Britain's Bloodiest Battle - TOWTON - A Historian Reacts 

Yorkshire and Lancashire still "fight" every year...each county choses 11 "champions" to fight the 4 day duel ......a cricket match! (Yes it's called the Roses match)

I know it’s been said before, but this channel is so great cuz he’s so genuine and you can tell he acc cares about history. Love your videos man!

The thing I always remember about the Battle of Towton is that the Lancastrians were pushed back into the river, where some were killed by the Yorkists, some drowned and others trampled each other to death, and because so many were killed the river was said to have run red with blood for several days afterwards.

There's a lot of kings and generals videos we should discuss.

Kings and Generals is a fantastic channel, and love your content man! Keep it up!

Kings and Generals just uploaded a video that you might be interested in. They are starting a Soviet-Afghan War series.

Love to see you reacting to Kings and Generals, it's one of my absolute favorite channels on YT for over 5 years at this point. Pretty much any series of theirs that you watch, and you'll have struck gold. I particularly recommend the Third Crusade series, but that's because I love Richard the Lionheart. The 30 Years War series is really great also, as is the more Ancient History stuff.

Love your videos man, very underrated channel.

This brings me back to my GCSE stuff about the war of the Roses lmao. I love your reactions you don't just sit there and watch. You give extra context to it and put your own twist on it which makes the videos interesting to watch

This was a great video, I love learning about the history of England in the 13 & 1400s; I love watching your reaction videos because you help me understand the video better, this was EXCELLENT

For something you may not be familiar with, recommend Kings and Generals: Battle of Kulikovo. Which is about the death of Ozbek Khan and wars that followed.

While this battle didn't actually feature any use of artillery, it does demonstrate what the actual use of artillery was for much of history: Having a weapon that can out-range the enemy (or if he also has it, outgun him at that range) means you can force him to attack your position, rather than the other way around. Military texts from the early modern era make this point with regards to artillery. Thus it was a tactical asset even if it wasn't powerful nor numerous enough to really kill much.

If you would like to check out channels that focus on Medieval content, might I suggest: Shadiversity, Metatron, SandRhoman History, Invicta, and Scholagladiatoria. Also, a channel that I greatly enjoy but only has a little Medieval content (at present) is: The Historian’s Craft.

20:33 I have always been fascinated by the Wars of the Roses. When I started researching my family history in-depth, my interest became more personal, as I found out that I am either descended from or closely related to most of the major players (which makes sense, as the whole conflict was a giant, runaway extended family squabble).

Realy happy to see the video made my day

Churchill's "A History of the English Speaking People" is a great primer for this and, of course, other eras British history.

Congrats on 60k!

Captivating Clifford anecdote. Dynastic conflicts are always fascinating and impenetrably complex. Especially the scions of the great Edward III. I disagree slightly though about the creation of royal dukedoms. Edward’s move was a skillful strategic move to centralize royal domains into the ruling family, and also one entirely uncommon for the time. The Plantagenets were, like any great dynasty, essentially a “family firm”. I don’t think we can point too much blame at Edward III for what was essentially something out of his mere mortal hands: How could he predict the turmoil after his death? I would say the seeds blew up solely because of the disastrous political impotence of Henry VI. Dan Jones makes this point in his brilliant epic on the Wars of the Roses. A medieval kingdom simply cannot function without a strong king. What a bloody morass Towton. Estimates range from 1%-2% of the entire English population in 1461 took part (varying estimates put the overall population at just under 3 million). Congratulations on another marvelous video

I have stayed at a castle near York/Leeds called Hazelwood castle, this castle is over 900 years old and is even referenced in The Doomsday Book. This castle overlooks the Battlefield of Towton. The castle itself is magnificent, it has original fixtures and has also been modernised to become a hotel, which isn't ideal but the owners really look after the place and keep its rich history alive.

I was born in leicester and grew up in a small village called ravenstone, and there was a road called "standard hill" leading up into the neighbouring village of hugglescote, and local legend has it that standard hill was where the last standard of the battle of boswroth was raised

My local towns getting some love here, Pontefract and Ferrybridge, Castleford just out of shot there which is my hometown

Great stuff, would be interesting if you could react to the English/British Civil Wars, the trial of King Charles I, and the Protectorate - thanks!

I'm really excited to see your advice on getting started with your family history! Hopefully, you can include how to research family history in eastern Europe as well because a lot of my ancestry comes from Russia!

I live near the location of the Battle of Roundway Down, which was one of the key battles in the English Civil War, and the site of the largest cavalry victory of the war :)

Great video, I live about twenty minutes drive from Towton

King and generals is probably one of the best channels related to history

You should check out some videos on the English Civil Wars

The Lancastrian arrows fell short against the wind, while the Yorkists were assisted by it. The Lancastrians were forced into retreat to their right, down a deep slope into the Cork Beck stream, which was in flood because of the weather. Many drowned trying to cross the stream, with many others being cut down there. The river was said to have run red with blood. The Nevilles & Percies had a long running feud over control of the northern borderlands & the Dukedom of Westmoreland.

