, it was an exceedingly bloody battle
12:22The royalists suffered very, very heavy casualties indeed
12:25And parliamentary forces resisted with enormous vigour
12:28They actually had to fight their way, street by street, almost house by house
12:32Through to the centre of the town
12:34And there in the centre, the parliamentary garrison finally laid down its arms
12:39Now, royalist blood was up
12:41Now, royalist blood was up
12:43They were very, very angry
12:45They'd suffered heavy casualties
12:47And so, murder began
12:55The royalist capture of parliamentary Leicester
12:58Provoked a heated debate on the parliamentary side
13:02The spilt blood at Leicester encouraged those who favoured a settlement with the king
13:07While the war faction demanded revenge
13:10It was the stronger hearts who won the argument
13:19On the 5th of June, the New Model Army abandoned its siege at Oxford
13:24And headed north towards Leicester
13:26At the same time as the royalists marched south
13:30The two armies were now on a collision course
13:40On the 13th of June, at an inn in a small Northamptonshire village
13:45Came the prelude to one of English history's most important battles
13:55It was a rearguard of King Charles' forces
13:58Who encountered the advance units of the New Model Army
14:01At the village inn in Naseby
14:11On the evening of June the 13th
14:1320 royalist troops who'd been left to look out for the enemy
14:16Were taken prisoner by parliamentary soldiers
14:19Commanded by Henry Ayrton
14:22The news came as a shock to the king
14:25Who had been unaware of the close proximity of Fairfax's army
14:29And who now faced a critical decision
14:35When Charles heard of the immediate proximity of the New Model Army to his own
14:39He was faced with options
14:40He could either retreat, probably to the city of Leicester
14:43Seek safety within its walls
14:45And await their arrival of reinforcements
14:47But of course it also meant a retreat to that city
14:49Which was still a dozen or so miles distant
14:52And during that process there was a reasonable chance
14:54That his army might be attacked on the line in March
14:57Ill-formed for battle
14:58And perhaps even cut to pieces or put to rout
15:00Alternatively, he could engage in battle
15:03And certainly when it came to this decision
15:06He was strongly influenced
15:07Not by Prince Rupert, who favoured the retreat towards Leicester
15:10But by others of his advisors
15:12In particular by Lord Digby and by Jack Ashburnham
15:15Both of these men argued that the morale of their own army was extremely high
15:19Having just taken Leicester
15:21That their soldiers, if you like, were up for a fight
15:24But that the morale of the New Model Army was low
15:27An emergency council of war was convened at Harborough
15:31And Charles was persuaded to stand and fight
15:36Essentially Naseby is a meeting engagement
15:39It's like Gettysburg
15:41Where the two sides almost blunder into each other
15:44In this instance they are looking to fight
15:47But it doesn't happen because one side's in a pre-arranged position
15:51They are actually both travelling the country
15:53And collide together in North Amsterdam
15:58At two o'clock in the morning on June 14th, 1645
16:02The men of the Royalist Army were woken from their sleep
16:05With the dramatic news
16:07That they were to go into a full-pitched battle that very day
16:10And as the summer dawn broke
16:12The two armies began to form into their positions
16:15Which were some four miles apart
16:19The decision to fight in Naseby was essentially the product
16:22Of Prince Rupert's own personal reconnaissance
16:24Going forward in front of his own army
16:27He perceived what he thought was a retreat
16:31By cavalry of the New Model Army
16:35And believing that the New Model Army was either not ready for battle
16:39Or was trying to retreat away from a battle
16:41He decided to strike immediately with all the forces at his disposal
16:45This is why the battle took place where it did, when it did
16:48And in the manner which it did
16:53Although the two forces could clearly see each other
16:56Fairfax and Cromwell made the wise decision
16:59To have a closer look at the battlefield
17:02Cromwell felt that the New Model Army's position
17:05Which lay behind a marshy valley was unsuitable
17:09So Fairfax ordered a withdrawal
17:12To a new position behind a ridge on Mill Hill
17:15The undulating nature of the land here
17:18Meant that the parliamentary force was no longer visible to their enemy
17:30Prince Rupert, concerned by the parliamentary troop movements
