History of the English Civil War in military historical reference books of the English civil war and the battles of Edgehill, Marston Moor, Naseby, Worcester, Braddock Down, Newark and major civil war commanders. Published by leading military publishers by leading historical authors, available from Cranston Fine Arts.

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The English Civil War by Peter Young and Richard Holmes.

Between August 1642, when the Royal Standard of King Charles I was raised above Castle Hill at Nottingham, and September 1651, when the second Charles barely managed to escape to France from the bloody chaos of Worcester, three separate civil Wars between the Crown and Parliament were contested.  The First Civil War stretched from 1642 to August 1646 when Charles I became a prisoner of the Scots.  The Second began in March 1648 and ended in August of the same year with the Battle of Preston and the fall of Colchester, while the Third Civil War followed in June 1650, when Charles II raised an army in Scotland only to be defeated at Dunbar and Worcester in 1651.  The English Civil War is a military history dealing with the operational aspects of these wars, and is based on an absorbing combination of original sources and extensive studies of the actual battlefields - battles such as Edgehill, Cropredy, Lostwithiel, Marston Moor and Naseby.

Illustrated paperback with 366 pages.

Book serial number W57. Price £7.99.

Old Ironsides - The Military Biography of Oliver Cromwell.

Oliver Cromwell is one of Englnds most famous soldiers, yet his military career did not begin until he was 43. Today, Cromwell is often presented as the primary opponent of King Charles I. In fact, as Frank Kitson reveals in this new military biography, Cromwell never commanded an independent army in the English Civil War. However, he was one of the prime movers in creating the New Model Army, a vastly more professional force than the armies first raised by Parliament. In the second Civil War he led a large part of it against a Scottish invasion force and totally defeated it.  Although the New Model Army was largely disbanded after Cromwells death and the restoration of King Charles II, some of its regiments survived and Britain has had a permanent, standing army ever since.  The British army retained the red coats of the New Model but also its traditions of discipline.  In this sense, Kitson argues, Cromwell is truly the father of the British Army.

Illustrated hardback with 239 pages.

Order code NMP9541. Book price £14.99.

Order code BK0282

All the Kings Armies - A Military History of the English Civil War 1642-1651 by Stuart Reid.

On 23rd September 1642 Prince Ruperts cavalry triumphed outside Worcester in the first major clash of the English Civil War.  Almost precisely nine years later, on 3rd September 1651, that war was won by Oliver Cromwells famous Ironsides outside the same city and in part upon the same ground.  In All the Kings Armies, Stuart Reid provides a detailed yet readable new military history, the first to be published for over twenty years, of the three conflicts between 1642 and 1651 known as the English Civil War.  Prince Rupert, Oliver Cromwell, Patrick Ruthven, Alexander Leslie and Sir Thomas Fairfax all play their parts in this fast moving narrative.  At the heart of the book are fresh interpretations, not only of the key battles such as Marston Moor in 1644, but also of the technical and economic factors which helped shape strategy and tactics, making this a truly comprehensive study of one of the most famous conflicts in British history.

Hardback book with 270 pages.

Price £19.95.

English Civil War Fortifications 1642-51 by Peter Harrington.

The techniques of European warfare were transformed during the 15th and 16th centuries by the use of gunpowder and by substantial progress in the effectiveness and destructive power of artillery.  The series of conflict in the 1640s, known collectively as the English Civil War, was the first in the British Isles that reflected this new reality.  Sieges aimed at isolating and reducing fortified places became the dominant instrument for prosecuting the war and protective fortifications were vital, for the besieger as well as the besieged.  This title describes how both the Parliamentarians and the Royalists made use of new fortification techniques throughout the course of this conflict..

Part of the Osprey Fortress Series.  Illustrated paperback with approximately 65 pages.

Order code FS9. Book price £10.99.

Book serial number Osprey 116. Price £12.99.

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This book explores the crucial battle of Newbury, the turning point of the English Civil War.  By August 1643 the King's cause was very much in the ascendant.  Parliament armies had been crushed at Adwalton Moor and Roundway Down and the Royalists had taken Bristol.  When they summoned Gloucester to surrender on 10 August the city's only hope was a Parliament relief army.  The London Trained Bands joined the Earl of Essex's expedition and when battle was joined at Newbury, the Londoners more than held their own against the best of the King's cavalry.  With the citizens of London so firmly committed to Parliament's cause and the King's cavalry no longer invincible, the balance of power had shifted irretrievably.

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Book serial number Osprey 119. Price £12.99.