A video series idea could be with permission about viewer family trees and significant events their ancestors played a vital part in and the history of it

When you visit Towton you should see Clifford’s Tower in York.

Many of the most important battles in English/British history have taken place along the route of the Great North Road, the main route from south to north through the country, & often near to the city of York. These include Maiserfeld, & Winwood, in the 7th century, Heathfield, in the same era, Towton, in 1461,Marston Moor in 1642, Heavenfield, by Hadrian's Wall, etc etc. Even Stamford Bridge & Hastings in 1066 are at either end of this road, & Flodden & Stirling Bridge extend it further north into Scotland.

Just drove through there today! A beautiful place

I grew up about 10 miles from Towton yet we never learnt about it at school. Never learnt about the Harrying of the North either and that had an even bigger impact on the area.

25:55 every advantage? Well, prove me wrong but the Yorks have probably (one of) the best commander during this period on their side, Lord Fauconberg the earl of Kent. It’s actually he who reconizes the advantage of the wind and places his troops in the tailwind. And to support my opinion, look at how the tactical manouvers of the Nevilles drop in level after his death. I strongly believe he was responsible for most of Warwicks fame.

Cant wait fpr a video about the battle of Issus, where you tell us about your ancestors who fought for Alexander the Great :D

Definetly react to more videos from them

I live about 5 miles from Towton, the battlefield is great👍, strange to walk there and think of the lives lost

i subed to kings and generals before i knew about ur channel

I'm really a fan of yours for a long time now. I hope some day you'll react to a video about brazilian history. We have a very rich national history that you really would like to know about like our Monarchy and the Paraguayan War or our participants in the WW2. Congrats from Rio, Brazil!!!

I’ve been doing family genealogy in the past year, and I found one branch that goes all the way back to William the Conqueror. On that branch is a 17th great grandfather who was killed at Towton. His son and son in law were later beheaded by Edward IV for some shenanigans and potentially for siding with Warwick and Queen Margaret.

My parents used to live quite close to the battlefield and we would sometimes go there for walks. It definitely doesn’t seem like the sort of place where potentially 60-80k men slogged it out in a bloody battle.

Being from the UK i've been to Towton, crazy to think that 2 percent of Englands population was there

I've played rugby at Knottingley, just next to Ferrybridge

Love your videous! Could you do a reaction to the Romanian Revolution?

Oh, congratulations for the 60k subs, now for the 100k n.n

Yes. Elizabeth Windsor is the Duchess of Lancaster. She also the Duchess of Normandy which now only is comprised of the Channel Islands. Charles Windsor is the Duke of Cornwall.

I think it would be really interesting to get a perspective by an expert in medieval English politics on the 16th century history of Japan. I think there's a great amount of parallels between Japan and England and Germany.

You should look at some of Historia Civilis' videos on Rome and Extra Credit's Videos on Justinian.

The winter wat from kings and general is great

The two people who down-voted the video were Lancastrians. :P

I thought it was interesting that both York and Lancaster are the most distant regions of England seen from London. But them being close to the border with Scotland makes sense. In Germany you had the Marken and in Russia the Krais, which are special types of counties that are allowed to maintain larger personal armies and get considerable tax benefits because they have the duty to always be ready to defend the border. This of course makes those Margraves and such very powerful.

React to as many Kings and Generals videos as you can.

Artillery was in use before this. Henry V used artillery during the siege of Harfleur and I believe the first English casualty at Agincourt was an archer hit by a cannon ball.

You should check out Historia Civilis' channel. He covers the final years of the Roman Republic in detail with a focus on not only Cesar's "adventures", but the politics of the senate as well. He is really good at simplifying complex political concepts by visual aid and analogies, check him out!

Vlogging Through History can you do the battle of Plassey by kings and generals

The war of the roses is the backbone to George R R Martins Game of Thrones book series though as he expanded his world he brought in many other events in world history to use as his inspirations.....

I have been enjoying your videos. I have been wondering, what you think of overly

Very interested to find out you are related to the Clifford's! When you come to the UK, will you be going to see Skipton Castle in Yorkshire? Highly recommended.

I know you probably have a lot scheduled but I suggest history bombs they do quick videos on general history of wars and other things

Say what you will about the Tudors, they definitely learned the lessons of the Wars of the Roses. Especially Henry VIII who was a stickler for his nobles and their retainers all holding their loyalty to him and him alone. Mind you, it had been made easier by the fact that the wars kind of killed off most of the nobility, so that the Tudors could install their own people into the positions.

Imagine what the Plantagenets could have Achieved if they hadn't been Conducting a Family Feud? The Most Powerful Combined Arms Force in Europe Wasted on a Feud.

just to let you know both sides were told no quarter given it was a fight to the death,i have walked the battle field twice and the place where most of the lancastrians were routed was in a valley called the cock beck which was swollen after weeks of rain and on the day a snow storm most of the lancastrians drowned trying to cross it armour weighing them down. bodies piled up as they fled the field,it was said that beck ran red with blood, percies white sides were cornered but edward left instructions no quarter to be given and they were slain. you mentioned you had great ancester clifford one of the cliffords would have fought at towton and another clifford was hung in chains in york from a tower which to this day is called cliffords tower.skipton castle which is intact was the residence of anne clifford stalwart of the clifford family the castle can be visited which is lived in by a private owner it is well worth a visit i can recommend it.take care mate from a yorky.