17:36Ordered a scout to ride off and investigate
17:39But when he returned, the scout claimed to have seen nothing
17:43Rupert therefore set off to sea for himself
17:47Only to find what looked like a retreating parliamentary army
17:52The prince was delighted
17:54Now was the time to finish off the rebels once and for all
17:58But, as we've seen, the New Model Army was not retreating
18:02It was simply reforming in a stronger, more favourable position
18:07By the time the royalists themselves moved forward to a position on Dust Hill
18:12Their enemy was ready and prepared for battle
18:16There was another vital factor that gradually became clear to the royalists
18:20As the morning unfolded
18:22The cavalry of Lord George Goring
18:25Was not going to be present on the day
18:28The king had summoned his south-west commander
18:31To a meeting with the royalists
18:33The king had summoned his south-west commander
18:36To a meeting with the royalists
18:38The king had summoned his south-west commander
18:41To a meeting with the royalists
18:43The king had summoned his south-west commander from the west country
18:46To join up with the main royalist force
18:49But Goring had sent a letter back
18:51Saying that he was unable to make the journey
18:54But the letter never arrived
18:57Instead, it was intercepted by his enemies
19:00Leaving Fairfax and Cromwell in no doubt
19:03That it was they who possessed the numerically superior army
19:08Goring is a courtier
19:11And he has his own standing in the royalist army
19:16And when he goes off to the south-west
19:19He is the big fish in the little pond
19:22He is independent, he is the big man, he can do what he likes
19:26And when he gets an order to rejoin
19:29He finds that he can't
19:32There remains to this day the strong suspicion
19:35That Goring may have stayed away
19:38As a result of his own ambition
19:40He preferred to be an independent commander
19:43We know he was already at loggerheads with Prince Rupert
19:46And there is a strong suspicion that says
19:48He decided to keep himself in the west country
19:53To this day, the difference that Goring's 3,000 men
19:56Would have made to the royalist cause
19:58Remains a matter of debate
20:02First, if Goring's forces had been present
20:05The royalist and the parliamentary armies
20:07Would have been approximately equal in number
20:09And second, and far more importantly
20:12If Goring's cavalry had been present
20:14There was some chance that a decent reconnaissance
20:17Would have actually been carried out
20:19And the royalists would have actually discovered
20:22The exact strength and exact locations of the parliamentary army
20:27The Battle of Naseby
20:37Even contemporary chroniclers were unsure
20:40Of the precise numbers of men
20:42Who took to the battlefield of Naseby
20:48Some suggested that the king
20:50May have mustered as few as 7,500 men
20:54Against a new model army of around 14,000
20:58But a more likely figure for the royalist numbers
21:01Is 12,000 troops
21:03Whatever the exact numbers
21:05It is certain that the royalist army was outnumbered
21:09Particularly among the ranks of the cavalry
21:18This remarkably detailed drawing
21:20Of the dispositions at Naseby
21:22Was published two years later
21:24In a book entitled Anglia Rediviva
21:27And the illustration reveals clearly
21:29That the two armies were arranged
21:31In the typical manner of the day
21:33Both sides deployed their infantry in the centre
21:36With the cavalry on the flanks
21:42If your cavalry are out on your flanks
21:44It gives them freedom of movement
21:46If your cavalry are on your flanks
21:48They've got freedom of action
21:50Infantry deploy with infantry guns
21:53And with their own muskets
21:55They want a clear field of fire
21:57Forward towards the enemy
22:01If the cavalry get in the way
22:04You've got to stop firing
22:05Or you'll hit your own cavalry
22:07So if you keep your cavalry on the flanks
22:10You can send them wherever you like
22:12Without getting in the way of the infantry
22:14And the field guns
22:17In addition, the presence of a solid block
22:19Of infantry in the centre of the battlefield
22:21Provided a stable centre
22:23Around which the battle could
22:25If you like, hinge or rotate
22:27However, if the cavalry were in the centre
22:29And charged and the position
22:31Became rather loose
22:33Then what you would have essentially
22:34Was an army that was split in two
22:35With a gap in the middle
22:36So infantry in the centre for stability
22:38Cavalry on the flanks
22:40For exploitation and for deciding the battle
