Battle of Inverkeithing

Battle of Inverkeithing

Part of: Wars of the Three Kingdoms

Inchgarvie Fortress repelled the attacks by Cromwell's ships, which bypassed by landing in Fife, capitulated six days after the battle.

date	July 20, 1651
place	Inverkeithing , Scotland
output	decisive English victory

Parties to the conflict
Scottish covenanters	Commonwealth of England , New Model Army
Commander
Sir John Brown of Fordell	John Lambert
Troop strength
4500	4500
losses
800-200 dead, 1400 prisoners	less than 200

The Battle of Inverkeithing took place on July 20, 1651 at Inverkeithing on the Firth of Forth across from Edinburgh . It was a battle of the wars of the three kingdoms. The opponents were the English parliamentary army under John Lambert and a Scottish Covenanter army under Sir John Brown of Fordell, which acted on behalf of King Charles II . Lambert's force was an expedition at sea that landed in Fife to avoid the main Scottish position in Stirling . The battle resulted in a decisive English victory that put Oliver Cromwell's forces in control of the Firth of Forth and outstripped the defensive position of the main Scottish army under David Leslie (1st Lord Newark).

background

After his victory in the Battle of Dunbar (1650) , Oliver Cromwell occupied large parts of southern Scotland. David Leslie, who commanded the royalist forces and tried to recover from the Dunbar disaster, created a series of redoubts in the center of the country, effectively preventing the New Model Army from making further progress in the campaign. Cromwell could not push back Leslie, who was firmly entrenched in Stirling, but quickly realized that Fife on the north bank of the Firth of Forth was now the key to the entire campaign: once they had crossed the Forth, the English would have marched on Perth and the Scottish Cut communications lines from their northern hinterland, which was essential for both supplies and new recruits.

Invading Fife by sea was a delicate operation. In early 1651, the Council of State, the executive body of the Commonwealth of England , ordered the construction of special flat-bottomed boats that arrived in Leith in April . These would make it possible to move men and horses near the north bank, but it would take time for the army to land with sufficient strength to repel a counterattack: Leslie could easily withdraw forces from his base in Stirling in order to throw the intruders back into the sea. Alternatively, he could wait until enough English had come to Fife before attacking the weakened remainder in Edinburgh and then moving south towards England. This was a significant risk. But the only alternative was another war in winter, which neither the colonel general nor his men would have wanted with great enthusiasm.

Crossing the Forth

The Firth was to be crossed at its narrowest point between North Queensferry and South Queensferry , which is now spanned by road and rail bridges. Landing here offered another advantage besides speed: North Queensferry lies on a narrow peninsula that offers good prospects of building a defensive bridgehead against an enemy attack. After local defenses were weakened by bombing the forts at Inchgarvie , Burntisland and Ferryhill, on the night of July 16-17, Colonel Robert Overton led an assault force across the bay on the eastern side of the Ferry Peninsula from Inverkeithing landed. In the morning there were almost 2,000 soldiers on the north bank of the Forth, and Overton immediately set about building entrenchments. Reinforcements were sent over two days later with Major General John Lambert, bringing the Army's forces to around 4,500 men by the morning of July 20.

No sooner had the Scots heard of the landing than about 4,000 men were diverted from the main army to counter the threat: 1,000 cavalry under the command of James Holborne of Menstrie , Highland Infantry under the command of Sir Hector Maclean, 2nd Baronet , and some Regiments of infantry and cavalry under the command of Sir John Brown of Fordell. The department was under the overall command of Sir John Brown. Brown's orders were simple: to keep Lambert from breaking out of his beachhead.

It is possible that Cromwell initially saw the Fife operation just as a diversion to open up the Scots' position in Stirling. While the landing was taking place, he approached Leslie's camp with the rest of his strength. Seeing Leslie march in support of Brown, he walked quickly over the hills, through Bannockburn, and on to the abandoned camp in Torwood . A little to the north, Cromwell saw that his advance was blocked by the enemy, who now occupy a strong position in an area known as King's Park. Cromwell could not prevail and withdrew when it was dark. Now it was all up to Lambert.

The battle

The Ferry Peninsula is separated from the rest of Fife by a narrow isthmus about a quarter of a mile wide. With the low land of the isthmus and the surrounding shore dominating the center, the Ferry Hills rise two hundred and forty feet above sea level. Behind the peninsula in the northwest, the terrain rises again to Castland Hill and neighboring Meickle Hill, between which the road inland leads through the narrow valley to Dunfermline . These two hills also dominate the coastal road to Rosyth and the road that leads towards the village of Inverkeithing. Once the Scots occupied this position, it would have become impossible for the English to advance. The Scottish Army advanced between these hills on the 20th; but, for reasons not entirely clear, Brown withdrew from the heights to the vicinity of the isthmus and looked at the English entrenchments of the Ferry Hills.