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The entry of the Scots into the English Civil War on 19 January 1644, taking the side of Parliament, radically changed the balance of power in the North of England.  The Royalists in the North were forced onto  the defensive and besieged in York.  In a bold march Prince Rupert outmanoeuvred his enemies and relieved York without a shot being fired.  However, on 2 July when Rupert met the allied army in battle on Marston Moor, his cavalry was defeated by Cromwell's Ironsides who then turned on the Royalist infantry.  This book details the hard-fought yet catastrophic defeat in which the Royalist army was crushed and their forces driven from the north of England.

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Book serial number Osprey 123. Price £12.99.

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In August 1644, at the height of the English Civil War, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, raised the standard of Royalist rebellion in Scotland.  In a single year he won a string of remarkable victories with his army of Irish mercenaries and Highland clansmen.  His victory at Auldearn, the centrepiece of his campaign, was won only after a day-long struggle and heavy casualties on both sides.  This book details the remarkable sequence of victories at Tibbermore, Aberdeen, Inverlochy, Auldearn and Kilsyth that left Montrose briefly in the ascendant in Scotland.  However, his decisive defeat and surrender at Philiphaugh finally crushed the Royalist cause in Scotland.

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Book serial number Osprey 82. Price £12.99.

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The battle of Edgehill was the first major clash of the English Civil War.  In 1642 both Royalists and Parliamentarians expected that one great contest of arms would see the crushing of their enemies.  When their field armies blundered into contact on the evening of 22 October 1642, Prince Rupert urged King Charles to array his army on the great ridge of Edgehill and give battle.  The next day, amidst abject cowardice and absolute courage, the tide of battle swept Rupert's cavalry to triumph, but saw victory snatched away as the Royalist infantry was hurled back by the defiant Parliamentarians.  This book relates how the chance for decisive victory was lost and the bloody civil war raged on.

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Book serial number BH4. Price £8.99. Paperback with 44 pages.

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The English Civil War by Peter Young & Michael Roffe

Beginning with the outbreak of the first Civil War in 1642 and ending with the Restoration of King Charles in 1660, this book studies the Cavalier and Parliamentarian armies that fought in these conflicts. Despite their own distinctive characters, the two forces differed only slightly in terms of organisation and uniform. In 30 years of bloodshed, counties were divided and families were split, as men and women followed their individual allegiances.

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The English Civil War by Maurice Ashley

One of the most dramatic periods in English history was that of the civil wars fought throughout the country in the mid-seventeenth century. The population was split down the middle. While many peers and gentry took the side of the King, others equally supported the leaders of Parliament, so families and friends were painfully divided in their loyalties. The final defeat, trial and execution of King Charles I shocked the monarchies throughout Europe but left them deeply impresses by the victories of Oliver Cromwell and by his seizure of power as Lord Protector.

The origins of the war and the course of the cmapaings are here comprehensively but succinctly described by Dr Maurice Ashley, a leading authority on seventeenth-century England, who bases his narrative on the latest academic research and on the analysis by military experts of such important battles as those of Marston Moor and Naseby. Lavishly illustrated with contemporary paintings, engravings and broadsheets, some in colour, together with maps which make clear the strategy and tactics, this is a book that should appeal to all who study and enjoy English history.

Book serial number BK17. Price £9.99. Paperback with 202 pages.

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Destruction in the English Civil Wars by Stephen Porter

The destruction caused by the English Civil Wars was widespread and devastating. Towns, villages, churches and country houses up and down the land were affected. Indeed, destruction was so widespread that by the end of the Second Civil War at least 150 towns and 50 villages had suffered some damage, 200 country houses had been ruined, and more than 50,000 people had been made homeless. 

This book is the first detailed study of this aspect of the Civil Wars and makes available the results of many years of study and research of original documents and manuscripts in record offices and local history libraries throughout the country. Much of the material has never previously been published. The author conveys vividly, often through their own words, the feelings of those caught up in the traumatic events of the time, while also presenting a clear narrative and explanation of events.

Destruction in the English Civil Wars will be welcomed not only by historians but also those with an interst in the effects of this particularly destructive period of English history upon the towns and countryside that surround us.

Book serial number BK26. Price £10.99. Paperback with 180 pages.

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Book price £8.99. Book serial number Osprey MA110.

New Model Army 1645-60 by Stuart Asquith & Chris Warner

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Book serial number MA 14. Price £8.99. 

An unrivalled source of information on the uniforms, insignia and appearance of the World's fighting men. In this superb informative book The English Civil War packed with photos, coloured military uniforms and black and white illustrations. A must for all English civil war enthusiasts.

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