Richard Brooks (1) (1949–)

This is an account of the life and military times of William Marshal, a major but undeservedly neglected figure in English history. His steady role supporting the Angevin kings of England over several decades was unparalleled. In particular it is no exaggeration to say that his role of regent in the minority of the boy king Henry III, after the death of King John, saved the country from conquest by the French dauphin Louis. Owing to the unpopularity of King John, most of his barons supported Louis's very tenuous claim to the English crown, willing even to countenance the heir to the French crown on the English throne, rather than see John triumph. John inadvertently and ironically performed probably his best service to the future of his dynasty by dying in 1216 at the age of 49, taking some of the wind out of the sails of the barons' support for Louis. But even so, Louis held London and had a number of other successes before William's strategic leadership led to English victory in two decisive battles, at Lincoln in summer 1217 and at sea, off the Kentish coast at Sandwich, in the autumn of that year. Lincoln was "a decisive shift..... Before Lincoln, the royalists had never risked confronting Louis in the open; afterwards he dared not face them again." But London still held out. The naval battle of Sandwich was the end for Louis's claims, leaving him "unable to replace the losses at Lincoln, definitively ending his cross-Channel adventure". Even at the time it was "perceived as a major event, a providential deliverance from foreign invasion, comparable from our point of view with the Spanish Armada, Trafalgar, and the Battle of Britain." Without these two victories, England would have become a province of France, and the French crown, having already gained Normandy and other lands from the English crown during King John's reign, would have become vastly stronger. The only surprise is that these battles are not much better known as the key turning points in English history they undoubtedly are.

The book was a little uneven and there were drier passages on the evolution of military technology that I struggled with a bit. But these are important to understanding how things turned out the way they did, so no real complaint.… (meer)

This was quite useful in that while the importance of Walcheren is often bandied about in general accounts of the NW Europe campaign (usually as a way of bashing Bernard Montgomery's military competence), it was good to get a detailed accounting of what went into the battle in question. In particular, I was unaware about the amount of dike-busting that went into this operation and the amount of menace the local population was under. Also, the critics who wonder if this could have all too easily turned into another Dieppe probably have a point; in terms of manpower this looks like it was something of an economy-of-force operation and more motivation on the part of the Germans might have meant disaster.… (meer)

The chronicler Roger of Wendover, who wrote an account of events (Flower of History trans by JA Giles London 1849), said …
“This battle, which, in derision of Louis and the barons, they called “The Fair,” took place on the 19th of May, which was on the Saturday in Whitsun-week; it commenced between the first and third hour, and was finished by these good managers before the ninth."

This then is the back-drop to Richard Brooks’ book, The Knight Who Saved England. He was "marshal and then regent of England who served four English monarchs as a royal adviser and agent and as a warrior of outstanding prowess."

Needless to say, the life and character of William Marshal is extraordinary and you will find a list of further reading at the end of Brooks’ book..… (meer)