The Battle of Northampton 1460 by Rupert Matthews

Author:Rupert Matthews [Matthews, Rupert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bretwalda Books
Published: 2013-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

A standard infantry formation from the Wars of the Roses. The armoured billmen and men at arms are formed up four ranks deep in the centre while the archers are pushed forward on the flanks to shoot at the advancing enemy. The commanding knight and his assistants stand behind to direct movement.

Although heavily armoured, mounted knights had fallen out of use there was still a role for horsemen. As noted above, Irish horsemen were sometimes hired to serve as scouts, but most commanders preferred to use Englishmen equipped as hobilars. These hobilars - also known as currours or prickers - were more lightly armed than knights and rode less expensive horses. Their roles were mostly off the battlefield. They scouted ahead and to the flanks of the army looking for the enemy. They rode ahead to secure bridges or fords. They rode off to carry messages to other commanders or to local authorities. They sought good campsites, bought - or in France stole - food supplies.

Even on the field of battle these hobilars had a use. They were kept in reserve to be unleashed on a fleeing enemy to use their speed to ride down fugitives. Or they could be thrown into action to disrupt a pursuit by enemy horsemen and so cover the retreat of the infantry. There were some occasions, admittedly rare, when hobilars performed a mounted charge. This tactic was rarely used as it was so rarely successful. Against formed infantry it was doomed to failure, but if they could catch infantry on the march or out of formation after crossing a stream then the hobilars could perform great service.

During the Wars of the Roses it was customary for an army to be divided into three “battles”. Each battle consisted of a mix of soldier types, with archers and men at arms. The commander of the army usually took command of the central battle, with his more experienced subordinate leading the foreward battle and the third commander the rear battle. Any artillery present was usually kept with the central battle, as much for its commercial value as its use in fighting. Hobilars or other mounted troops would usually be formed outside this traditional structure. They would have their own commander answerable to the army commander, but would only rarely be actually with the army itself. More often the bulk of these men were off on detached duties of one kind or another, though rarely more than a day or two’s ride from the army.

It was traditional for the central battle to be the largest, perhaps as strong as the other two put together. Some commanders preferred to vary this arrangement. The most usual variation was to increase the strength of the advance battle to make it capable of independent action. Some army commanders even preferred to put themselves in charge of the advance battle, delegating the central battle to the third in command.

It had become customary for English armies to be under the command of a nobleman - often the king or a prince of royal blood when campaigning in France.

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