22:44We have to remember
22:46That the armies of the Civil War
22:49Had a common training
22:51They both had their roots
22:53In the train band system
22:55And in officers who'd fought
22:57With the Swedish army on the continent
22:59So the tactics employed by both sides
23:02Came from a common root
23:04For that reason, they both fought
23:07In exactly the same way
23:14Shortly after 10 o'clock on June 14th
23:17King Charles' army began a general advance
23:19Towards the broad moor
23:21That separated Dust Hill from Mill Hill
23:26On their left flank
23:28Was the cavalry of Sir Marmaduke Langdale
23:32On the right were mounted troops
23:34Led by Prince Rupert himself
23:37All armed with the three-foot broadsword
23:40It was the typical cavalryman's weapon of the day
23:44In the centre
23:45Lord Astley took command
23:47Of the main body of infantry
23:49The foot soldiers
23:50Who were formed closely together
23:52And armed with two very different weapons
23:55The pike and the musket
23:57Played their full part
23:58On the battlefield of Naseby
24:07You needed to protect your muskets
24:09Against horse
24:11Now a pike is excellent protection
24:13Against horse
24:14A horse will not charge a line of pikemen
24:17So the idea was
24:18You combine your infantry
24:20And you have pike
24:22For protection from horse
24:24And musket for offensive action
24:27You've got defence and you've got offence
24:29It wasn't until very late in the 17th century
24:32That the bayonet was invented
24:34And the bayonet would give you the ability
24:36Both to defend against horse
24:38And to attack with your musket
24:42The contemporary drawing of the dispositions at Naseby
24:45Reveals that pikemen and musketeers
24:47Made up the infantry forces of both sides
24:51It also shows clearly
24:52That the two forces arranged their infantry units
24:55In a similar pattern
24:58This was the so-called Swedish pattern
25:02The Swedish pattern of infantry deployment
25:04Was devised and introduced into European warfare
25:07By Gustavus Adolphus in the 1630s
25:10Basically this was designed to maximise infantry firepower
25:13What Gustavus did
25:15Was organise his musketeers into six ranks
25:18And he'd actually worked out
25:20That he could have the front rank engaged
25:22In continual firing
25:24While the other five ranks
25:25Were in the various phases of reloading
25:27And so the idea was that
25:29As the rear rank had completely reloaded
25:32They would rush forward
25:34And occupy the position
25:35The front rank had occupied
25:37Because the front rank would just have fired
25:39And the idea was
25:41That you would then advance slowly
25:44With the rear rank running forward
25:47And it was rather like
25:49An infantry rolling barrage
25:53This Swedish pattern
25:55Was an arrangement with the appearance of a chessboard
25:58It was within the chessboard
26:00That the army's artillery was positioned
26:06GUNFIRE
26:11In the civil war period
26:13The guns were deployed on the field
26:15But they came in a bewildering array of calibres
26:19From a tiny thing that fired musket balls
26:22Not much larger than a golf ball
26:24Through to a 12 pound ball
26:26Which would actually be very devastating
26:29If it hit anybody
26:30But the instances were fairly few
26:33GUNFIRE
26:36And at the end of the day
26:37The weapons were very, very inaccurate
26:39So they tended to
26:41In one of the phrases
26:42They tended to frighten more than they harm
26:45They had a good morale effect
26:46They look great
26:47They give people a sense of safety
26:50If they're on your own side
26:51And they look very menacing from the opposition
26:54But in practice
26:55I don't think they were lethal weapons on the battlefield
26:58MUSIC
27:04GUNFIRE
27:07On the morning of June the 14th
27:09The battle began
27:11When the Swedish formation of Royalist infantry
27:13Began their move forward
27:15Towards the lines of the new model army, Foot
27:19Astley's men were supported to their rear
27:22By reserve units
27:23Consisting of two regiments of horse
27:25The king's own lifeguards
27:27And Prince Rupert's regiment of foot
27:30Prince Rupert, however
27:32Chose to lead from the front
27:34With his own lifeguard
27:35Leading his cavalry into the left flank
27:37Of the parliamentary line
27:39A force of mounted men
27:41Under the command of Henry Ireton
27:50In the hours that followed
27:52The command of the king's nephew
27:54Became one of the most important factors
27:56In the outcome of the battle
28:03As a cavalry commander
28:05Prince Rupert was familiar
28:07With the kind of mounted warfare
