The Armies
In the late 15th Century full time professional armies were rare. The major source of soldiers for the armies who fought in the Wars of the Roses were Lord's retainers and tenants who served for a short time. As such the loyalty of the men who fought was based upon their Lord's ability to pay them. It was because of this that the leaders of armies were never really sure of who they could rely upon.

Armies were made up of archers who were very skilled with the longbow and men-at-arms. High-ranking men-at-arms wore expensive armour that was designed to deflect a sword or spear. These men often carried battle-axes, maces (clubs) or hammers. Common soldiers made more use of spikes and hooks which were intended to knock an armoured man to the ground rather than pierce his armour. It is important to remember that chivalry was kept for non-lethal combat tourneys, in reality hand to hand combat was brutal and bloody. Weapons were designed to maim and kill as quickly as possible.

Nearly all battles of the Wars of the Roses became a hand-to-hand fight between the men-at-arms on foot, after the archers had fired their arrows. Cavalry was also used in some battles by a skilled commander.

Most armies had field artillery (cannons) but they were only used at the start of battles, not only because of the time it took to load and fire them but because they often exploded in the artillery men's faces.

All of the forces that met at Bosworth had been on forced marches mainly over rough terrain, some for over a week, with very little rest.

The Allegiances
Leaders that had formed alliances either under duress or for political ends governed the forces that met in battle.

Northumberland, although indebted to Richard for his support, was not happy with Richard's actions and resented his owns troops' loyalty to the king.

The Stanleys had a history of choosing sides not through loyalty, but to further their own power. To ensure Stanley's loyalty, Richard had taken his son hostage.

Henry had spent much of his as an exile life in France, and was therefore not an experienced commander. At the time his claim to throne was tenuous at best coming as it did through the female side of the family.

Richard was a ruthless king, indeed it is claimed that he may have been responsible for the death of his nephews to ensure his power. He had many enemies and those who sided with him, became as hated as the king himself.

The Battle of Bosworth took place on 22nd August 1485. The accounts of what happened in the conflict are very sketchy but this is the widely accepted version.

Henry's forces were the first to attack, under the command of the Earl of Oxford, they met Richard's vanguard, under the command of the Duke of Norfolk, who charged downhill in to a desperate hand-to-hand struggle between hacking and slashing ranks of common soldiers. The first part of the battle lasted an hour, and although their ranks were severely depleted Henry's men had managed to kill Norfolk, depriving Richard of a valued commander.

The Stanleys and Northumberland, commanded by Richard had remained non-combatants.

As the battle became more desperate, Henry and his entourage became cut off and were spotted by Richard from the top of Ambion Hill. Richard seeing his enemy's depleted ranks, spurred forward, apparently furious and determined to slay his opposite number, and with him thundered a glittering array of some 1,500 mounted knights in the last great cavalry charge of the medieval era.

Seeing this writhing wall of steel and horseflesh heading towards him, it appears that Henry was dumbstruck and his command faculties fled temporarily. Nevertheless, Henry and his faithful retainers formed a tight knot and braced themselves for the impact.

Legend would have us believe that Richard drew upon reserves of almost superhuman strength in his furious charge, and hacking and slashing and stabbing, he carved a swathe directly towards Henry Tudor. He and his forces cut down Henry's standard bearer and Richard himself is said to have come within a greatsword-length of his quarry before the press of men and horses carried him off course.

At that point, seeing the moment, the Stanleys acted decisively.

With a battle cry of, "A Stanley, a Stanley!" their troops crashed into Richard's formation. Richard's army disintegrated, and he himself was forced into the swampy ground, thrashing out furiously, determined to sell his life dearly.

In a last desperate attempt to salvage the battle and his throne, Richard managed to send orders to Northumberland to attack Stanley, but Northumberland either couldn't obey due to the terrain or simply chose not to.

Either way Richard was eventually cornered by a large group of polearm fighters who unhorsed him before they hacked and smashed him into. This is the moment of Shakespeare's famous line: "A horse, my kingdom for a horse!"

The entire battle lasted two hours. History is unsure what happened to Richard's body, it was either cast in to the bog or tethered to a horse and displayed to the victors. What is certain is that Henry Tudor was crowned Henry VII on the field by his new ally, Lord Stanley. Whatever else may be said about the man, from whom he had usurped the crown, Richard had certainly died "a bold and valiant prince".

Richard was the last king of England to die on the battlefield. His death effectively ended the Wars of the Roses, and Henry VII started a dynasty that would last for over 100 years, the Tudors.

Today, Leicestershire County council maintains the site of the battlefield and the tranquil site belies the violence of its history. The flags or standards are raised by the Official Visitors Centre and mark the positions of the armies as understood by historians.