Battle of Winceby

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The Battle of Winceby was an English Civil War battle that took place on October 11, 1643 near the village of Winceby , Lincolnshire , about six kilometers east of Horncastle .

prehistory

During the summer of 1643 the royalists planned to march on London to end the war. It was necessary, first of all the parliamentary forces in Kingston upon Hull and Plymouth to defeat, as these two garrisons might otherwise drop the London invading troops in the back.

While the two cities were besieged, King Charles I used the time to put an end to the siege of Gloucester , a fortress of the parliamentary troops . On September 5, a parliamentary army also appeared at Gloucester, which faced royal troops at the First Battle of Newbury . Although the battle ended in a draw, it can be seen as a strategic victory for the parliamentary troops as the likelihood of an attack by royal troops on London decreased.

In the meantime the second siege of Hull by parliamentary troops had begun. The troops of the so-called "Eastern Association" under the Earl of Manchester marched into the county of Lincolnshire . While the infantry was besieging King's Lynn (which surrendered on September 16), the cavalry rode into the northern part of the county to aid Lord Fairfax . However, the parliamentary troops were able to keep the sea supply routes free.

On September 18, part of the cavalry from Hull was ferried over to Barton . The remainder were transported by sea to Saltfleet a few days later under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax , where they joined Oliver Cromwell at Spilsby . In return, Lord Fairfax, who had remained in Hull, received infantry reinforcements, ammunition and supplies from the Eastern Association. On October 9, parliamentary troops from the Earl of Manchester began to besiege Bolingbroke Castle .

The battle

On October 9th, Sir John Henderson , the governor of Newark-on-Trent , began to depose the Bolingbroke garrison. His troops consisted of 1,500 cavalry , some dragoons and infantry . After a fierce battle, they took Horncastle, which was defended by a small detachment of Fairfax's soldiers. The fleeing soldiers reported to the main army that the royal troops would march on them. Manchester then assembled its army on Kirby Hill above Bolingbroke. All he had left behind for the siege was a small number of soldiers to prevent the Bolingbroke garrison from making a sortie. Sometime between noon and 2 p.m. he ordered his troops to advance to Horncastle. Parliament's cavalry, which had rushed ahead of the infantry, met the royal troops at Winceby.

The battlefield was not ideal as it sloped to one side and was deeply trenched on one side. The two troops were roughly the same size and composition, since the infantry was not present in either of them. The battle lasted about half an hour. Cromwell feigned retreat, luring the royal troops out of their good defensive position into the plain. Cromwell sent a small number of soldiers ahead so that the royal troops fired their weapons at them. Cromwell immediately began to attack with his main force, hoping that the defenders could not reload fast enough. However, the King's dismounted Dragoons managed to fire a second volley, which hit several of Cromwell's Ironsides . Cromwell's horse was hit too and he couldn't take the lead again until he got a new horse. The royal cavalry under William Saville began a counterattack against Cromwell's right flank. At the same time, they were attacked in the flank by Fairfax's riders. In the scuffle that followed, the royal cavalry quickly fell into disarray and Saville's riders fled. Although the royal riders fought more successfully on the other wing, their commanding officer Henderson had to withdraw anyway to prevent encirclement. Cromwell immediately launched a flank attack which led to a desperate escape of the Royal troops towards Newark.

In Horncastle at a place called "Slash Hollow" a number of loyal soldiers were killed and captured because they were defending their backs to a churchyard gate that could only be opened in their direction but pressed against it as they escaped. Throughout the day until dusk, parliamentary troops pursued dispersed enemies until they were recalled from Manchester.

The royal troops lost about 300 men, the parliamentary troops 20. They also had 60 wounded. On the same day, Newcastle's army at Hull, already weakened by the long and strenuous siege, was attacked by the garrison. They were beaten so badly that the siege ended the next day.

After the battle

Manchester left Bolingbroke Castle during the siege and retook Lincoln and Gainsborough . When the Bolingbroke Castle garrison saw no hope of help, they capitulated on November 14th. Lincolnshire , which had previously been under the control of the loyal Earl of Newcastle, came completely under the control of the Eastern Association.

Individual evidence

This article was translated from the English Wikipedia and contains text passages from the Encyclopedia Britannica , 11th edition (article: The Great Rebellion), which is declared in the public domain.

Web links

Maps and aerial photos of the battle could be found at

Further sources for maps and aerial photos are available at

Coordinates: 53 ° 12 ′ 6 ″  N , 0 ° 1 ′ 54 ″  W.