28:09That characterized the age
28:11At the battle of Edgehill in 1642
28:14He led a cavalry charge
28:16Right through the parliamentary line
28:18But the charge continued
28:20Well away from the main center of the fighting
28:22And, on that occasion
28:24The prince's return to the fray
28:26Came just in time to save the day
28:28For the Royalist army
28:31Clearly, no lessons had been learned
28:33From the close call at Edgehill
28:35Three years earlier
28:37The prince remained committed
28:39To a full cavalry charge
28:41Despite the almost impossible task
28:43Of maintaining order and discipline
28:45Among his own troops
28:50I'm sure what Rupert was thinking
28:52Was, all I've got to do
28:54Is put one decent charge in
28:56Against these people
28:57And they will scatter
28:59And if I can do that
29:00If I can actually shock them into retreat
29:02Then I will win this action
29:03I will destroy their new model army
29:05And we will have a position
29:07Of considerable advantage
29:09And so really, the cavalry charge
29:11Is a way in which Rupert
29:13Can actually win this battle
29:15Even though the Royalist army
29:17Is outnumbered
29:21The term cavalry
29:23Has come into our own language
29:25As somebody who's dashing
29:27And slightly unreliable
29:29And this was certainly the case
29:31With Rupert
29:33He would lead a cavalry charge
29:35At a ferocious gallop
29:37But he saw it as his job
29:39To disperse the enemy
29:41To chase them off the field
29:43And to make sure they couldn't come back
29:45And threaten his own infantry
29:47Of course, in doing so
29:49It means that he personally
29:51Leaves the field
29:53And has no ability
29:55A striking contrast emerged
29:57Between the tactics of Prince Rupert
29:59And his counterpart on the right flank
30:01Of the new model army
30:03Here, Oliver Cromwell
30:05Took charge of his mounted units
30:07Waiting to engage his opposite number
30:09Langdale
30:13Cromwell had already proved himself
30:15A more innovative commander
30:17When it came to the business
30:19Of maintaining control over units of cavalry
30:22Cromwell was an extremely competent
30:24Cavalry commander
30:26And he could do things with cavalry
30:28That most other mid-17th century commanders
30:30Could only dream about
30:32He, for example
30:34Could actually bring cavalry back
30:36From a charge
30:38And reform and charge again
30:40How did he do this?
30:42It was through training
30:44It was through establishing
30:46Standard operating procedures
30:48Now this is something that Rupert didn't do
30:51There was no doubt
30:53That in the full heat of battle
30:55The more disciplined force of cavalry
30:57Was far more likely to prevail
31:01Would I rather have Prince Rupert
31:03As my cavalry commander
31:05Who would charge only once a day
31:07And then be off
31:09Butchering the baggage train
31:11And breaking open casks of wine
31:13Or would I rather have Oliver Cromwell
31:15As my cavalry commander
31:17Who will charge and then charge again
31:20Perhaps not attacking the enemy's logistics
31:22I would rather have Oliver Cromwell
31:24As my cavalry commander
31:30As Oliver Cromwell prepared to engage his cavalry
31:32Thomas Fairfax watched as the infantry
31:34Deployed in the centre
31:36Under Sir Philip Skippen
31:38Here, Fairfax's advantage in numbers
31:40Enabled him to keep his own regiment
31:42In an overlapping reserve
31:44To be held back until required
31:50This was not his only advantage
32:04Unlike the king
32:06Fairfax was also able to deploy
32:08A force of dragoons
32:10Expert horsemen
32:12Who dismounted to engage the enemy with musket fire
32:20Fairfax chose
32:22To position his dragoons
32:24Behind a row of hedges
32:26And they were amongst the first
32:28Into the action
32:30As the Battle of Naseby was joined
32:46As Prince Rupert
32:48Led a dashing cavalry charge
32:50From wide on his flank
32:52Towards the men of Henry Ayrton
32:54The dragoons of Colonel Oakey
32:56Fired their weapons
33:10Their musket fire failed to stop
33:12The prince's advance
33:14And it was only when the two forces of cavalry
33:16Thundered together
33:18That Rupert was forced to come
33:20To a temporary halt
33:28The brief halt to Rupert's progress
33:30Gave Ayrton the chance to engage
33:32The cavalry regiment of Rupert's brother
33:34Prince Morris
33:36Which was closer to the centre of the line
33:40Meanwhile
33:42The two forces of infantry
33:44Were preparing for combat
33:48Lord Astley's men
33:50Were quick to push their enemy back
33:52As Rupert prepared
33:54To return to the fray
34:00When he did
34:02The results were dramatic
34:14Ah!
