What were the English Civil War tactics?

Answer 1

The English tactics thought and planned very well when going out to war and ended up winning the war between them and Spain and when the Spanish didn't win then 10% of the army were slaughtered.

If you want a good overview of the tactics in use in the English Civil W, as well as the background to their development I recommend a book by Keith Roberts called Cromwell's War Machine published in (I think) 2005. In brief the tactics had developed from the experience of English officers who had served in Western Europe during the Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648). There were three main tactical doctrines which Roberts describes as being Dutch, Swedish or German (itself a hybrid of the first two). All styles tended to form an army with two flanks of Cavalry and an Infantry centre.

In all styles the idea was that your cavalry breaks the enemy cavalry and drives them off the battlefield while your infantry advances to contact in the centre. This stops their Infantry supporting their cavalry. By the time the infantry fight is well underway your cavalry should be able to turn from pursuing the enemy horse and attack the flanks and rear of the enemy infantry. That's the bit the Royalists often had problems with.

Dutch tactics were more defensively minded, Swedish more aggressive. Dutch called for Infantry units to be in 8 to 10 ranks Swedish in 6. Dutch tactics aimed to have three lines of Infantry units, Swedish only two. In the early part of the war Parliament used Dutch tactics as they felt that they were more suited to the newly recruited raw forces available. as Swedish tactics and formations relied on having experienced troops. By 1645 both sides were using more aggressive tactics more akin to Swedish or German tactics.

This is a big question to cover and there is a lot more that needs to be understood than I can give in a brief note, especially on the fine details of methods of firing muskets and engaging with cavalry, or the way the various units supported each other. If you want more information I really do suggest Keith Robert's book as a must read.