Battle of Benburb
| date | June 1646 |
|---|---|
| place | Benburb |
| output | Irish victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Irish Confederate Ulster Army |
Scottish covenanters , English and Scottish settlers |
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 5000 | 6000 |
| losses | |
|
about 300 |
2000-3000 |
The Battle of Benburb ( English Battle of Benburb , Irish Cath na Binne Boirbe ) took place in June 1646 during the Irish Confederation Wars between the Confederate Irish Army under Owen Roe O'Neill and a largely Scottish army under Robert Munro . The battle ended in a victory for the Irish forces and sealed the hopes of the Scottish Covenanters for increased influence in Ireland.
background
The Scots Army (the so-called Covenanters ) came to Ulster in 1642 to protect the Scottish settlers there from attacks as a result of the Irish Rebellion . At the same time attempts were made to conquer Ireland, to destroy Catholicism in Ireland and to establish Presbyterianism as the state religion. After arriving in Ireland near Carrickfergus , the army allied itself with a force of British settlers from Derry under Robert Stewart. By 1643 this army had rid North Ulster of all organized Irish rebels , but could not advance further south into an area controlled by Owen Roe O'Neill (Commander of the Confederate Ulster Army).
Both sides raided areas of the enemy and killed civilians, so that by 1646 a kind of destroyed no man's land separated the two sides. Neither side managed to gain a foothold in opposing territory and expand their influence. O'Neill once said of the devastated area that it didn't just look like a wasteland, it looked like hell .
In 1646 Munro and Stewart tried again together (with 6,000 men) to invade the O'Neill area - some sources claim it was an attempt to conquer the Confederate capital Kilkenny , others only speak of a major raid. O'Neill, a very cautious general, had avoided fighting costly field battles in the past and had only recently been given muskets , ammunition and money by the papal nuncio in Ireland, Giovanni Battista Rinuccini . This allowed him to command up to 5000 men. However, the Covenanters had six cannons, the Irish Army not a single one.
The battle
Munro assumed that O'Neill would avoid the border area , so he marched with his army nearly 15 miles into the O'Neill area to defeat the O'Neill army, which was located near Benburb (in present-day County Tyrone ) stopped attacking. But while Munro's men were tired and weakened from the long march, the Irish soldiers were rested. Munro's troops positioned themselves with the River Blackwater at their back, while O'Neill's men took up position on a small rise.
The battle began with Munro's artillery firing at the Irish position without causing much damage. The Scottish cavalry then attacked the Irish infantry , but were unable to break through the formation of the pikemen and musketeers. After this first unsuccessful Scottish attack, the Irish infantry advanced, driving their opponents towards the river. At this point the tiredness of Munro's army became evident; the retreat was haphazard and ultimately the secured formation collapsed. Shelling of muskets at close range followed by hand-to-hand combat with swords and scians (Irish knives with long blades) finally prompted the cavalry, and shortly thereafter the infantry, to flee quickly. The majority of the 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers killed on the run died - either by the enemy sword or by drowning. Only 300 Irish soldiers were killed.
Benburg wasn't the only field battle between 1641 and 1653 that a Confederate Irish army could win. O'Neill's army was very disciplined and well trained - unlike the Irish armies, which lost at Dungans Hill and Knocknauauss in 1647.
O'Neill's victory broke the Scottish urge to conquer Ireland. Although Scottish troops continued to be stationed around Carrickfergus, they did not pose any real threat to Irish troops until the end of the war.
literature
- GA Hayes McCoy: Irish Battles. A military history of Ireland. Appletree Press, Belfast 1990, ISBN 0-86281-250-X .
- Pádraig Lenihan: Confederate Catholics at War, 1641–49. Cork University Press, Cork et al. 2001, ISBN 1-85918-244-5 .