Featured battle : The seige of York

Part of The Civil Wars of the Three Kingdoms

Date : 21 April 1644 - 15 July 1644

Following the serious defeat at Selby, the Marquis of Newcastle was able to re-garrison York but was immediately besieged by Lord Fairfax's Parliamentarians and Lord Leven's Scots. When the Earl of Manchester arrived with his forces to complete the encirclement, King Charles sent Prince Rupert to attempt to lift the seige. 2 attempts to storm the city's defences were made but both were drive off, and Rupert, by approaching from an unexpected direction (from Boroughbridge, rather than from Tadcaster as expected) bypassed the Parliamentarian forces sent to meet him and relieved the city. All would have been well but that Rupert then decided, against Newcastle's wishes, to then leave the city and meet Fairfax, Leven and Manchester in battle on Marston Moor (see entry). The completeness of the defeat of the Royalist army that day persuaded the garrison that no further help could be expected and they sued for terms.

Churchill's Arctic Convoys

William Smith
A destroyer came across a lifeboat from a cargo ship which had been sunk about a week before. Nine men managed to get into it but when found eight had died from exposure and the ninth just barely survived. Part of the gritty truth about the Arctic convoys with similar repeats throughout the book. Every convoy and many single voyages are described some meriting more detail than others.
The reference in the title to Churchill highlights the political nature of the enterprise. This led to some quite foolhardy risks which without the political drive would not have been taken. Losses in naval and civilian ships and men were significant some to air attack some to submarines but most tragically some to the Arctic weather. One fact which I read with surprise was of a Russian ship crewed entirely by women.
There are two useful maps, a super set of photographs and eighteen tables making a lot of information clearly available for analysis.
The Arctic convoys tend to lie on the periphery of general reading about the Second World war William Smith’s book deserves to be front and centre if only to honour the men and women whose story he has told.
We highly recommend this book.

Pen & Sword Maritime, 2022