Battle of Marston Moor

Overview

The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Marston Moor, fought on 2 July 1644 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, saw a combined force of English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester, together with Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven, defeat the Royalist army commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle. The Royalists suffered approximately 4,000 casualties — a substantial loss given their total force of 17,500 against the allied strength of 24,500. The engagement involved a broad coalition of Parliamentary and Scottish commanders, including Oliver Cromwell, Sir Thomas Fairfax, David Leslie, and William Baillie on the winning side, and a correspondingly large Royalist command structure under Prince Rupert, Newcastle, Lord Goring, Baron Byron, Charles Lucas, and Lord Eythin. The scale of the defeat and the breadth of the allied command reflected the strategic importance of the northern theater within the wider English Civil War.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (13)