Famous Battle..

[battleweary]

The battlefield was a small valley surrounded by ridges at an elevation of up to 170 metres above sea level with both armies infantry flanked by cavalry on both sides.
On the western side of the field, in spite of coming under fire from their right, the northern army's cavalry was triumphant and successfully charged off the field.
On the eastern side of the field, the southern army's cavalry was triumphant. In the centre, the northern army's infantry started to push their enemy back but the tide of battle turned against them as the defeated cavalry and other force in the west regrouped and laid into one flank whilst the victorious cavalry from the eastern edge of the field laid into the other flank.
Seeing his infantry destroyed by this, the northern army's commander was persuaded by a subordinate that the battle was lost (their successful cavalry being over a mile to the south of the battle) and left his forces to their fate. Which famous battle is this a summary of?

[Drusilla]

Is it the first battle of Edgehill from the English Civil War? I'm only guessing because I remember Prince Rupert's cavalry charged off the field after a successful attack.

[redheap]

I haven't got a better answer, but I do not think it is. The battle of Edgehill was inconclusive really, and think Rupert's charge was actually northwards I think (given the royalists were barring the road to London).

That said, I haven't anything better to say, expect maybe a specific "north" vs "south" scenario might be more likely in an Amercial Civil War scenario. Something latter than the English civil war would seem likely due to the cavalry "coming under fire from their right" (maybe cannon fire which was better later on)

[shaneystar2]

Could it be the Battle of Balaclava. This was fought in a valley.
"Canons to the right of them cannons to the left of them"...the Light Brigade were left stuck in the middle, after the Russians had seen the Turks off .Lord Cardigan went out with his men to retake the posistion on the Causeway Heights but they were riding towards disaster The Russians had been given time to mass infantry and cavalry on both sides of the valley and bore down on the Light Brigade and the rest is history.
Probably not ...just a guess !

[johnlambert]

Bannockburn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well perhaps not but it's the only battle we Scots pay any attention to

[Equinox333]

Would it be The Battle of Verneuil by any chance? The only way I came to that conclusion was because I remembered the detail that the ultimate losers (the French) cavalry broke the English line at the start and thinking that the battle was won charged off the battle field to sack the English baggage wagons. Also I must add that the cavalry were not French but Italian mercenaries dressed in the latest hardened 'arrow-proof' armour (as well as their horses) hence the reason they broke the English line so easy being that the English Longbow could not penetrate their armour. It should also be noted that once again as in so many other battles of the Hundred Years war the English were outnumbered (2 to 1 on this occasion) but still won.

[mike b]

Pretty sure it's Naseby - Rupert's cavalry on the Royalist right coming under fire from Okey's dragoons in Sulby Hedge as they charged and subsequently disappeared off the field in the direction of the enemy's baggage train. Cromwell was equally successful on the other flank, but kept his force under better control, regrouping to attack the Royalist foot, who had up to then been prevailing. Charles 1 wanted to lead a desperate charge with his Life Guards, but was led off the field by his aides - "Sire, would you ride to your death?"

[brachiopod]

The Battle of the Beanfield?

I think this was when Lord Crustie of Hippie-Wagon was defeated by Her Majesty's 5th Stoke Newington Lancers on Salisbury Plain.

[mike b]

Are you suggesting, Brachiopod, that I am an ageing-hippie-***-anorak?? If, so, you've probably got it pretty well right... :-)

[mike b]

What on earth is going on here? I used to take those stories about the Scunthorpe Syndrome '*** grano salis'... Good job we haven't had questions about places like Chorlton-***-Hardy!

[mike b]

Now that's interesting; obviously a dumb program which doesn't speak Latin - so don't blame the poor old webmaster. It missed the Scunthorpe, so how about the London Horniman Museum, another of the sites which has supposedly been having problems... Just for the record - :-) :-) :-) Anyway, still sure it's Naseby!

[redheap]

to close this off it is DEFINITELY Naseby, I was wrong in my assumption in it being later than the ECW