Siege of Rochester in 1215 The siege of Rochester was a significant moment in the medieval period. In this essay I explore the decisions and policies by John that led up to one of the most dramatic periods in early medieval history and earned him the reputation of a bad, unlucky and cruel King. John became King in 1199, he owned nearly as much land in France than he did in England. But unfortunately for John he lost lots of this French territory, including Normandy. Richard the Lion heart was the main reason for this loss. Richard was king before John and had made his nobles in France very angry because he took so much of their money to finance the wars in France and the crusades and they were angry about being ruled by an English monarch. Most of these nobles thought Arthur of Brittany were the man for the job. Most of the people in France weren't happy that John was their new King and went to war against him. At first this went well for John and captured many of his enemies, including Arthur of Brittany. After the death of Arthur of Brittany, the war started to go badly for John and in 1204 he was forced to retreat back to England. Just like his father, Henry II John didn't get along with the church leaders and argued about how much power the King had over the church. It was unfortunate for John at the time that the Pope was strong-minded and thought that Kings should do as he told them. When the death of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury arose, King John and the Pope argued about who should get the job next. After three years of arguing between themselves the Pope decided to take action and in 1208 he ordered all the clergymen in England to stop work. From 1208 to 1213 there were no churches working in the whole of England, and to make it worse at this time as religion was played a very important part in society.
Revolutionary War: The Battles of Lexington and Concord The battles of Lexington and Concord were neccessary battles to the American Revolutionary War because they started the very thing that made our country free. Many people have always wondered how the historic American Revolutionary War got started. Sure, they have heard the stories of Paul Revere and the Midnight Ride: There was even a poem written about his ride, but Paul Revere didn’t start the war.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred on 19 April 1775 between the British Regulars and the Patriot Militia, also known today as Americans, in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. “The Battles of Lexington and Concord is often referred to as the “Shot Heard Around the World” and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War” (Fischer, 1994). The Battles of Lexington and Concord consisted of in four events: the skirmish in Lexington between the British Regulars and the Lexington Training Band, the search and seizure of arms, munitions and military stores in Concord, the battles between the Regulars and the militias during the march of the Regulars back to Boston and the surrounding of Boston by the American militias. The overall mission is that the British Regulars went into these towns to collect and destroy the American military supplies, while the Americans were trying to maintain their arms and their way of life which would evolve to their independence from the crown of England. This lead up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord was truly the kick off point of the utilization of intelligence collection/dissemination and intelligence operations for the Americans. The British Regulars employed a very strict intelligence collection in the preparation of the battlefield for their operations. The Americans established an “amoeba like” form of intelligence collection with the collective goal being their independence. Unfortunately on both sides of the coin, the lack of operational security provided both parties with an operational view of how each party was conducting business.
“Arracourt was the greatest tank battle of the war on the Allied Front.” This is how US Major General John S. Wood described the Battle of Arracourt, which took place in the last weeks of September 1944 in Northern France. The Allied Forces had landed in Normandy in June 1944, and by the summer had broken out of their beachhead. This started the great pursuit of the German forces across northern France towards the German border. By early fall of 1944, General George S. Patton’s Third Army had raced across France faster than anyone had envisioned and was in place to cross the Moselle River in the Lorraine area. Here his forces would face supply issues due to their speed of advance, increasing resistance from prepared German forces, and increasingly difficult weather. Patton’s first obstacle was the Moselle River and the fortress city of Metz. After crossing the Moselle with most of the Third Army by mid September, the US Third Army’s armored units were engaged in the largest tank battles of the Western Front at Arracourt. The next phase of the campaign was to reorganize and train. In early November, the Third Army attacked again and was able to capture Metz by late November, and reached the Sarre River and the West Wall. During the long Lorraine Campaign in late 1944, the US Third Army armored units were able to overcome stiff enemy resistance, superior quality vehicles, hard terrain, and difficult weather with the use of superior tactics, doctrine and leadership.
The American Revolution was a tough time for America and the people who fought it. Many wars were fought and many people died, but throughout the whole events moments of inspiration were evident. One such time was in the Battle of Lexington which took place on April 19th, 1775 and one such poem the truly reflects it is called The Battle of Lexington which was written by Sidney Lanier. The poem reflects the thoughts of this man and Paul Revere during this time.
As Joan is in no condition to fight they make her retreat the battle to tend to her wounds. The French seeing Joan’s commitment to winning this battle, they fight even harder until they eventually siege Orleans. After the Siege of Orleans, Joan gets orders to escort Charles VII to Reims. Reims is the place where French King are crowned ruler of France. Escorting Charles VII to Reims multiple enemies ambush them trying to kill Charles, Joan, and her army defends them getting Charles as safe as possible to their destination. Charles gets crowned and becomes King Charles VII of England. When Charles was crowned king he saw this as an opportunity to continue the war. King Charles instructed many battles which the French won and lost. Throughout this, around 1430 was a battle called the Siege of Compiegne in which Joan was captured by the English about to lead to her
On October 9, 1781, General George Washington surrounded General Lord Charles Cornwallis at the Virginia port city of Yorktown with 8,500 American soldiers and around 10,000 French soldiers. The bruised up British army contained only around 8,000 soldiers. The Siege of Yorktown lasted eight days, and Cornwallis had to surrender to American forces. The British loss crushed their southern army and forced them to give up on the war. The surrender of Yorktown could easily be one of the greatest moments in American history. Not only did the surrender signal the end of the war, but it also signaled that independence had been won by the colonies. No longer would the colonies have to answer to Great Britain and the tyrants that ruled it.
