It seems that every nation undergoes a civil war at least once in its history and the British were not immune to this. Back in the mid 1600s, there was a rift between the king, Charles I and the Parliament as it was greatly feared that the king would return the country to the control of Catholicism. Yet another war over religion that continues up till today. The Parliamentarians, led by Oliver Cromwell, who was a superb tactician and one of Britain's best, had control over the east and southeastern part of Britain, after nearly losing it to the Royalists in 1644. However, the Royalists blew a golden opportunity and retired to the area around Oxford which was their main base to build up troops for the winter.

The Parliamentarians had meanwhile decided to rebuild their army into what is known as the New Model Army, based on different principles of organization that what had gone before. Neither side really wanted to engage in a full blown battle until they were ready so most of the first half of 1645 was spent in small raids and what we'd now call 'reconnaissance in force' to see what the other was up to.

Eventually, it was time to test the New Model Army so the Parliamentarians sought out the forces of Charles I near the town of Naseby in the west central portion of England. It was a battle that was pivotal and finally turned into a route for the Royalists. But it could have easily gone the other way as the Royalists, as they had in the past, made several errors of judgment and let opportunities slip from their grasp. It was also a confirmation of the soundness of the training for the New Model Army and the ability of Parliamentarian commanders to properly gauge the flow of battle.

Author Martin Matrix Evans is an expert on this particular battle and has done other writings on the subject. He brings his superb research of first hand accounts to this book and shares his findings on what actually happened, exploding a few myths and misconceptions along the way. Illustrator Graham Turner has done a superlative job of providing understandable maps and diagrams of the battle as well as color artwork of various stages in the events.

All of this is additionally enhanced by period maps and illustrations as well as a number of photos of the current battlefield site, which has, fortunately, remained pretty much as it was, for urban development has not reached out this far.

In all it makes a superb read of one of those moments in history that shaped the course of things to come. A book I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy.

July 2007

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