Hey,
So last night I finished up
Cavaliers and Roundheads: The English at War 1642-1649 by Christopher Hibbert. I picked this up from the Free Book Bin at my company. As the price on the bookstore sticker was in pounds, this came direct from Merrie Olde Englande itself, which lent it the air of pure authenticity. I picked it up because it's a popular wargaming period in many of the England-based wargaming blogs I follow so it seemed to be a good idea to get an overview.
So, the English Civil War. Here's the short version: Parliament squares off against the King. Parliament wins and the King gets executed.
The book makes you supremely grateful for the First Amendment, the separation of Church and State and the general secularization of modern society. Although the war did have roots in the power struggle between an elected parliament and a hereditary monarch, there was also at least as much struggle between Catholic (well, Anglican) and Protestant religions. There were brutal massacres of civilians on both sides and the destruction of churches based solely on whether or not you were of the wrong faith. Indeed, the Parliamentarians had a great deal of sectarian divide within their ranks as Puritans and Presbyterians and weird fringe religions all jostled against one another. Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army drew fire from all sides as it attempted to enlist soldiers regardless of their religion and provide leadership based on merit.
That New Model Army was also notable for the discipline that it maintained. Armies of both sides basically pillaged the areas they were quartered in. The NMA had it's share of problems, but Cromwell did his best to curtail pillaging and to make sure the soldiers were paid/fed/equipped on time and regularly. Although there were failures (and by the end of the war, the NMA was marching on London for back pay), it did a much better job that most of the other armies in the conflict.
It was clearly a case of survival of the least inadequate -- the NMA was only barely a "professional standing army", but it was just better enough than its opposition that it managed to crush the Royalist forces at Naseby and that pretty much marked the beginning of the end. King Charles was soon captured and from confinement attempted to rally some new forces, but the NMA managed to respond in time to put those down. Eventually, Parliament got tired of the King's stalling and executed him for treason.
Of course, Parliament discovered that being in charge wasn't as easy as it looked. Cromwell held the nation together as long as he could, but when he died, his son took over and was utterly ineffectual. Charles II returned from Scotland and was made King. So there's also a sobering reflection on the difficulty of maintaining a republican government.
The book was a bit on the dry side. There were lots of small actions happening all over England (probably one reason why it makes for good wargaming) and lots of personalities to consider. It is an overview, however, so it's wide range is appropriate even when you wish they might follow one or two people more exclusively. Certainly I can't say I didn't get what I was asking for.
later
Tom
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