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List of wars involving England

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This is a list of wars involving the Kingdom of England before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain by the Acts of Union 1707. For dates after 1708, see List of wars involving the United Kingdom.

  English victory
  English defeat
  Another result *

*e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result of civil or internal conflict, result unknown or indecisive, inconclusive

10th and 11th centuries

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
927 937 Æthelstan's invasion of Scotland England
Deheubarth
Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwent

Brycheiniog

Scotland
Norse-Gaels
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Kingdom of Dublin
Stalemate
946 954 Northumbria's war of independence England
Earl of Bamburgh
Northumbria
Victory
  • Northumbria becomes absorbed by the Kingdom of England
1016 1016 Cnut the Great's invasion of England England

Edmund II Surrendered
Eadnoth the Younger 
Ulfcytel Snillingr 

Kingdom of Denmark

Cnut the Great
Defeat
  • King Edmund, cedes all of England, save Wessex, to Cnut.[1]
  • Following Edmund's death on 30 November, Cnut ascends to the throne as the sole king of England.
  • Personal union formed between Denmark and England under Danish hegemony.
1026 1026 Battle of Helgeå Kingdom of England

Canute the Great

Sweden
Norway Norway

Anund Jacob Olaf II of Norway

Victory
  • The Swedish and Norwegian attack to conquer Denmark while Canute is busy in England fails and Canute retains power
  • Norway becomes a part of the North Sea empire and parts or the whole of Sweden are conquered by troops from England and Denmark including the capital, Gamla Uppsala
  • Olaf II of Norway is forced into exile in Kievan Rus.
  • Most of the Swedish forces, however, remain intact. The later invasion of Sweden seems to have ended badly, and in Anglo-Saxon sources the battle is described as a Swedish victory, and also that there was a great loss of English lives, and that the Swedes were in possession of the Battlefield.
  • Sweden would continue to support Norwegian rebels loyal to Olaf II under the whole of Canute's reign. Most forces in the Battle of Stiklestad consisted of Swedes and the eventual Swedish support for Norwegian rebels would lead to the disintegration of the North Sea Empire and the Personal Union between Denmark and Norway. [2]
1066 1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge

England

Harold Godwinson
Morcar, Earl of Northumbria
Edwin, Earl of Mercia

Kingdom of Norway

Harald Hardrada  Tostig Godwinson  Eystein Orre 

Victory
  • English Victory
  • The Norse army is defeated
1066 1066 Battle of Hastings England

Harold Godwinson 
Gyrth Godwinson 
Leofwine Godwinson 

Duchy of Normandy

William of Normandy
Alan the Red
William FitzOsbern
Eustace II, Count of Boulogne

Defeat
  • Norman Victory
  • England becomes absorbed by the Duchy of Normandy
1067 1081 Norman invasion of Wales England Welsh kingdoms Defeat
  • Forced Norman Retreat
1075 1075 Revolt of the Earls William I of England Three earls Internal Conflict, William was Victorious
  • Waltheof was beheaded in 1076
  • Roger lost his lands and earldom, was imprisoned, and was beheaded in 1087.
  • Ralph lost his lands and earldom, and was expelled from England
1096 1099 First Crusade England
Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of France
Duchy of Apulia
Byzantine Empire

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

Great Seljuq Empire
Danishmends
 Fatimid Caliphate
Almoravids

Abbasids

Victory

12th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1145 1149 Second Crusade England (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of Jerusalem (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of France (Iberian and Holy Land Crusade)
Holy Roman Empire (Wendish and Holy Land Crusade)
Kingdom of Portugal (Iberian Crusade)
Castile (Iberian Crusade)
County of Barcelona (Iberian Crusade)
León (Iberian Crusade)
Byzantine Empire (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of Denmark (Wendish Crusade)
Duchy of Poland (Wendish Crusade)

Kingdom of Sicily (Holy land Crusade)

Sultanate of Rum (Holy Land Crusade)
Almoravids (Iberian Crusade)
Almohads (Iberian Crusade)
Zengids (Holy Land Crusade)
Abbasids (Holy Land Crusade)
Fatimids (Holy Land Crusade)

Obotrite Confederacy (Wendish Crusade)

Partial Crusader Victory
  • Crusader Victory in Iberian and Wendish Crusades
  • Muslim Victory in the Holy Land Crusade
1189 1192 Third Crusade England
Kingdom of Jerusalem
France
Holy Roman Empire

Kingdom of Hungary

Ayyubids
Zengids
Sultanate of Rum
Byzantine Empire

Kingdom of Sicily

Partial Crusader victory

13th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1202 1204 French invasion of Normandy (1202–1204) England France Defeat
1209 1229 Albigensian Crusade English volunteers

County of Aurenja

Crusader Victory
1213 1214 Anglo-French War (1213–1214) England
Holy Roman Empire
County of Flanders
County of Boulogne
France Defeat
1230 1230 English invasion of France (1230) England
France Defeat
  • English Withdrawal
1239 1241 Barons' Crusade England
France
Kingdom of Navarre