The Scots realized the danger they had placed themselves in and began to move as if they were easily retreating to higher ground. Lambert immediately sent Colonel John Oakey and his Dragoons forward to attack them in their back. Faced with this threat, Brown had no choice but to form a battle line on the Whins, three hills at Castland and Meickle towards Inverkeithing Bay, and across the valley towards Rosyth Castle . Lambert made his own arrangements. The terrain to his left was difficult and rocky, so he concentrated his best efforts on the right: his own cavalry regiment, two troops of dragoons, and two other horse troops, all under the command of Colonel Oakey. The infantry was placed in the center and on the left side, where they were supported by the rest of the dragoons and cavalry. Robert Overton took command of a reserve infantry stationed in the background.

Lambert expected to be attacked at any moment; but for an hour and a half nothing happened. In the meantime he had received the news that Cromwell had withdrawn on Linlithgow and that the enemy could have reinforcements at any time. This was the moment to act. His army moved forward and held in formation as it pushed through the isthmus bottleneck. The Scottish lances in the valley pushed towards the left infantry and easily pierced the thin lines. Seeing the danger, Lambert responded by swinging his infantry reserve, assisted by a cavalry squad, which thrust into the flank of the advancing bulkheads before they could change front. The lances had no chance against the fire of the musketeers and the long range of the English pikemen . In a quarter of an hour the battle was over on this side of the battlefield.

Lambert could now concentrate on attacking the main part of the Scottish army around the Whins. Against the cruel discipline of the New Model Army, the green Scottish recruits had little chance. Soon a large part of the army fled from terror, so that Brown had to withstand the attack of the enemy with only 200 Rewitern and two infantry battalions. He was completely overwhelmed. Lambert's men occupied the heights and the bulkheads were pushed back onto the level ground between Hillfield and Pitreavie.

Lambert claimed to have killed 2,000 enemies and captured 1,400. The Clan MacLean tradition says it started with 800 men, of whom only 35 survived. However, Sir James Balfour (Sir James Balfour, Sir James Balfour, Sir James Balfour), a senior officer in the Covenanter Army, wrote in his diary that a total of 800 Scots were killed, no more than 100 of whom were from the Clan Maclean. However, Sir James Balfour , a senior officer in the Covenanter Army, wrote in his diary that a total of 800 Scots were killed, of which no more than 100 were from Clan Maclean. Lambert's own losses were less than 200.

Four days later, Cromwell himself crossed the strait. For him, victory was “an unspeakable grace”.

aftermath

The Battle of Inverkeithing, though much smaller than Dunbar, was the decisive encounter in Cromwell's Scottish War. It ended in a long strategic cul-de-sac that put the English in control of the plains of Fife and the northeast. Leslie was completely out of hand. Cromwell shifted the thrust of his offensive to the north bank of the Forth and deliberately dropped the guard on the south. He reckoned that King Charles could not resist the lure of a march to England; and once in the open the enemy could be destroyed. Karl made up his mind and soon began a march that took him south to Worcester and his army into the devastating Battle of Worcester .

literature

• Peter Chalmers, Historical and statistical account of Dunfermline , Volume 1, Edinburgh and London 1844, p. 276.
• John Patterson MacLean, A History of the Clan MacLean from Its First Settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the Present Period: Including a Genealogical Account of Some of the Principal Families Together with Their Heraldry, Legends, Superstitions, Etc. , 1889, pp. 179-183.
• David Plant, 1651: the Worcester campaign , British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
• Stuart Reid, Dunbar 1650: Cromwell's Most Famous Victory , Oxford 2004, ISBN 1-84176-774-3
• David Stewart, "Part I Section 3: Devoted Obedience to the Clans — Spirit of Independence — Fidelity" in: Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland; with details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments. Volume 1 (3rd edition 1825), Edinburgh and London 1825

Remarks

1. ↑ Official name: Battle of Inverkeithing II
2. ↑ The battle is also known as the Battle of Fife and Battle of Pitreavie (Chalmers 1844, p. 276)
3. ↑ MacLean 1889, p. 179
4. ↑ MACLeon 1889, p. 179
5. ↑ Between North Queensferry in the south and Inverkeithing in the north
6. ↑ MalLean 1889, p. 179
7. ↑ Reid 2004, p. 90
8. ↑ Reid 2004, pp. 90-91
9. ↑ Plant 1651, The Worcester Campaign

Coordinates: 56 ° 1 ′ 30 "  N , 3 ° 24 ′ 47"  W.