The military history of England and Wales deals with the period prior to the creation of the United

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

in 1707.(for the period after 1707 see

Military history of the United Kingdom The military history of the United Kingdom covers the period from the creation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain, with the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, to the present day. From the 18th century onwards, with the expansio ...

)

List of military encounters

Medieval period

Battle of Aylesford The Battle of Aylesford or Epsford ( ang, Æȝelesford) was a battle between Britons and Anglo-Saxons recorded in the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and the ''Historia Brittonum''. Both sources concur that it involved the Anglo-Saxon leaders Hengist ...

(455) *

Battle of Badon The Battle of Badon /ˈbeɪdən/ also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus ( la, obsessio isBadonici montis, "Blockade/Siege of the Badonic Hill"; ''Bellum in monte Badonis'', "Battle on Badon Hill"; ''Bellum Badonis'', "Battle of Badon"; Ol ...

(c. 500) *

Battle of Ellandun The Battle of Ellendun or Battle of Wroughton was fought between Ecgberht of Wessex and Beornwulf of Mercia in September 825. Sir Frank Stenton described it as "one of the most decisive battles of English history". It effectively ended Mercian S ...

(825) *

Viking invasions Viking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to sail most of the North Atlantic, reaching south as far as North Africa and east as far as Russ ...

(793–1066) **

Battle of Hingston Down The Battle of Hingston Down took place in 838, probably at Hingston Down in Cornwall between a combined force of Cornish and Vikings on the one side, and West Saxons led by Ecgberht, King of Wessex on the other. The result was a West Saxon ...

(838) **

Battle of Aclea The Battle of Aclea occurred in 851 between the West Saxons led by Æthelwulf, King of Wessex and the Danish Vikings at an unknown location in Surrey. It resulted in a West Saxon victory. Little is known about the battle and the most importa ...

(851) ** Battle of York (867) **

Battle of Englefield The Battle of Englefield was a West Saxon victory against a Danish Viking army on about 31 December 870 at Englefield, near Reading in Berkshire. It was the first of a series of battles that took place following an invasion of Wessex by the Dani ...

870 **

Battle of Reading (871) The Battle of Reading was a victory for a Danish Viking army over a West Saxon force on about 4 January 871 at Reading in Berkshire. The Vikings were led by Bagsecg and Halfdan Ragnarsson and the West Saxons by King Æthelred and his brother, ...

Battle of Ashdown The Battle of Ashdown, was a West Saxon victory over a Danish Viking army on about 8 January 871. The location of Ashdown is not known, but may be Kingstanding Hill in Berkshire. Other writers place the battle near Starveall, a short distance n ...

(871) ** Battle of Basing (871) **

Battle of Meretun The Battle of Meretun (or Merton) between a West Saxon army led by King Æthelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great, and a Danish army took place on 22 March 871 at an unknown location in Wessex, probably in one of the modern co ...

(871) ** Campaign of Alfred the Great (871–899) ***

Battle of Edington At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Primary ...

(878) ***

Battle of Cynwit The Battle of Cynwit, was a battle between West Saxons and Vikings in 878 at a fort which Asser calls ''Cynwit''. The location of the battle is not known for sure but probably was at Countisbury Hill, near Countisbury, Devon. Prelude The Vikin ...

(878) **

Battle of Assandun The Battle of Assandun (or Essendune) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed and better evidenced, ...

(1016) ** Battle of Fulford (1066) **

Battle of Stamford Bridge The Battle of Stamford Bridge ( ang, Gefeoht æt Stanfordbrycge) took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading N ...

(1066) *

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

(1066) **

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

(1066) *

Rebellion of 1088 The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of William the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy between his two sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose. Hostilities lasted from 3 to ...

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

(1138–53) *

Revolt of 1173–74 Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

(1189–1192) *

French invasion of Normandy (1202–1204) The Normandy Campaigns were wars in Normandy from 1202 to 1204. The Kingdom of England fought the Kingdom of France as well as fighting off rebellions from nobles. Philip II of France conquered the Anglo-Angevin territories in Normandy, result ...

Welsh uprising of 1211 The Welsh uprising of 1211 was a rebellion by several Welsh princes, orchestrated by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth with primary support from Gwenwynwyn of Powys, Maelgwn ap Rhys, Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor and Maredudd ap Robert against King John of Engla ...

Anglo-French War (1213–1214) The Anglo-French War was a major medieval conflict which pitted the Kingdom of France against the Kingdom of England and various other states. It was fought in an attempt to curb the rising power of King Philip II of France and regain the Ange ...

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...

(1215–1217) *

Saintonge War The Saintonge War was a feudal dynastic conflict that occurred between 1242 and 1243. It opposed House of Capet, Capetian forces supportive of Louis IX of France, King Louis IX's brother Alphonse, Count of Poitiers and those of Hugh X of Lusigna ...

(1242–43) *

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fut ...

(1264–1267) * Welsh Uprising (1282) *

Anglo-French War (1294–1303) The Anglo-French War (in French: ''Guerre de Guyenne'') was a conflict between 1294–98 and 1300–03 revolved around Gascony. The Treaty of Paris (1303) ended the conflict. Aquitaine & Gascony Serious conflict was precipitated in 1293, when c ...

