Late 1509

As 1509 drew to a close following the Battle of the River Tees, the tensions between Norfolk and Prince Henry continued to rise. With proclamations between the Duke of Norfolk and Prince Henry preventing any peace settlement, several other nobles took advantage of the chaos. With the resumption of the Percy-Neville feud in Yorkshire, several other nobles resumed long-simmering feuds. Richard Grey and Thomas Grey, the Earl of Kent and Marquess of Dorset respectively, took advantage of the collapse of Norfolk’s authority. The Richard seized some border towns belonging to the Earldoms of Arundel and Surrey while Thomas seized the city of Exeter after Giles Daubeney, Earl of Devon answered Norfolk’s summons and sent his army and forces to London.

In the north, Prince Henry took advantage of Norfolk’s late mobilization to seize the rest of Northumbria and Yorkshire, eventually marching south and quartering his army in Sheffield. For the remainder of 1509 into the early months of 1510, large-scale fighting in England was halted as the dominant form of fighting turned into cross-border raids, aiming to harass troop raising and steal what supplies they could. This rhythm would continue until the end of the English Civil War in late-1515.

1510

The start of the campaigning season in England saw Henry’s forces split among Kent, Cornwall, and Northern England while Norfolk mustered his men in London. Being a central location, the action allowed Norfolk to ward off the Earl of Kent, protect his own domestic holdings in East Anglia and prevent Henry from advancing into the Midlands unopposed. Prince Henry, recognizing the strategic position of Norfolk started the campaign season a bit hesitant. Instead of marching directly on London, Henry would marshal his men across England and march slowly to the city of Nottingham where he would receive men from Devon and Kent. From there, he’d march to Bishop’s Lynn, positioning himself equally between Norfolk’s estates and London.

Norfolk, while aware of the threat posed by the Earl of Kent and Devon, saw Henry’s force march down towards London a much graver threat. Correctly assuming that the Earl of Kent would not be a big threat to London this year, Norfolk marched north, wanting to stop Henry’s advance and potentially conclude the civil war this year. This was not to come.

Battle of the Isle

Ely, known even today as “The Isle of Ely”, is the highest point in the Fens. To those unaware of the Fens, it is a bit of swampy land between Derby and East Anglia. Only reclaimed by an extensive system of dykes and land-reclamation programs starting in the seventeenth century, as of 1510 it is still a land of swamps and isles. Ely is one such isle. The resulting battle, is, to put it bluntly, a shitshow.

While Norfolk outnumbers Henry by roughly two thousand men and holds more cannons, cavalry, and mercenaries than Prince Henry. On paper, it would seem that Norfolk holds a decisive advantage over Prince Henry. However, as Prince Henry arrives in Ely, he is able to rest the day before the battle while the Duke of Norfolk only reaches the Isle of Ely at sunset. Unable to get a good night’s sleep, Norfolk’s men arrive on the battlefield tired and a little sore. With both men constrained by the swamp at the start of the battle, the Battle of Ely turns into an infantry brawl. Scores of levy forces clash against each other, but the narrow island prevents the infantry from doing much against each other. That is until some very smart individuals on both sides get the idea to try and outflank the other using the swamp. Yes, it's slow, but if it works and forces the enemy lines to collapse, their cavalry would actually have a chance of being used. However, as the sun beats down on both armies, fatigue and tiredness quickly take hold with the battle turning into a bloody disgrace for both sides. A little after noon, most fighting stops with an unofficial truce as both sides are equal in their resolve. Soon the sun sets and an army shamed in battle but still mostly intact, march south.

The rest of 1510 sees scant fighting as Prince Henry is generally confined in the Fens by the Duke of Norfolk who retires early to London, wanting to start the campaign season early in 1511. Believing that the city of Cambridge will hold out for the remainder of 1510, Norfolk ends the year planning the next year's offensive while also trying to deal with the Regency Council who are growing more and more impatient. This was not the quick victory they were hoping for from their “Lord Protector”. With Norfolk gone, Henry marches south to Cambridge, where a few bribes and loyalists in the city open the city gates to his army. Doing a small parade to celebrate, Henry quarters in Cambridge for the winter. The Battle of Ely might have been a victory for Henry, but it showed the inability of Norfolk or Henry to decisively beat each other. As such, developments elsewhere start to brew…

1511

As the winter of 1510-1511 draws to a close, the start spring of 1511 starts off interestingly. Evaluating the Battle of Ely last year, both sides realize that the Battle was decided more by the horrendous terrain as opposed to any strategic tactics. As such, Henry remains passive at the start of 1511, waiting for additional reinforcements from his southern allies in Cambridge. However, Norfolk, pressured by the Regency Council, Parliament, and some of his leading generals, takes solace in the fact that the terrain dictated his loss. As such, he makes the first move.

