British Battles Trivia

1. Which was the last battle where a British monarch led his/her troops into battle?

From Quiz British Battles

Answer: Dettingen

Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, the Battle of Dettingen (1743) saw King George II lead the British forces (in alliance with Hanover and Austria) to victory against the French.

From Quiz Battles on British Soil

Answer: Fulford

The Battle of Fulford took place on September 20th, 1066. It was this battle, between invading Norse and forces loyal to King Harold, which forced Harold to march north to Yorkshire. The invaders, under Harald Hardrada, set up camp at Riccall and marched towards York. The opposing armies met at Fulford and the Norsemen, aided by Tostig, the exiled brother of King Harold, were victorious. Five days later Harold and his army arrived and defeated the invaders at Stamford Bridge.

From Quiz Anglo-Scottish battles

Answer: Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland.

In November 1093, Malcolm Canmore led an army into Northumbria and began to besiege Alnwick. Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria did not have a sufficient force at his command to oppose the Scottish army in open battle but did set out to try and relieve Alnwick. Mowbray arrived there with his forces and caught the Scottish army by surprise. The English knights attacked and both Malcolm and his son Edward were killed. Alnwick was unlucky for Scottish monarchs. On 12 July 1174, William I of Scotland, known as William the Lion, was captured by a small English force led by Ranulf de Glanvill. Henry II was occupied in fighting against his sons, so William saw his opportunity and invaded Northumbria in 1173 and again in 1174. In the second invasion William had an army that included a contingent of Flemish mercenaries and was said to have numbered eighty thousand men, but this is almost certainly an exaggeration. He attacked Prudhoe Castle but after a siege of three days William moved north to besiege Alnwick. William divided his army into three columns and one of these, under the command of Duncan, Earl of Fife, attacked Warkworth and set fire to the church with a large number of refugees inside. William blundered and allowed his army to spread out. On the night of 11th July, a party of about four hundred mounted knights, led by Ranulf de Glanvill, set out from Newcastle. They reached Alnwick shortly after dawn after becoming lost in heavy fog. There they found William's encampment with the Scottish king only protected by a bodyguard of perhaps sixty fighting men. The English force charged; the fighting did not last long. William's horse was killed beneath him and he was captured. Those of his followers who had not been killed surrendered. The Scots were leaderless and wandered back to Scotland.

From Quiz Anglo-Saxon History for Dummies

Answer: The rich land

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the uncertain years after the Roman withdrawal, when the Britons searched in vain for help against their enemies. In 449 A.D., the chronicle states: "Then came the men from three powers of Germany; the Old Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes". These men apparently migrated to Britain because they had heard of the "worthlessness of the Britons, and the richness of the land".

From Quiz The Battle of Bosworth Field

Answer: The Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses was a dynastic struggle between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Each family had a rose as part of their crest. The white rose was for York, and the red rose was Lancaster.

From Quiz Kings and Battles

Answer: Henry II

Henry II brought the three lions symbol to England. His mother Matilda used her power and influence to help him become king. She had previously disputed her brother Stephen's claim to the throne, causing civil war. Stephen and Matilda were cousins.

From Quiz Battles of Britain

Answer: Richard III

It was said that Richard's crown was found hanging from the branches of a hawthorn bush and presented to the victor, Henry Tudor.

From Quiz Why just TEN sixty-six?

Answer: Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket had been Lord Chancellor before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. After disagreements with Henry II and a period of exile in France, he returned in 1170 but was then murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by the king's supporters.

From Quiz British Battles

Answer: Imjin River

The Glosters lost approximately 600 men (of a strength of about 750) and succeeded in slowing down the Chinese advance for three days; long enough for the UN forces to realign and prevent the capture of Seoul. During the battle Drum Major Buss was ordered to play "any call except retreat" to confuse the Chinese, who were using trumpets to co-ordinate their attacks.

