1 edward ivs first reign and the battle of towton
Factor | How this helped Edward win at Towton | Mark out of 6 for importance | Explanation |
Lancastrian Weakness | The Lancastrians were unprepared for the additional attack from the side which resulted in them losing | 1 | The Lancastrians were prepared and winning at a point until the secondary attack |
Funding | Got loans from merchants can the pro Yorkist London which funded a strong army | 5 | The funding from London allowed for a strong army so they could win |
Support | Support from London and nobles like Warwick and Norfolk, who aided him with an army, allowed for a strong army to be formed which gave the Lancastrians very little chance | 4 | The funding from London allowed for a strong army so they could win |
Weather | He used the weather conditions to his advantage, with the wind aiding the arrows flight and being able to hide | 3 | The weather conditions could be used by either side so it isn't exclusive |
Luck | There was a fair amount of luck as the second army came through just as the Yorkists were going to lose, allowing them to win and also the luck of the direction of the wind and the snow blocking the Lancastrians view | 2 | The other army were not particularly strong soldiers so they could have had less effect |
Leadership | He had greater leadership than henry ever had, with inspirational speeches and a fighting mindset as well as fighting himself and inspiring those around him | 6 | The stronger leadership meant that more people were willing to follow him and fight for him |
Why did Edward win at Towton? (Write your judgement here)
Edward mainly won at Towton due to his strong leadership, in his ability to gain people's trust, to give inspirational speeches and pick up peoples spirits when they were losing and because he was willing to fight himself, not just turn up and watch, or not even turn up, as Henry did, and this was refreshing for people after being ruled over by Henry, who did not even turn up to support the Lancastrian side, as it was palm Sunday and a religious day. He also won due to funding, as he had had the support of London for a while, meaning that merchants found it to be more financially stable to invest in Edward than Henry, so many of them paid towards him building up an army, with them funding around £4500 which was enough for a very strong army.