While Henry waits in Cambridge, Norfolk marches south to deal with the Earl of Kent before he can rendezvous with the Earl of Devon, and therefore Prince Henry. The Earl of Kent, as blessed as he was by God (98), did not have enough blessings thrown his way to ward off the Duke of Norfolk’s forces. Having given forces to Henry’s army in 1510, the Earl of Kent was forced on the defensive, and while he did put up a good fight, his wounding at the Battle of Crawley forces him and what remains of his men to depart. While the Earl of Kent lives to fight another day, Kent is occupied by Norfolk in short order. With the southern approaches to London secure and with his political opponents quiet for now, Norfolk takes a gamble, marching up to Peterborough and attempting to pen Henry in Cambridge where Henry will be sandwiched between the Fens and his army. Prince Henry, seeing the strategic implications of such a move, withdraws from his forward position, managing to arrive at Peterborough before Norfolk. As such, Prince Henry prepares his men to fight any attempt by Norfolk to cross the River Nene.

Norfolk, clearly seeing Henry ready to stop him on favorable terrain, does the sensible thing and elects to march southwest along the River Nenes and ford the river at the next river crossing. Prince Henry, seeing that Norfolk isn’t willing to play ball, moves along the northern bank of the River Nenes, blocking several fording spots on the River Nenes. However, a forced march by Norfolk after a successful distraction by his men further down the river allows the Duke to cross at Northampton and set up improvised. While his men work hard, they are not careful in their work. Coupled with a rainstorm the night before, the cannon emplacements of both sides come morning are pitiful, barely better than nature.

Battle of Northampton

Another hot fall day on the English Isles as Prince Henry and the Duke of Norfolk clash just north of the town. Prince Henry assumes a traditional battle formation with his core of infantry padded with levies in the front, with cavalry on both flanks. Norfolk on the other hand places his infantry against the River Nenes and places his cavalry squarely on his left flank. Among the cavalry is Sir Gruffydd ap Rhys, son of Rhys ap Thomas (aka Lord Glamorgan), who leads the Loyal Welsh Guards of the Crown. While not in the vanguard of the cavalry, Sir Rhys will be in the thick of the fighting.

The battle starts off with artillery fire from both sides with an explosion erupting from Norfolk’s rear as one of his light artillery, not well suited to its current battlement, discharged and explodes, destroying itself and killing the crew with shrapnel. Besides this explosion, the cannon fusillade on both sides fails to do much damage as Norfolk’s cavalry charges at Prince Henry’s left flank. A countercharge by Henry’s cavalry mitigates the threat of Norfolk’s cavalry but it is the soft mud that prevents much damage in the beginning clashes. Soon enough, archer volleys from both armies rain down on each other as a slight northerly wind blows, giving Norfolk a slight advantage which is overcome by brute force.

Soon enough, both infantry lines march toward each other, with the soft terrain proving little hindrance as both sides engage in a fierce melee, making up for the lackluster cavalry combat. However, as the fight drags on, Norfolk’s cavalry begins to push back and overwhelm Prince Henry’s left flank, eventually pushing the Prince’s cavalry beyond infantry support. Henry, unwilling to commit his remaining cavalry and watching as Norfolk’s men begin to push his infantry line back, dismisses a retreat out of hand before eventually succumbing to reality and calling a general retreat as Norfolk plays his cards right, preventing Henry from using his remaining cavalry to turn the tide. After calling his retreat, Henry’s reverse cavalry, not exhausted from fighting, manages to cover their retreat north to Lincoln while Norfolk slowly secures the River Nenes, resting in Northampton for the winter.

England in the aftermath of Northampton

1512

With the civil disturbance in England continuing with no clear end in sight, England’s neighbors take notice. Contingency plans by France are supported by Flemish merchants who share a common goal. As such, the estates of Flanders and France begin to slowly rally behind Edmund and Richard de la Pole, providing a small detachment of men to take Calais, and should they be successful, providing enough ships to ship the two claimants over to England to assert their claim via Richard III to the English throne. Provided they agree to relinquish Calais (to France) and move the staple port for wool and leather to a suitable Flemish port. With no other options considering French involvement in Italy and Imperial involvement against piracy, the de la Pole brothers reluctantly agree to terms.

