Which is the bloodiest battle in English history?

Answer 1

The Battle of Towton (south west of York) 29th March 1461 which was part of the Wars of the Roses. The battle was between the Yorkist Edward IV of England and the Lancastrian forces led by the Duke of Somerset Henry Beaufort. The numbers are estimated at around 36,000 on the Yorkist side and 42,000 on the Lancastrians which itself would make it a huge battle for the period. The most quoted number for losses is 28,000 (8,000 Yorkists and 20,000 Lancastrians) which if true would be 1% of the total population of England at the time, in today's population it would be the equivalent of 500,000 in a single day. The high number of casualties has been attributed to a number of factors including the confined space the battle was fought in and the orders not to give any quarter by both sides. Limited routes of retreat and bridges collapsing under the strain of the numbers left the retreating Lancastrians at the mercy of the Yorkists. The Lancastrians started the battle in a good position. A larger force holding the high ground with good fields of fire for the archers and protected on the right flank by a river. However the weather favoured the Yorkists blowing into the faces of the Lancastrians giving the Yorkist archers a longer range and when the snow started it blew straight into Somerset's forces faces blinding them. The Yorkist advanced several times loosing volleys of arrows into the enemy ranks carried by the wind before withdrawing. The Lancastrians misjudged the return distance and fired short without effect, the Yorkists gathering up the arrows as spare ammunition. Lancastrian men at arms advanced surrendering the high ground rather than endure any more volleys. Vicious hand to hand fighting ensued lasting without advantage to one side or the other until Yorkist reinforcement's arrived overwhelming the Lancastrian left flank. Eventually the Lancastrians broke and the river which had protected their flank was now a trap as they tried to flee. The bottle neck the bridges formed trapped them and the slaughter got worse as bridges collapsed under the weight of those fleeing, drowning many in the freezing waters. Many were said to have crossed by literally walking across the bodies of their comrades, more were supposed to have died in the rout than the battle itself. Britain By contrast the last battle fought on British soil (with firearms so the potential losses should be high) at Culloden in 1746 numbered less than 10,000 on either side with casualties of up to 2,000. The Battle of Somme (France) by comparison during World War 1 had 1.5 million casualties over 4 months, the British Army losing 20,000 dead on day one.