During the British bourgeois revolution from 1642 to 1688, there were two civil wars. It is an armed struggle of the broad social strata, led by the emerging bourgeoisie, against autocratic monarchy and feudal system, and it is the main and highest form of struggle of the 17th century British bourgeois revolution, that is, the first revolution in Europe. In the civil war, the revolutionary leaders represented by Cromwell created a new type of army and created a new set of strategies and tactics in practice, which wrote a glorious page in European military history. The result of the English civil war was to put Charles I, the representative of feudal autocracy, to death, to establish a bourgeois republic, and to declare the birth of the capitalist system.

Due to the rising price of wool, the civil war in England started from the "enclosure movement" in Britain in the 13th century to the southeast where the commodity economy was relatively developed in the 16th century. The result of the "enclosure movement" is to accelerate the transformation from feudal agriculture to capitalist agriculture, and a large number of capitalist farms have emerged, and farmers who have lost their land have become cheap labor to promote the development of capitalism. By the beginning of the 17th century, Britain's self-sufficient feudal agricultural economy had collapsed, feudal land management had been transformed into capitalist management, and new noble, which was closely related to capitalism, was separated from feudal aristocratic landlords and became an important force in the bourgeois revolution. With the development of agricultural capitalism, industry and commerce have also made great progress.

with the development of capitalist economy, the power of new noble and the bourgeoisie (including industrial and commercial capitalists in cities, handicraft workshop proprietors, guild owners and some farmers in rural areas) has been further strengthened. They demanded the abolition of feudal autocracy and shared political rights, and produced an ideology that reflected the demands of the bourgeoisie-Puritanism. They formed an opposition to the autocratic monarchy in Congress, and the contradiction and struggle between Congress and the king continued to develop. In 1628, Congress passed the "Right Petition" to restrict the royal power, reaffirming that no tax can be levied arbitrarily without the approval of Congress, and no one can be arrested arbitrarily without legal basis and court judgment. King Charles I reluctantly approved the "Rights Petition" for the appropriation of Congress, but when Congress protested against the king's arbitrary taxation, Charles I dissolved Congress in 1629. After more than ten years, the contradiction between kingship and Congress, especially with the masses, became increasingly acute. In November 164, Charles I was forced to convene a new parliament, marking the beginning of the British bourgeois revolution.

in January p>1642, Charles I left London, where the revolutionary situation was high, and went north to York City to organize a royalist army, ready to suppress the "rebellious" behavior of the congressmen by force. On August 22nd, he raised the flag of Wang Jun in Nottingham and declared a crusade against the rebels in Parliament, thus opening the prelude to the English Civil War.

the first civil war: 1642-1647. On October 23, 1642, Wang Jun and the congressional army fought for the first time on Mount Aji. Wang Jun has more than 7, troops and 7,5 congressional troops. The cavalry on the two wings of the Congressional Army was defeated by the counterattack of the cavalry in Wang Jun, but the infantry in the middle repelled the attack of the infantry in Wang Jun and defeated it. The battle result was not tied. On October 29th, Wang Jun captured Oxford, and on November 12th, it captured Brentford, 7 miles from London. The capital was in a hurry. More than 4, militiamen, consisting of craftsmen, apprentices and civilians, rushed to the front line, and the strength of the parliamentary army increased greatly, forcing Wang Jun to abandon its plan to attack London. In 1643, the whole military situation was very unfavorable to the congressional army. In September, Wang Junbing attacked London in three ways, and the capital was once again in a hurry. London militia organized four regiments to defeat Wang Jun's attack together with the Congressional Army, and London turned the corner again. But Wang Jun controls three-fifths of the country, and the Congressional faction is passive.

In the early days of the civil war, the congressional army lost one after another. Politically, it was mainly because the elders who held the leadership of the Congress wavered and compromised, unwilling to completely break with the king, content with vested interests, and had no intention of overthrowing the royal power. Militarily, it is mainly because the commander Essex and others are passive in fighting, lack the initiative to attack, and the army lacks training and poor quality. At this time, a number of outstanding generals represented by Cromwell emerged in the army. Cromwell personally organized the "Eastern Alliance" with 12, troops, and won the battle in the East in 1643.