1066: The Year of the Conquest, written by David Howarth, tells of one of the most important dates in the history of England. In 1066, William the Conqueror and William of Orange fought the historical Battle of Hastings. The outcome of this battle lead to many changes to the English people. The Norman people became assimilated into the English way of life. Howarth proceeds to tell the tale of the Battle of Hastings through the eyes on a common Englishman.
The battle of Winchester is actually three different battles for the same place, but at different times. Each fight was important for different reasons but all of them happened near or at Winchester. The first battle happened on May 25th, 1862. The second battle was on June 13th, 1863, and lasted two days. The third and final battle happened on September 19th, 1864. These battles were interesting because there was three of them.
This film is about the Battle of Britain during World War II. It happened in 1940. This movie was made 29 years later in 1969. The Nazis tried to invade Britain. The Royal Air Force of Britain fought a grave battle against the Nazis to prevent the invasion. Most of the fighting was in the air. There were lots of fighting scenes between the German planes and the RAF and their allies.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered as one of the greatest minds in military history. His revolutionary approach to warfare changed the course of history and the principles which governed his style of leadership are still valued today. Although he had an illustrious career of over 25 years and expanded the French Empire from Portugal to Russia, his reign came to end at the hands' of his enemies. The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon's last stand as a military commander and will be examined for his use of the principles of the operations process. Napoleon failed to implement these activities effectively and is ultimately responsible for the loss of the battle. Napoleon was able to lead his men, but was unable to overcome his failures. He failed to understand the operational environment which affected his subordinates ability share an understanding of the environment. He failed to direct his forces and functions which lead to the loss of initiative and lacked in violence of action. Finally, Napoleon failed to assess the battle continuously and accurately which kept him from adapting when necessary. After a hard fought battle at Waterloo, Napoleon was defeated.
As the cold hand of death swept over the remnants of France, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, orated on the imminent battle that would rage over his homeland and the foreboding struggle for survival that was now facing Britain:
The film “Ironclad” is a theatrical reenactment of the Siege of Rochester in the year 1215. It is hard to judge how historically accurate the film is, due to unrecorded or missing pieces in history. Yet, the film certainly adds its own flare to the event. Perhaps the most major inconsistency with history, is the size of the army holding the castle. In the film, Rochester Castle is held by less than 20 men. The actual number of soldiers is lost to history, but most historians and chroniclers agree it was somewhere near 100 knights, and a smaller force of men-at-arms (Purton). The background of the defenders is also quite skewed. The main protagonist, is a Knights Templar, an order which actually backed King John during that time.(Tunzelmann) The film goes on to show the defenders as old friends who join at the scent of money, and even a prisoner who is payed to be released. The remaining forces are depicted as local defenders of the castle, with no notable background. From what can be gathered, Rochester was actually held by many knights, loyal to the Baron’s cause, rather than friendly
For people in England , there was always the real problem - do you obey the king or the pope ? In fact, this was rarely a problem as both kings and popes tended to act together as both wanted to remain powerful. On two occasions they fell out - one involved the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, and the other Henry VIII.
On the 14th of May 1264, the forces of Simon de Montfort, Gloucester and the Londoners were set arrayed against the loyalist forces of King Henry III, Richard of Cornwall and Prince Edward (later to become King Edward I). The loyalists suffered a massive defeat at this Battle of Lewes and among those captured, aside from Richard of Cornwall and perhaps the King (Prestwich indicates the unsure nature of the King's capture 46), were the northern barons (Scottish lords) of Balliol, Bruce and Comyn. (Jenks 132) Prince Edward also became a hostage as part of an exchange after the battle. These same men who fought together and were held captive by the de Montforts would war against each other thirty years later. King Edward I (whom will be referred to as Edward) was not set on instigating a war against Scotland, nor were any of these Scottish lords interested in battling against such a formidable opponent as England. So why did war occur if none of these men were initially motivated for war? A series of unfortunate, but potent events led to the chrysalis of war, which was then allowed to grow and fully develop into a war by the specific actions of individuals. This essay will attempt to draw attention to many of the events which gave rise to war and investigate the complex nature of the individuals who in the end caused war through their acts (intentional and non-intentional).
...historical background set forth in the film, with the broad details of the attempted rebellion propelled by Queen Eleanor and led by Richard and Geoffrey are accurate, as is the attempt by Philip of France to undermine the Angevin Empire to regain the provinces acquired by Henry through his marriage to Eleanor. As depicted in the film, the indecision, faced by Henry II in attempting to determine which son to name as successor resulted from his desire to have the empire that he had created remain intact, rather than dividing the empire between his sons and this, in turn, led to the fracturing of both family and political cohesion, leaving the empire vulnerable to outside forces. Both Richard and John eventually ruled the empire, supported and influenced by their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was released from her Salisbury prison upon the death of King Henry II.