34:22While Oakey's dragoons
34:24Kept up their musket fire
34:26The king's nephew swept forward
34:28Against the west of the parliamentary line
34:30As Ayrton sought
34:32To give cavalry support
34:34To the infantry struggling on his right
34:36As Skippen's infantry
34:38Toiled in the centre
34:40On the right
34:42Skippen again proved his talent
34:44On the battlefield
34:46With the advantage of a downhill slope
34:48His cavalry forced Langdale's men
34:50Back behind the line
34:52Of the infantry reserve
35:04As the noise of over 20,000 men at arms
35:06Filled the air
35:08Cromwell was able to maintain
35:10The cavalry regiments in strict order
35:12As the parliamentarians
35:14Took charge of the right
35:16But on the other flank
35:18Prince Rupert succeeded
35:20In smashing through the mounted units
35:22Of Henry Ayrton
35:28Cavalry successes were now even
35:30But it was at this crucial stage
35:32Of the battle
35:34That Prince Rupert made the serious
35:36Tactical error that proved
35:38So costly to the royalist cause
35:42Having made his breakthrough
35:44Rupert simply kept on going
35:46As far as the parliamentary baggage train
35:48Near Naseby village itself
35:52It was a common practice for a cavalry charge
35:54To lead to the pursuit of booty
35:56From the baggage train
35:58After all, Rupert had done
36:00Exactly the same at Edge Hill
36:02But at Edge Hill
36:04He had returned in time
36:06To influence the later stages of the battle
36:08At Naseby
36:10The story was very different
36:14Prince Rupert has had a very bad press
36:16For the last 350 years
36:18He was undoubtedly very brave
36:20But he's always portrayed as headstrong
36:22And indeed, sometimes stupid
36:26Why does he always go for the enemy baggage train
36:28After he's driven the enemy horse
36:30From the field
36:32Well, he's always going for the enemy baggage train
36:34Because this is the operational
36:36And indeed sometimes the strategic objective
36:38If you take that baggage train
36:40You effectively cut the logistics
36:42Of the enemy army
36:44At the moment that Prince Rupert led
36:46His cavalry south
36:48Away from the battlefield at Naseby
36:50In pursuit of at least a large portion
36:52Of Ireton's cavalry
36:54The battle was going extremely well for the royalists
36:56And therefore he could be forgiven
36:58Perhaps at that moment
37:00For believing that the battle was almost won
37:02And that his job
37:04Was to pursue the enemy's cavalry from the battlefield
37:06Either to prevent it rallying
37:08And counterattacking and perhaps turning the tide again
37:10Or perhaps more likely
37:12Rallying in order to cover the retreat
37:14Of the new model army's infantry
37:16Arguably his mistake
37:18However
37:20Was in not dealing with what of Ireton's cavalry
37:22Remained on the battlefield
37:24It's popularly imagined that most of Ireton's cavalry
37:26Broke and fled
37:28In actual fact
37:30Less than half of Ireton's cavalry
37:32Was actually driven from the battlefield
37:34Rupert needed to leave at least some troops behind
37:36Or organise the deployment
37:38Of the King's Reserve
37:40In order to deal with these cavalry
37:42Because they were able to rally
37:44Re-inject themselves into the battle
37:46And in fact play a decisive role
37:48In the destruction of King Charles' army
37:52Rupert's departure
37:54Left his uncle's infantry
37:56Cruelly exposed
37:58And to add insult to injury
38:00The company of parliamentarian musketeers
38:02Positioned around the baggage train
38:04Beat off Rupert's attacks
38:06By the time he realised his mistake
38:08The course of the battle
38:10Had changed for good
38:18With Rupert's cavalry absent
38:20The outnumbered royalist army in the field
38:22North of Naseby
38:24Found itself in deep trouble
38:26Colonel Oakey
38:28Now ordered his dragoons to mount
38:30And engage the left flank
38:32Of the royalist infantry
38:34These foot soldiers