* The First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328) **

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...

(1314) * The Second War of Scottish Independence (1332–1357) *

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

(1337–1453) ** Edwardian phase (1337–60) **

War of the Breton Succession The War of the Breton Succession (, ) was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montfort of Brittany, Montforts of Brittany for control of the Sovereign Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fought betwee ...

(1341–65) ** Caroline phase (1369–89) ** Lancastrian phase (1415–53) *

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

(1455–1485) – The Wars of the Roses claimed an estimated 105,000 dead

Early Modern period

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

(1494–1559) **

War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...

(1511–13) **

Italian War of 1521–26 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Italian War of 1542–46 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Italian War of 1551–59 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

(1557–59) * Cornish Rebellion (1497) *

Anglo-Scottish Wars The Anglo-Scottish Wars comprise the various battles which continued to be fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland from the time of the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century through to the latter years of the ...

(1513; 1544–51) * Third Cornish Uprising (1549) *

Siege of Calais (1558) The French siege of Calais in early 1558 was part of the Italian War of 1551–1559 between France and England and their respective allies. It resulted in the seizure of the town by France. The Pale of Calais had been ruled by England since ...

* Desmond Wars (1569-83) *

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England. It was never formally declared. The war included much English privateering against Spanish ships, and several wid ...

– The Anglo-Spanish War might be said to be the first world war, in that it was fought on three continents (Europe and the Americas) and two oceans (the Atlantic and, just barely, the Pacific) *

Nine Years' War (Ireland) The Nine Years' War, sometimes called Tyrone's Rebellion, took place in Ireland from 1593 to 1603. It was fought between an Irish alliance—led mainly by Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tyrconnell—against English rule in ...

(1594–1603) *

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

(1585–1648) *

First Anglo-Powhatan War The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Virginia Colony and Algonquin Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy in the early seventeenth century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The ...

(1609–1613) *

Second Anglo-Powhatan War The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Virginia Colony and Algonquin Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy in the early seventeenth century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The ...

(1622) *

Anglo-Spanish War (1625–30) Anglo-Spanish War may refer to: * Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), including the Spanish Armada and the English Armada * Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630), part of the Thirty Years' War * Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660), part of the Franco-Spanis ...

Anglo-French War (1627–1629) The Anglo-French War () was a military conflict fought between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England between 1627 and 1629. It mainly involved actions at sea.''Warfare at sea, 1500-1650: maritime conflicts and the transformation of E ...

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

(1639–1651) **

First Bishops' War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

(1639) **

Second Bishops' War The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

(1640) ** Irish Rebellion (1641) ** The Confederates' War (1642-648) **

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

(1642–1651) ***

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

(1642–1646) – 190,000 Englishmen died *** Civil War in Scotland (1644–1647) ***

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641� ...

(1648) ***

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...

(1649–53) – Cromwell killed 300,000 to 500,000 Irish in his invasion ***

Third English Civil War Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

(1650–1651) *

Third Anglo-Powhatan War The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Virginia Colony and Algonquin Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy in the early seventeenth century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The ...

(1644) *

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...

(1652–54) *

Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60) Anglo-Spanish War may refer to: * Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), including the Spanish Armada and the English Armada * Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630), part of the Thirty Years' War * Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660), part of the Franco-Spanish ...

English expedition to Portugal (1662–1668) The English expedition to Portugal also known as the British Brigade in Portugal was a brigade raised during the reign of King Charles II for service in Portugal during the ongoing Portuguese Restoration War against Spain in August 1662.Riley pp ...

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...

(1665–67) *

War of Devolution In the 1667 to 1668 War of Devolution (, ), France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire (and properties of the King of Spain). The name derives from an obscure law known ...

(1667–1668) *

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

(1672–1674) *

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

(1675–1676) * Virginia Rebellion (1676) *

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

(1685) *

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

(1688–1697) **

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

(1688–1697) *

Jacobite Rebellions , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

(1689–91) **

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

(1688–1691) **

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

(1690) *

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

(1702–1713) **

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

(1702–1713) *For military history after the

Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

see the

military history of the United Kingdom The military history of the United Kingdom covers the period from the creation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain, with the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, to the present day. From the 18th century onwards, with the expansio ...

List of civil wars

– in England and

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

(1135–54) – in England #

– in England, Normandy, and

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

(1215–17) – in England #

(1264–67) – in England # Welsh Uprising (1282) – in England and Wales #

(1455–85) – in England and Wales;

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

was the last English king to die in combat #

(1639–51) - in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland #*

(1639) #*

(1640) #*

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

(1642–1646) #* The Confederates' War (1642-48) #*

Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms Between 1639 and 1653, Scotland was involved in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of wars starting with the Bishops Wars (between Scotland and England), the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the English Civil War (and its extension in Scotland ...

(1644–47) #*

(1648) #*

(1650–51) #*

(1649) #

(1685) – in England #

(1689-91; 1715-16; 1719; 1745-46) – in England, Scotland and Ireland #*

(1688–91) #*

(1690) – last battle between two rival claimants for the throne

List of military encounters

Medieval period

Early Modern period

List of civil wars

See also

References

Further reading

Historiography