Kingdom of Jerusalem

Ayyubids Crusader Diplomatic Victory
1242 1242 Saintonge War England
France Defeat
1271 1272 Ninth Crusade England
Kingdom of Cyprus
Kingdom of Jerusalem
County of Tripoli
Ilkhanate

Armenian Cilicia

Mamluks Stalemate
1277 1283 Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England England
Principality of Wales English victory
1294 1303 Gascon War England
France Defeat

Treaty of Paris Aquitaine becomes a Fief of France as well as England

1296 1328 First War of Scottish Independence England
Kingdom of Scotland
France
Connacht
Thomond
Uí Maine
Tyrconnell
Breifne O'Rourke
Oriel
Desmond

Magh Luirg

Inconclusive (Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton)
  • Scottish independence from England maintained
  • English victory in Ireland
  • Reinstatement of Anglo-Scottish border from reign of Alexander III of Scotland

14th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1324 1324 War of Saint-Sardos England
France Defeat
1332 1357 Second War of Scottish Independence England
Kingdom of Scotland

France

Defeat
1337 1453 Hundred Years' War England
Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Brittany (Montfort)
Portugal
Navarre
Flanders
Hainaut
Luxembourg

 Holy Roman Empire

France
Castile
Scotland
Genoa
Majorca
Bohemia
Aragon

Brittany (Blois)

Defeat: Overall French Victory
1351 1369 Castilian Civil War England

Forces of Peter of Castile
Kingdom of Navarre
Kingdom of Majorca
Kingdom of Granada
Duchy of Aquitaine Other Elite European mercenaries

Forces of Henry of Trastámara
Kingdom of France
Crown of Aragon
English alliance defeat.
1377 1575 Anglo-Scottish Wars Kingdom of England
Scotland Stalemate
1381 1382 Third Ferdinand War England

Portugal

Castile Defeat
1383 1385 1383–85 Crisis England

Portugal

Crown of Castile
Kingdom of France
Crown of Aragon
Victory

15th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1470 1474 Anglo-Hanseatic War  England Hanseatic League Defeat, Hanseatic victory
1496 1498 Italian War of 1494–1498
(1494–1498)
League of Venice:

 Papal States
 Republic of Venice
 Kingdom of Naples
Kingdoms of Spain
Duchy of Milan
 Holy Roman Empire
 Republic of Florence
Duchy of Mantua
 England (from 1496)

 Kingdom of France Victory
  • Forced French retreat

16th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1512 1514 War of the League of Cambrai  England
Papal States
Venice
Holy Roman Empire
Spain

Swiss mercenaries

France
Duchy of Ferrara

Scotland

Defeat, French and Venetian victory
1522 1525 Italian War of 1521–26  England
Papal States

Holy Roman Empire

Spain
France

Venice

Victory
1528 1529 War of the League of Cognac  England
France
Papal States
Venice
Florence
Duchy of Milan
Spain
Holy Roman Empire

Republic of Genoa

Defeat, Imperial-Spanish victory
1542 1546 Italian War of 1542–46  England
Holy Roman Empire
Spain
Saxony

Brandenburg

France
Ottoman Empire

Jülich-Cleves-Berg

Inconclusive
1543 1550 Rough Wooing  England Scotland

France

Defeat, Treaty of Norham, French-Scottish victory
1556 1559 Italian War of 1551–59  England
Holy Roman Empire
Spain
Duchy of Florence

Duchy of Savoy

France
Republic of Siena

Ottoman Empire

Defeat, Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, Loss of Calais
1562 1563 English expedition to France (1562-1563)  England

Huguenots (Before Edict of Amboise

France
Defeat, Treaty of Troyes (1564), Elizabeth I accepts French rule over Pale of Calais in exchange for 120,000 Crowns.
1562 1598 French Wars of Religion
(1562–1598)
Protestants:
Huguenots
 England
Catholics:
Catholic League
Spain Spain
 Duchy of Savoy
Victory
  • Uneasy truce
  • The Edict of Nantes granted the Huguenots substantial rights in certain areas
  • Paris and other defined territories were declared to be permanently Catholic
  • Failure of France's enemies to weaken France and to gain territories
1566 1648 Eighty Years' War  England
Dutch Republic
France
Huguenots

German Protestants

Holy Roman Empire

Spain

Victory
1569 1573 First Desmond Rebellion  England
 Kingdom of Ireland
allied Irish clans
FitzGeralds of Desmond
allied Irish clans
Victory
1579 1583 Second Desmond Rebellion  England
 Kingdom of Ireland
allied Irish clans
FitzGeralds of Desmond
 Spain
 Papal States
allied Irish clans
Victory
1580 1583 War of the Portuguese Succession  England
Portugal Portugal loyal to Prior of Crato
 France

 United Provinces

Spain Spain
Portugal Portugal loyal to Philip of Spain
Defeat
1585 1604 Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)  England
 United Provinces
 France
Portugal Portuguese loyal to Prior of Crato