38:36Were already suffering on the right
38:38As Cromwell again revealed
38:40His masterly control of cavalry in battle
38:42With an uncanny understanding
38:44Of the overall course of the fighting
38:46He split his force in two
38:48Ordering one detachment
38:50To prevent the reformation
38:52Of Langdale's horse
38:54And the other
38:56To sweep into the suffering ranks
38:58Of royalist foot
39:00We can't really stress enough
39:02Just how important Cromwell's ability is
39:04In terms of both
39:06Managing his cavalry
39:08But also having superiority in numbers
39:10It's very, very crucial at Naseby
39:12Because once Cromwell's
39:14Broken the northern horse
39:16Under Langdale
39:18He's able to send some of his men
39:20To pursue Langdale's
39:22And attack the royalist infantry
39:24Now he can only do that because of his
39:26Superiority in numbers
39:28Had Gorine come back from the west country
39:30The forces would have been much more balanced
39:32But as it was
39:34It was a combination of two things really
39:36That swing the day
39:38Cromwell's discipline and his superior numbers
39:42With Rupert still nowhere to be seen
39:44Thomas Fairfax decided
39:46It was time to deploy
39:48His own overlapping infantry regiment
39:50The royalist foot soldiers
39:52Were now alone and surrounded
39:54And the battle
39:56Was all but over
40:14As Prince Rupert finally returned
40:16In a huge sweeping movement
40:18To the back of his depleted front
40:20His uncle the king
40:22Made a last desperate attempt
40:24To continue the fight
40:26By deploying his final reserves in the centre
40:28Showing great personal courage
40:30Charles himself
40:32Prepared to lead his troops
40:34Into battle
40:36But it was not to be
40:42As Charles set off to engage the enemy
40:44The Earl of Cornroth
40:46Grabbed the bridle of the king's horse
40:48And pleaded with him
40:50Not to go to your death upon an instant
40:52It would probably have made
40:54Little difference
40:56Had Charles not been dissuaded
40:58From a self-sacrificial attack
41:00Cromwell still had enough
41:02Fresh spare men to face them
41:08Although Rupert was now
41:10Back among the ranks
41:12The day was lost
41:14The remains of the king's proud army
41:16Were put to flight in the direction of Leicester
41:20The battle of Naseby was over
41:22And the new model army
41:24Had won its first famous victory
41:36But this was not quite the end of the bloodshed
41:40As part of the spoils of war
41:42The parliamentarians ransacked
41:44The king's own baggage train
41:46It was here, away from the fighting
41:48That the camp followers
41:50And wives of the royalist soldiers
41:52Were waiting
41:54But there were also women
41:56With no formal relationship
41:58With the royalist troops
42:00For, as was common practice at the time
42:02Charles's army was accompanied
42:04By a party of prostitutes
42:06For the victorious Puritan parliamentarians
42:08This evidence of immorality
42:10Triggered a terrifying postscript
42:12To the day's battle
42:18Essentially the parliamentary cavalry
42:20Overran the royalist encampment
42:22And the royalist baggage train
42:24And there they found
42:26A number of Welsh women and Irish women
42:28These were the wives of some of the soldiers
42:30Some were camp followers
42:32And they rode these women down
42:34And at least a hundred
42:36That's a very conservative estimate
42:38And the cavalry soldiers
42:40Of the new model army
42:42Were screaming at them
42:44As they rode down these women
42:46Death to the Catholic whores
42:48Those they didn't kill
42:50They cut about the face to disfigure them
42:52So we're talking about people
42:54Who took their religion very, very seriously
42:56And took it to the point of barbarity
42:58And indeed beyond the point of barbarity
43:04For the motley collection of women
43:06Who accompanied Charles' army
43:08Death and mutilation
43:10Were the consequences of the royalist defeat
43:12At Naseby