At the beginning of July p>1644, the two armies launched the first large-scale battle since the Civil War in the wasteland of maston. On the 2nd, Prince Rupert of Wang Jun led cavalry to quickly occupy the whole wasteland. The congressional army immediately advanced on the wasteland after learning about it. At about 7 pm, the left-wing cavalry of the Congressional Army first rushed down to the enemy. Then, the middle infantry and right-wing cavalry also went into battle. Cromwell's left-wing cavalry quickly destroyed the first and second line cavalry in Wang Jun, and Rupert fled. An hour and a half later, the left wing of the congressional army won. However, the middle infantry and right-wing cavalry were fiercely countered by Wang Jun infantry and cavalry, and they retreated step by step, which was in a critical situation. Cromwell defeated Wang Jun's right-wing cavalry in one fell swoop at this time, and concentrated his forces on Wang Jun's infantry, and Wang Jun was defeated. The battle ended at about 1 pm. Wang Jun invested 15, people (7, cavalry), more than 3, people were killed and 1,5 people were captured. The Battle of the Wasteland in maston was a turning point in the British Civil War, which reversed the situation of successive defeats of the Congressional Army and took the initiative in the war. At the same time, this battle was also a turning point in Cromwell's life, and he played a decisive role in winning the battle. Since then, his troops have become famous throughout the country as "fighters".

The independents headed by Cromwell in Congress were very dissatisfied because of the incompetence and passivity of Essex, commander-in-chief of the Congressional Army. In December 1644, the lower house of Congress passed the Law of Self-Suppression, which stipulated that members of parliament were not allowed to hold military posts. In January 1645, the "New Model Army Act" was passed, and it was decided to establish a new model army with 22, cavalry, which was funded by Congress, and appointed Thomas Fairfax as the commander-in-chief to command the whole army in a unified manner. At Fairfax's insistence, Cromwell, as a member of parliament, was appointed as deputy commander-in-chief and cavalry commander. Since then, Cromwell has served two terms, representing the Congress in the army and the army in the Congress, and the independents headed by him have mastered the real power of the army. The situation of the civil war has also changed greatly.

instead of passive defense and waiting for battle, the congressional army adopted an active offensive strategy of taking the initiative to attack and forcing the enemy to fight a decisive battle, and won one military victory after another. Among them, the battle of Nesby is the most important. On June 14th, 1645, the two sides launched a decisive battle near Nesby. Congressional forces concentrated 14, troops, including 6,5 cavalry; Wang Jun pieced together 7,5 people, including 4, cavalry. The two sides still adopt the traditional method of infantry centered and cavalry flanking. At Cromwell's suggestion, in order to induce Wang Jun to do a quick battle, the congressional troops retreated slightly, and Wang Jun immediately ordered the attack. At 1: 3 in the morning, Wang Jun attacked on all fronts. Rupert led the cavalry to the left-wing cavalry of the Congressional Army and pursued it. At the same time, Cromwell commanded the right-wing cavalry to rush to the left-wing cavalry in Wang Jun with lightning speed. The infantry of both sides also launched a decisive battle. Cromwell defeated Wang Jun's left wing, but Wang Jun's infantry attacked quickly, and the Congressional infantry was forced to retreat. At this critical moment, Cromwell left a regiment to pursue Wang Jun's left-wing remnants, and concentrated the rest of the cavalry on the rear of Wang Jun's infantry. Wang Jun was attacked from front to back, immediately chaos, soon rout. The king fled with 2 cavalry. In this decisive battle, Wang Jun suffered casualties and captured more than 5, people, and all the trench, guns, arms and military flags, including the king's secret documents, fell into the hands of the congressional army. During the three-hour battle, Wang Jun's main force suffered a devastating blow and never recovered. By March, 1647, the last stronghold of Wang Jun fell into the hands of congressional troops, and the first civil war came to an end.

