Bosworth 1485: A Battle of Steel

By Mike Ingram

‘[An] important book to grace your bookshelves.’ – JoeAnn Ricca, Founder of the Richard III Foundation, Inc.

Bosworth Field saw the two great dynasties of the day clash on the battlefield: the reigning House of York, led by Richard III, against the rising House of Tudor, led by Henry Tudor, soon to become Henry VII.

On 22 August 1485 this penultimate battle in the Wars of the Roses was fought, with the might of the Yorkists ranged against Henry Tudor’s small army. In Bosworth 1485, historian Mike Ingram describes how they came to meet on the battlefield and how the tactics employed by Henry Tudor and his captains eventually led to the larger force’s defeat and the death of King Richard III.

Illustrated throughout and supplemented with maps and accessible timelines, this book explores the unfolding action and puts the reader on the front line of this crucial battle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Nov 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9780752478630

Mike Ingram

MIKE INGRAM was a military historian, lecturer and battlefield guide. He had a Masters degree in ‘Britain in World War Two’ from the University of Birmingham. He was a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides and the Battlefield Trust. He regularly lectured on the Wars of the Roses and consulted on a number of historical programmes.

Reviews for Bosworth 1485

[jcbrunner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The UK History Press' new pocket-sized Battle Story series recaps important, mostly British battles. It looks like the series has been designed for e-books. In hindsight, the e-book would have been both cheaper and the layout more suitable for e-books. The tiny 3 x 5 cm maps are, given their low contrast, as awkward to look at in printed format as they probably are in the e-book. As e-books currently do not handle maps with grace, I generally prefer to look at a print edition but this is not a distinguishing feature of the Battle Story series. Given the choice between an Osprey or a Battle Story title, I would currently pick the Osprey.The text offers a good account of the setup, the protagonists and the warfare of the period. The campaign and the battle are well told. This account already makes use of the 2010 revealed new location of the battlefield, which is to be described in Foard and Curry's long awaited upcoming definitive account of the battle. While previous accounts of the battle made it Richard's principal mistake to charge Henry Tudor, Ingram argues that the French pikes took Richard's forces in the flank and effectively decided the battle. Ingram also has the Stanley's set up their forces clearly on Henry's side (though only awaiting the decision among the kings).