When Kings Made War Trivia Quiz

Answer: Battle of Hastings, 1066

The Battle of Hastings was a defining moment in English history.

In the space of a few hours, the entire Saxon way of life set to change and England became a Norman conquest.

Harold had been king for just nine months when his forces faced those of Duke William of Normandy on October 14th, 1066.

William's invasion began two weeks before when his forces landed farther along the coast. Harold's men made a forced march from Yorkshire, where they had defeated the army of Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, on 25th September.

Sources vary, but recent analysis places the strength of each army at between 3,000 and 5,000 men.

The English were in a strong defensive position on a hillside and repulsed several attacks by the strong force of heavy cavalry the Normans had brought. However, the Normans were rested, and better trained. After nine hours of bloody fighting, as evening fell, the Normans made another attack and in this Harold was killed. His leaderless army crumbled.

Did he die with an arrow in his eye as the Bayeux Tapestry portrays? Probably not. Contemporary reports indicate he was hacked to death by Norman knights.

Answer: Battle of the Yser, 1914

Belgium was a recognised neutral country prior to World War One. When Germany sought to invade France through Belgian territory, King Albert refused to let them pass unopposed.

Albert took personal command of his troops and directed the stand that prevented Germany seizing the key channel ports of Dunkirk and Calais in the first weeks of the Great War.

At the Battle of the Yser between October 6th and 13th, 1914, a Belgian force supported by French reserves halted the German advance and prevented the total occupation of Belgium. Far from giving directions from the rear, Albert stayed close to the fighting with his operational commanders.

During the battle, the Belgians used the terrain to their advantage. Fighting behind minor streams, they opened sluice gates that inundated large areas of land and literally bogged down the German advance.

The invasion of Belgium brought Britain into the war.

Answer: Battle of the Three Kings, 1578

Sebastian was born in 1554 two weeks after the death of his father. His mother served as regent until Sebastian assumed the throne at the age of 14.

Sebastian was a reforming monarch and was greatly admired by his people. In 1576 he joined in a succession struggle in Morocco, and also in a bid to impose Christianity on Muslim Morocco.

Along with with deposed Moroccan sultan al-Mutawakkil, Sebastian had a force of 20,000 men. They encountered an army of 50,000 commanded by the sultan of Morocco, Abd al-Malik.

The Muslim forces forced the Portuguese and their allies to retreat and many - including Sebastian and al-Mutawakkil - drowned crossing the Wadi al-Makhāzin. Abd al-Malik died the next morning.

Answer: Battle of Mühldorf, 1322

Born in 1296, John was raised in Paris. At the age of 14 he was married to Elisabeth, the sister of the deceased King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia.

John readily got involved in foreign affairs and fought battles throughout large areas of continental Europe. He lost his sight in battle in Lithuania in 1336 - thereafter being known as "John The Blind".

The Battle of Mühldorf, also known as the Battle of Ampfing, was fought in September 1322. The belligerents were Austria and the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria.

The Bavarians were led by Louis of Wittelsbach, of whom John of Bavaria was an ally. Louis' forces outnumbered the Austrians and prevailed in battle.

After the outbreak of the 'Hundred Years War' between England and France, John was an ally of King Phillip IV of France. Despite his blindness, at the Battle of Crecy King John fought on horseback and is said to have killed several of the enemy, before he was overwhelmed.

(This brief outline does not do justice to a warrior king who was involved in so many intrigues and battles during a period of considerable flux in Europe.)

Answer: Battle of Crecy, 1346

I wonder did Edward spot King John of Bohemia when both fought at the Battle of Crecy? Edward, of course, was on the winning side.

Edward was a warrior king. As well as Crecy, he fought at the Battle of Neville's Cross, where he defeated and captured King David II of Scotland; took Calais from the French and engaged in numerous battles during the Hundred Years' War.

Edward landed his army in Normandy on July 12th, 1346. His force of about 14,000 marched inland. On August 25th, they joined battle with Philip's force of about 12,000.

The key difference between the two armies was to be Edward's force of 10,000 archers. In a few short hours, the fast-shooting longbowmen annihilated the French knights and their Genoese crossbow mercenaries. About a third of the French army were killed, including some 1,500 knights.

In September 1346 Edward laid siege to the French port of Calais. The siege continued until its surrender in August 1347.

While England was to capture huge portions of France, ultimately Calais was to be the last territory they relinquished, although that did not come until January 1558.

Answer: Battle of Agincourt, 1415

Henry succeeded his father Henry IV in 1412.

At that time, the Hundred Years War was ongoing - from 1347.

The war had seen some fits and starts, often because the French kings never had any money and the English kings periodically ran out.

In 1415, with his war purse replenished, Henry headed for France again. On October 25th, his army met up with that of the French at Agincourt.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Agincourt, on October 25, 1415, was a decisive battle in the Hundred Years War.

It came soon after a resumption of hostilities when an English army, thought to number about 6,000, encountered a larger French force. Some historians out the French numerical advantage at 5:1, others at 2:1.