From Quiz Battles on British Soil

Answer: South Glamorgan

Stalling Down is a few miles to the east of the market town of Cowbridge. There is some dispute as to the details of the battle. Some historians say it took place in 1403. There are also questions as to whether a certain Owain Glyndwr (Glendower) was present. Whenever the battle took place it was a massive defeat for the English forces led by King Henry IV.

From Quiz Anglo-Scottish battles

Answer: First and third English victories, second successful Scottish Defence.

The first battle on April 27 1296 (also known as Spottsmuir) was the only one in the campaign by King Edward I of England to punish John Balliol for his refusal to support English military action in France. Edward sent one of his chief lieutenants, John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey (Balliol's father-in-law) with a strong force of knights to besiege the Earl of March's castle at Dunbar. March was with the English, but his wife, Marjory Comyn, sister of the Earl of Buchan, did not agree with her husband and allowed the Scots to occupy the castle. All the combatants seem to have been mounted. The Scots occupied a strong position; the English advanced and were disordered by crossing a gully. This provoked the Scots to charge but the English reformed and routed them. According to once source the forces were probably in the 100s and casualties were not heavy but another source says the Scots lost 10000. During this campaign Robert the Bruce was fighting for the English. The second action was from 13 January 1338 to 10 June 1338. Dunbar was successfully defended by Agnes Randolph, 4th Countess of Moray (c.1312-1369) known as Black Agnes because of her olive skin complexion. She was the spouse of Patrick, 9th Earl of Dunbar and March and daughter of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray. The English commander was William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, one of the best generals of the time. Salisbury began with a bombardment by catapults, which sent huge rocks against the castle ramparts. Lady Agnes responded by having her maids dress in their Sunday best and dust the battle damage away with their handkerchiefs. Upon the next assault with a battering ram, she dropped a huge boulder captured from an earlier English attack which smashed the ram. At one point the English captured her brother John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and paraded him in front of the castle with a rope round his neck, and threatened to hang him if she did not surrender. She told them to go ahead, since this would make her the proprietor of the Earldom of Moray. John survived this piece of brinkmanship. The third battle (on 3rd September 1650) was described as Cromwell's greatest victory. He had defeated a Scottish invasion of England in 1648. The Scots had played a significant part in battles in England such as Marston Moor (although at that time they were on the same side as Cromwell). His 12,000 men defeated David Leslies 22,000 (or 14,000 English and 27,000 Scots according to another source) but Cromwell had the advantage that the Kirk controlled the army and promotion was based on religion rather than military merit. The Scots lost 3,000 casualties and 1,0000 prisoners.

From Quiz The Battle of Bosworth Field

Answer: August 22, 1485

1455 was the year of the first battle of the war. This took place at St Albans. There was a second Battle of St Albans six years later. March 1461 saw the Battle of Towton, just a month after St Albans. April 14th 1471 was the Battle of Barnet and saw the death of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick aka 'The Kingmaker'.

From Quiz Kings and Battles

Answer: Hastings and Stamford Bridge

Stamford Bridge was a matter of days before Hastings. Harold Godwinson had beaten the Viking king Harald Hardrada. This situation where there were three potential successors arose because the previous king, Edward the Confessor left no heir. In those times there were no rules of succession to cover such an occurrence.

From Quiz Battles of Britain

Answer: Hastings

The English lost but had just come from beating the Vikings at Stamford Bridge ten days before.

From Quiz Why just TEN sixty-six?

Answer: Duns Scotus

John Duns, known as "Duns Scotus", was a major philosopher and theologian in the Middle Ages. He spent time in Oxford and Paris, and died in Cologne in 1308.

From Quiz British Battles

Answer: The Falklands War

The ARA General Belgrano was sunk by HMS Conqueror in 1982. Previously the ship had served in the US Navy during World War II.

From Quiz Battles on British Soil

Answer: Flodden

Flodden, or Flodden Field, was the last great battle between England and Scotland with over 60,000 men taking the field. Henry VIII had taken an army to France and James IV of Scotland, as an ally of the French, decided to march into England in a bid to force Henry to come back. The English forces, under the Earl of Surrey, were armed with longbows and the Scots with long pikes, a recent acquisition from the French. The pike is not a good weapon against infantry and the Scots were cut to ribbons. King James and many of his nobles lost their lives at Flodden, and this ended the last serious Scottish threat to England for several decades.