As a battle this was really large. But i think other wars like the 30 years war had a much bigger impact on the population - even if the battles itself were smaller

"A relative of mine..." EVERYONE DRINK! "...died..." EVERYONE DRINK TWICE!

Unfortunate fact we do have a tendency to like a good fight, don't mind where.

When you have already seen the vidieo but the he reacts to it :))))))))

unsure what the best (free) way to contact you so i'll leave a comment on your Twitter as well. But of you're looking for some more historical battles to react to try Baz Battles. They're only an episode long but provide a lot of setup and some aftermath.

Very interesting video. Don’t know much about the War of the Roses, except where I’m originally from is York, PA and when the baseball team from York plays the team from Lancaster(pronounced Langkister LOL) they call it the war of the roses. I’m stoked you’re going to be doing tips and tricks for family research. That is one subject I was hoping you would do videos about. I’ve been doing my own family tree research for my family and my wife’s family for a few years now and seem to hit a dead end sometimes. Can’t wait to see what you have to share!

In my opinion, if Henry VI was at the least a competent king, not a good one, but even just an average to below average one, I'm not convinced the Wars of the Roses would've happened. I know a large part of it occurred due to how those around Henry VI were managing England in his stead, and not necessarily in response to Henry VI himself, but he basically enabled all of this by his abysmal reign. I know his struggle with mental health is out of his control, though, and I don't want to be harsh in casting blame on him for that. Nonetheless, it's very fascinating history.

Ever thought about doing videos on sir John Franklin’s doomed expedtion?

Wait the battle of Watling street had big numbers in total of combatants and casualties. up to 80,400 casualties.

It's still funny to me that in south eastern Pennsylvania two big cities, 30 miles from each other... connected... is Lancaster and York.

Ayyy 60k

You should watch Gustavus Adolphus - Breitenfeld 1631 - 30 YEARS' WAR DOCUMENTARY by the same youtuber

Was there no fight or battle from Richard 2? He just got punked out of power? Haha

Check out the operations room channel

It's called a prism refraction of light.

My ancestor Richard Neville (Earl of Warwick) fought in this battle.

This war inspired Game of Thrones

Continuing on from what you were saying about Her Majesty being Duke of Lancaster, she is also the Duke of Normandy too...

Wanted to suggest to react on their videos after seeing the 100 years war reaction to EH, but their videos are more battle & tactics oriented...

I think you should watch ‘Who Would Be King of America if George Washington has been made a monarch’ by useful charts

Kings and generals is excellent

I'm sorry, I can't watch this video without seeing all of the parallels in Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) George RR. Martin copied history almost exactly then just made it fantasy and called it a day lol. Still an amazing piece of fantasy literature, but it just goes to illustrate just how interesting ACTUAL history really is.

It seems like Henry VI gets captured every few battles 🤣🤣🤣

Interesting to find out you have English ancestory curious at what point that branch's off to your American routes wonder if you have any one who served in the British army.

Imagine the Devastation if Towton had been Fought in Dry conditions, Sure Archers Carried Half a Dozen Spare Strings under their Hats, But would that be enough for an All Day Battle in a Blizzard? I suspect Towton like Wakefield has been Buried in Tudor and Shakespearean Propaganda

I would really like to use that offer of u to look up some family history, I will send an e-mail soon! :D

When you do your videos on family trees Can you say some of the most famous people you are related to.

29:02 and than the winged hurrars arrive sorry i couln't resist

I live less than ten miles away. My knowledge of this is minimal. In fact, I only heard about it for the first time about 6 months ago, from another RU-vid video.

It was awful at Towton. The skeletons they examined showed signs of torture.

Hey history do you have any advice for studying history when u r still a kid

You should watch the video he did of the aribe Israeli war of 1967

Kings and generals have great videos, looking forward to more reactions. Also try these series on extra history I think you would enjoy them :) Imjin War (Japanese invasion of Korea during the 16th century) Sengoku Jidia (100 years of civil war in Japan) Justinian and Theodora of the Byzantine Empire. (There is this channel called the shogunate which produce videos exclusively in Japanese history since the 10th century I believe I can't remember but his videos are amazing).

I've been wondering about your thoughts on overly sarcastic videos

Kings and Generals is great. React to more. He has a ton.

Interesting how many conflicts stem from armies being loyal to something other than the kingdom/country. Rome had all kinds of problems because their military were essentially paid by and thus loyal to their general. The US revolution is as bad as it is because most at that time being loyal to state over the union. Then here it's because military are loyal to their direct lords more than the king.

How much do you charge for the family research

Yeah I call it the Cousin war too.