Despite this, Henry acquired a favourable defensive position that required the French to attack across difficult terrain. Waiting for them were ranks of archers who whittled down French knights forced to advance across boggy ground. The first French wave was repelled as were two subsequent attempts to penetrate the English lines.

In a battle estimated that, taking no more than three hours, the English lost about 400 men and the French about 6,000.

More battles followed, with the French fighting rearguard actions that led to bloody battles and often pointless sieges. At the siege of Meaux, Henry contracted dysentery and died on August 31st, 1422.

Answer: Battle of Neville's Cross, 1346

David ascended the throne of Scotland at the age of five at a time when there was continuing strife between Scotland and England.

After many years in exile in France, he returned to Scotland in 1346 and invaded England on behalf of the king of France. On October 17th of that year, David led an army into England. It encountered an English army at Harold's Cross, near Durham.

The English had got there first and had chosen favourable ground. Numbers are uncertain, and while the Scots were probably the more numerous, the English forces had cavalry and archers against the predominantly infantry Scots.

While it was, at times, a closely matched contest, the English cavalry, having been kept in reserve, swept into the Scottish flank and pushed them back.

David and a core of his soldiers fought on, but when English reinforcements arrived, he fled from the battlefield and his soldiers surrendered.

David was subsequently captured and was to spend 11 years in the Tower of London. He was released after a ransom was paid and died in 1371.

Answer: Battle of Dettingen, 1743

George II was born in what is now Germany in 1683 and succeeded his father to the British throne in 1727.

George, though, always maintained a personal interest in affairs on the continent of Europe. In 1740 he joined in what became known as the War of Austrian Succession.

George led his forces to victory at the Battle of Dettingen against France. That was to make him the last British monarch to lead troops into battle.

The battle, on June 16th, 1743, was fought on the north bank of the River Main, about 70 miles from Frankfurt. George had an army of 50,000 at his disposal, made up of British regiments and their allies. The French had a force of about 70,000.

The French, though, failed to make use of their superior numbers. It is thought that they deployed too erratically. First of all, the British calvary outfought their French equivalents, then the French foot soldiers were repelled by the static defensive line.

That appears to have caused a panic among the French and they fled the battlefield.

As always, calculating casualties is imprecise. The museum of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, whose soldiers fought at Dettingen, estimates: "Alliance casualties numbered between 2-3,000, including around 850 British. French losses totalled about 4,500."

Answer: Battle of Flodden, 1513

King James IV entered the history books as the last king to die on a British battlefield.

Born in 1473, he assumed the throne in 1518 from his father, James III who died in - some say shortly after - the Battle of Sauchieburn, near Stirling, in 1488.

In 1513, James IV, as part of his alliance with France, led 60,000 soldiers in an invasion of England.

At Flodden, an English force of 26,000 led by the Earl of Surrey was victorious.

The Scots were, they thought, well positioned on a rise, but were forced to move under threat of being outflanked. They also had large ranks of pikemen and found themselves engaged in tactic to which pikes were not suited. Fighting downhill, the pikemen had difficulty keeping their feet and the English forces, mainly armed with the much shorter bill, were able to fight more effectively.

Encyclopaedia Britannica noted: "James was killed, together with at least 10,000 of his subjects, including high officers of church and state and many nobles."

If you have ever heard a bagpiper playing the haunting melody "The Flowers of the Forest", that is the tune to a song written 300 years later about the Battle of Flodden:

I've heard the lilting, at the yowe-milking,
Lassies a-lilting before dawn o' day;
But now they are moaning on ilka green loaning;
The Flowers of the Forest are a' wede away".

[Jean Elliott, 1756.]

Answer: Battle of the Boyne, 1690

The Battle of the Boyne was fought between the armies of William III and his predecessor, the deposed King James II.

William was born in Holland and had the title Prince of Orange before his marriage to Mary, a daughter of James II. In turn, William was a nephew of James. They were to rule as joint monarchs from 1689 until William's death in 1702.

They had taken over from James II, who was not a popular king. James was a Catholic and William and Mary were Protestants. James reigned from February 1685 until he was deposed in December 1688.

James did not slip quietly away. He fought to regain his throne and campaigned with the support of France. A series of battles was fought in Ireland in 1689 and 1690, culminating in victory for William over James at the Battle of the Boyne on July 1, 1690.

On July 1st, James positioned his army, numbering about 23,500 Irish soldiers and 6,000 French troops, on the southern bank of the River Boyne near the town of Drogheda. William, with 36,000 troops - British, Dutch and Germans - was on the north bank.

Both men took personal charge - William was injured in the shoulder by artillery shrapnel. William started a two-pronged crossing of the river and James divided his army to meet one threat. At the main crossing point a force of Dutch soldiers forced their way across the river and pushed back James's infantry.

A counter-attack by cavalry almost saved the day by restricting the advance of the infantry, but William's cavalry crossed the river and forced their opponents to withdraw.

James fled to France.

The Battle of the Boyne is often seen today as a religious victory for the Protestant William over the Catholic James. That is simplistic, as it was just one part of a pan-European struggle - indeed the Protestant William had the support of the pope.

Nevertheless, it did ensure that afterwards the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom would be a Protestant one.