Siege of Calais

Raising a banner of roughly 4,000 men on contract for one year, Edmund and Richard de la Pole are joined by Sir Robert Curzon who has been dispatched to assist the de la Poles in their effort. Robert Curzon, former commander of Hammes Castle, and military leader has ties to the area and while the Parliament of 1502 did increase the defenses of Calais, the military situation has remained more or less the same since then. However, with the start of the English Civil War, and the involvement of France and Austria elsewhere in Europe, Norfolk saw fit to reduce some of the garrisons in the winter of 1511 in order to bolster up his own army for a future campaign against Henry in early 1512. As such, the Pale of Calais was ripe for the taking.

As the de la Pole army marched into the Pale, most castles elected to surrender to the invading army, recognizing that fighting with the situation in England so dire was a bad idea. Within a week, all of the major fortifications in the Pale had surrendered with the exception of Calais itself. Manned by Sir Poynings, Calais elected to call de la Pole’s bluff by refusing them entry into the city. However, a few lucky cannon shots over the course of two weeks managed to cause a breach in the defenses. Unwilling to engage the de la Poles on their own terms, Sir Poynings gathered his loyal men, commandeered some of the ships in the harbor, and sailed north to warn the Regency Council and Norfolk of a brewing threat across the Channel…

With Calais secured and provided with enough boats for a one-way threat to the White Cliffs of Dover, de la Pole waited a few weeks for the western winds to dissipate before landing in Dover to a surprisingly friendly populace. From there, the de la Poles marched north, believing themselves to be the next William the Conquerors.

The Regency Council and Parliament, upon hearing that the de la Poles had not only successfully landed in England, but landed at the front of a powerful host (by English standards), were understandably freaked out by the whole affair. They were even more freaked out upon hearing that Prince Henry and the Duke of Norfolk were effectively in a staring contest in the Midlands of all places. Soon, panicked letters were sent to Norfolk, asking, pleading for him to do something. As the de la Poles secured Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, the Regency Council, loyal members of Parliament, and Queen Joana evacuated London, leaving it to its fate before settling in Reading. Future events would force them to evacuate Reading and move even further west to Oxford, before eventually settling in Gloucester by the year's end. With London open, the de la Poles marched into the capital, taking London and the City of London without much issue. With the resources afforded to them, the de la Poles quickly bolstered their army, expecting Norfolk or Henry to win in the north and march south to crush them.

Battle of Slo(ugh)

Norfolk, needing to respond to the sudden threat, marches towards the south, raiding the countryside behind him to delay Henry and give himself enough time to crush this Yorkist pretender. While his army is a little annoyed at not fighting Henry and is a little shaken by the fall of London to the de la Pole brothers, their journey south towards the River Thames is relatively uneventful as Norfolk reaches the city of Reading. From there, he marches along the northern bank of the River Thames where he is met by the de la Poles at the small village of Slo.

Outnumbering the de la Poles roughly three to two, Norfolk’s quantity is met by the de la Pole’s quality as the devastation of Kent and consistent troop raising deplenished the available manpower for levies, forcing the brothers to hire more expensive forces throughout the countryside. Unable to field much cavalry compared to Norfolk, Edmund takes control of the cavalry arm of the army while Richard takes control of the general army. As such, when the cannon fire roars, signaling the start of the battle, the outnumbered de la Pole cavalry manage to hold their own to start, but as the first volleys of arrows start to rain down guided by a northeastern win, the tide of battle suddenly changes.

While rumors conflict as to how Edmund de la Pole died during the battle, most can agree that he died fighting. As the cavalry continued to fight, it was clear to both sides that Norfolk’s cavalry carried the day as de la Pole’s cavalry routed, fleeing as far as they could from the battlefield (2). Assuming his brother was among the survivors, Richard called for a second volley, doing massive damage to Norfolk’s army as both armies begin clashing. In the first hour or so of fighting, Norfolk presses his advantage, doing heavy damage to Richard’s right flank and forcing Richard to cede some ground.

However, Richard’s men manage to avoid routing, digging in their heels before beginning to push back Norfolk’s men who manage to hold out for a few more minutes before beginning to rout en masse. Soon enough, Norfolk is forced to flee west, spending the rest of the year in Gloucester. With Norfolk defeated and fleeing west, several leading members of the English nobility take note of the rising power of Richard de la Pole and opportunistically defect including the Duke of Buckingham and John de Vere. With one of the members of the Regency Council defecting to Richard, the Regency Council begins to bicker while Richard secures control over most of the Midlands…

Another prominent nobleman, Lord Glamorgan, seeing his preferred candidate Norfolk decisively lose, elects to side with Prince Henry. In the middle of the night, the Loyal Welsh Guards of the Crown led by Sir Gruffydd ap Rhys follows his father and marches north to link up with Henry.

Aftermath of Slo

(Red is Norfolk, Pink is Henry, White is de la Pole)