From Quiz Anglo-Saxon History for Dummies

Answer: Treatises on gender equality

The Anglo-Saxon canon of literature combines an intriguing mixture of paganism and Christianity, often seamlessly intertwined. The Anglo-Saxons brought with them an ancient oral tradition, a few examples of which were recorded for posterity by monks and other literate men. The great epic poems include "Beowulf" and "Widsith". They also left behind manuscripts, ecclesiastical works, sermons, prose, riddles, and biographies. Alas, they were not much concerned with gender equality, as they held the belief that men and women were born with distinct and different roles.

From Quiz The Battle of Bosworth Field

Answer: Henry VII

Henry VII was born Henry Tudor in 1457 at Pembroke Castle. Henry VI was on the throne at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Richard III was, of course, the vanquished King at Bosworth Field. Edward was his brother, and father of the Princes in the Tower.

From Quiz Kings and Battles

Answer: 1314

The English were defeated by the Scots. This is usually attributed, in part, to the incompetence of Edward II. It is also attributable to the comparatively strong leadership of Robert the Bruce. The Scots were ultimately on to a loser, as Edward's successor Edward III proved to be a much better leader.

From Quiz Battles of Britain

Answer: Robert Bruce

Legend tells us that Robert gained inspiration to persevere with his fight against the English from watching a spider try over and over again to build a web.

From Quiz Why just TEN sixty-six?

Answer: Hundred Years' War

The "Hundred Years' War" was a series of wars between England and France. It actually lasted 116 years from 1337 to 1453. There was a period of relative peace around 1366.

From Quiz British Battles

Answer: El Alamein

The First Battle of El Alamein saw the Allies stall the Axis advance before the decisive Allied victory of the second battle in 1942.

From Quiz Battles on British Soil

Answer: St Albans

St Albans saw two battles during the conflict between the Houses of York and Lancaster, the second battle taking place in 1461. In 1455 Richard of York led an army of around 3,000 men towards London. The Lancastrian King Henry VI mustered his army and started to move north. The opposing forces met at St Albans. The battle was a relatively minor affair with only a small number of casualties. The result was a victory for the Yorkists.

From Quiz Anglo-Scottish battles

Answer: Northumberland (England).

It was fought on 9 September 1513 and was a crushing English victory over the Scots. To honour his alliance with France and divert troops James IV of Scotland crossed the border (22 August 1513) with an army of about 30,000. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey gathered an army of about 20,000 to oppose him. Surrey issued a challenge to James, who agreed to wait until September 9 to fight. The battle began in the late afternoon. English longbows and 2.5-metre bills (a combination of spear, a hook and a blade developed from a farm tool) proved superior to the Scottish 4.5-metre pike. By nightfall James was dead, together with at least 10,000 of his subjects, including many VIPs.

From Quiz Anglo-Saxon History for Dummies

Answer: The revival of culture and learning

Alfred the Great was very interested in education, culture, and the fine arts. He translated many texts into the vernacular. A major example of this was his rendering of "The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius". Additionally, he invited scholars to his court, promoting a love for learning and wisdom.

From Quiz Kings and Battles

Answer: January 30th 1649

It was a cold day. Charles wore two shirts because if he shivered it might look as though he were afraid. Oliver Cromwell became Britain's leader following the death of Charles.

From Quiz Battles of Britain

Answer: Charles Edward Stuart

Culloden was one of the last battles fought on British soil. Whitehaven 1778 and Fishguard 1797 both came after Culloden.

From Quiz Why just TEN sixty-six?

Answer: Wars of the Roses

The "Wars of the Roses" was a series of wars for the English throne between the Houses of Lancaster and York running from 1455 to 1485. The name was based on the heraldic white rose of Lancaster and red rose of York.

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