43:14A fate shared by many on the battlefield
43:26Upwards of a thousand royalist troops
43:28Lost their lives
43:30By contrast, estimates suggest
43:32That only 200 of their opponents
43:34Were killed
43:40No one will ever know
43:42Exactly how many prisoners were taken
43:44During and after the battle
43:46Many royalist cavalrymen
43:48Did succeed in making an escape
43:50Including the king
43:52And his nephew
43:54But the infantry were not so lucky
44:00It is thought 5,000 men
44:02Were captured in total
44:04Along with vast quantities of guns
44:06Ammunition and artillery pieces
44:24There was one final disaster for the king
44:26His own private correspondence
44:28Revealing his secret negotiations
44:30With potential supporters
44:32In Ireland and France
44:34Were seized by parliamentary soldiers
44:36Within days
44:38Crowds in London
44:40Learned with trepidation
44:42That their king was prepared
44:44To do deals with Catholics
44:46In pursuit of his cause
44:50There can be no doubt
44:52That June 14, 1645
44:54Marked the beginning of the end
44:56For King Charles I
45:00Naseby represented a signal point
45:02It represented the point at which
45:04The cause of King Charles
45:06Was confirmed as lost
45:08It represented the point at which
45:10Essentially parliament
45:12Should it decide to do so
45:14Could lay down terms to the king
45:16The battle of Naseby did not see
45:18The forces of King Charles I destroyed
45:20It did see them essentially crippled
45:24The old royalist infantry had gone
45:26The cavalry had been humiliated
45:28And it's worth bearing in mind
45:30Just how much contempt the royalists had felt
45:32Towards the new model army
45:34Before the battle of Naseby
45:36This was an army they were going to defeat
45:38Not an army that was going to destroy them
45:40And so the crippling blow to their morale
45:42Is something which is worthy of remark
45:50The loss of the battle of Naseby
45:52Was of great significance for the king
45:54It meant the end
45:56Of his last army in the field
45:58And that was a very
46:00Important thing for Charles
46:02Because his only chance of winning the civil war
46:04Was to do battle in the field
46:06Once he'd lost his army
46:08He was able to hang on for another year
46:10In a series of sieges
46:12But by then really
46:14The main chance had gone
46:20In the month that followed Naseby
46:22King Charles drifted aimlessly
46:24From place to place
46:26In search of the military support
46:28That would take the fight to the new model army once more
46:34It never came
46:36And within the year
46:38The king surrendered to the Scots
46:40Another step on the road
46:42That would eventually lead to his execution
46:44In January 1649
46:46Naseby is the beginning
46:48Of modern military administration
46:50In Great Britain
46:52And parliament wins this war
46:54Not because of their
46:56Ideological superiority
46:58Not because necessarily
47:00God is on their side
47:02But because they know
47:04How to run an army
47:06The battle of Naseby
47:08Became synonymous with that moment
47:10When middle classes
47:12Began to rise
47:14It was a moment
47:16When middle class and lower middle class Englishmen
47:18Had organised themselves
47:20Into an efficient army
47:22And they'd actually taken on
47:24The forces of the Ancien Regime
47:26The forces of the English aristocracy
47:28And they had defeated them
47:32Naseby was crucial
47:34In a very real sense
47:36It guaranteed the survival
47:38Of British parliamentary democracy
47:44The Battle of Naseby
47:46The Battle of Naseby
47:48The Battle of Naseby
47:50The Battle of Naseby
47:52The Battle of Naseby
47:54The Battle of Naseby
47:56The Battle of Naseby
47:58The Battle of Naseby
48:00The Battle of Naseby
48:02The Battle of Naseby
48:04The Battle of Naseby
48:06The Battle of Naseby
48:08The Battle of Naseby
48:10The Battle of Naseby
48:12The Battle of Naseby
48:14The Battle of Naseby