the second civil war: 1648. After the victory of the first civil war, the struggle between the elders and the independents in the revolutionary camp became increasingly fierce. As early as February 1647, the Presbyterians forced Congress to pass the dissolution of the army bill, which caused strong dissatisfaction among officers, soldiers and the masses. On August 6th, the independents headed by Cromwell United with the petty-bourgeois radicals and, with the support of the people in London, led the army into the capital. Many Presbyterian members fled hastily, and the independents seized the real power of the Congress. However, Cromwell immediately suppressed the radical "equalists" in turn.

just as the revolutionary camp was splitting and struggling, Charles I escaped from the congressional army base camp, colluded with the Presbyterians and Scots, and launched a rebellion in the southwest in February 1648, and the second civil war broke out. Congressional troops put down the royalist rebellion in Wales and the east successively, and on August 17, 1648, they fought the famous Preston battle with the Scottish army that supported the king. Cromwell first stormed the Landale division of the British Royal Army on the left side of the Scottish Army, and defeated Wang Jun after four hours of fierce fighting. Cromwell attacked the Scottish army, first defeated the enemy on the right bank of the Ribble River, and then crossed the river for pursuit. On the morning of the 18th, the Congressional Army overtook the Scottish Army at Wigan, 15 miles away from Preston, and immediately led his troops into the enemy's line, cutting the enemy's defenders into several sections and wiping them out. On the 19th, the Congressional Army continued to pursue the Scottish Army. Cromwell and Hamilton fought the fiercest battle near Wallington since the Scottish invasion. Cromwell captured the mountain pass and a bridge on the mersey river. The retreat of the Scottish army was broken and most of the troops surrendered. On August 25, Hamilton surrendered to Lambert, the general of the Congress Army, in a desperate situation. At this point, the Second Civil War came to an end with the attack of British parliamentary troops crushing the Scottish army and Wang Jun.

The English Civil War was a great struggle between the British bourgeoisie and the feudal autocratic monarchy with the support of the broad masses of the people. Through the war, the autocratic monarchy was overthrown, and new noble and the bourgeoisie established a dominant position in the country's political life. On January 3, 1649, Charles I was put to death. In February, Congress passed a resolution to abolish the upper house and the royal power, and in May, the Republic was established. The British bourgeois revolution reached its climax by taking advantage of the east wind of civil war victory.

There are many reasons for the victory of the bourgeoisie in the British Civil War, but the most fundamental reasons are as follows:

First, in terms of power comparison, the parliamentary army has an absolute advantage. The area controlled by Congress is the southeast including London. The economy here is developed, the population is dense, the products are rich, the financial resources are abundant, and four-fifths of the country's tax revenue comes from here. There are also important ports and naval fleets, which can cut off the contact between the king's army and the outside world. More importantly, the congressional army has the support of the broad masses of the people. In contrast, the western and northern areas controlled by the king are economically backward, sparsely populated and lack of financial resources. There are about 6, people in the main force of the Congress Army, but only 2, people in Wang Jun.

Second, the revolutionaries reorganized the army in a timely manner, adopted correct strategies and tactics, reversed the passive military line, and emerged outstanding commanders like Cromwell. He is good at cavalry tactics, with a strong sense of fighting, resolute and decisive, bold and circuitous, cleverly maneuvering troops, seizing favorable fighters, annihilating the enemy's effective forces, expanding the results and recovering lost ground. He played a decisive role in several decisive battles.

Third, the war between the Congress and the autocratic monarchy is a just war between the progressive forces and the backward forces, and farmers, craftsmen and urban civilians are the main forces of the revolution. Congress represents the rising bourgeoisie and is the spokesman of the advanced capitalist mode of production. The feudal aristocracy headed by the king represented the backward feudal forces, which was a huge obstacle to social progress and productivity development, so the congressional faction could gain the support of the general public.

The English Civil War occupies a prominent position in British military history. The new model army founded in the war is a new type of bourgeois army and the first regular army in British history. It is funded by the state budget, and it is unified in uniform, unified in preparation, unified in discipline and unified in command. The compulsory conscription system promulgated by the National Assembly is the embryonic form of the modern conscription system, which ensures sufficient soldiers. Cromwell carried out a long-distance attack with cavalry and successfully used cavalry cross tactics to fight, which was an innovation in cavalry tactics.