French Huguenot forces

Spain Spain
French Catholic League
Irish alliance

Sovereign Military Order of Malta Order of Saint John

Stalemate
1594 1603 Nine Years' War (Ireland)  England
 Kingdom of Ireland
Alliance of Irish clans
Spain Spain

Scottish Gaelic mercenaries

Victory

17th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1602 1661 Dutch-Portuguese War (1602–1661)  Dutch Republic
 England
(until 1640)
Johor Johor Sultanate
Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Kongo
Kingdom of Ndongo
Portugal Kingdom of Portugal
 Crown of Castile
(until 1640)
Kingdom of Cochin
Potiguara Tupis
Stalemate

Treaty of Hague

1625 1630 Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630)  England

Support:

Spain Spain Status quo ante bellum
1627 1629 Anglo-French War (1627–1629)  England  France Status quo ante bellum
1640 1668 Portuguese Restoration War Portugal Kingdom of Portugal
 France
 England
Spain Crown of Spain Victory
1652 1654 First Anglo-Dutch War  Commonwealth of England  Dutch Republic Victory

Treaty of Westminster

1654 1660 Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)  Commonwealth of England
 France (1657–59)
Spain Spain
Royalists of the British Isles
Victory
1661 1665 Dano-Dutch War  England
 Denmark–Norway
 Dutch Republic Victory
1665 1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War  England
Bishopric of Münster
 Dutch Republic
Denmark Denmark
 France
Defeat
1672 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War  England
 France
Bishopric of Münster
Electorate of Cologne
 Dutch Republic
Denmark Denmark-Norway
Defeat

Status quo ante bellum:

1672 1678 Franco-Dutch War  England (1672–74)

 France
Münster (1672–1674)
Cologne (1672–1674)
Sweden Swedish Empire (from 1674)

 England (1678)

 Dutch Republic
 Holy Roman Empire (from 1673)
 Spain (from 1673)
Brandenburg-Prussia (from 1673)
Lorraine Lorraine (from 1673)
Denmark Denmark–Norway (from 1674)

Major French territorial gains
1686 1690 Anglo-Mughal War Kingdom of England England
East India Company
Mughal Empire Defeat
  • Victory for the Mughal Empire
  • The British East India Company fined
1687 1688 Anglo-Siamese War Kingdom of England England
East India Company
Thailand Kingdom of Ayutthaya (Siam)
(Unauthorised piracy by English sailors under Siamese employ)
English defectors
Inconclusive

English factory rejected from Siam, after minor naval action, along with massacre in the aftermath: the war was not pursued. In 1688, a coup forced the closure of all official European trade in Siam for 150 years except for the Dutch.

1688 1697 Nine Years' War Grand Alliance:
 Dutch Republic
 England
 Holy Roman Empire
Spanish Empire
 Duchy of Savoy
Swedish Empire (until 1691)
 Scotland
 France
Jacobites
Treaty of Ryswick

18th century

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
England & allies England's opposition
1700 1721 The Great Northern War
(1700–1721)
Kingdom of England England (until 1707)

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (from 1707)

Sweden Swedish Empire
 Ottoman Empire
 United Provinces
Brunswick-Lüneburg

Tsardom of Russia

Cossack Hetmanate
Denmark Denmark–Norway
 Electorate of Saxony
Poland–Lithuania
 Prussia
Province of Hanover Hanover

Inconclusive for England
  • Britain did not gain or lose anything from the war and exited the war a year before it had ended due to financial trouble

Russian Allied victory:

1701 1714 War of the Spanish Succession Kingdom of England England (until 1707)
Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (from 1707)

Austrian Empire Austrian monarchy
Dutch Republic Dutch Republic
Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire
Savoy Piedmont-Savoy
Kingdom of Prussia Prussia
Habsburg Spain
Kingdom of Portugal
 France
Spain Spanish monarchy
Bavaria (~1704)
Cologne
Mantua Mantua (~1708)
Victory

Civil wars and revolutions

[edit]
Start End Name of conflict Belligerents Outcome
English Government Rebels
1069 1070 Harrying of the North William I of England House of Wessex

Kingdom of Denmark
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Scandinavians

Internal Conflict, William was Victorious

An uprising which started 4 years after the Norman Conquest. Edgar Ætheling, the grandson of Edmund Ironside and the last notable heir to the House of Wessex, fought with the support of the King of Denmark Sweyn II, Anglo-Saxons, and Anglo-Scandinavians.

It ended in defeat for the Anglo-Saxons & Anglo-Scandinavians. William the Conqueror paid Sweyn and his Danish fleet to go home, but the remaining rebels refused to meet him in battle, and he decided to starve them out by laying waste to the northern shires using scorched earth tactics. The Norman campaign to reconquer Northern England resulted in a genocide against the people living there.

1070 1071 Ely Rebellion William I of England King of Denmark Sweyn II
Hereward the Wake
Morcar
Bishop Aethelwine of Durham
Internal Conflict, William Victorius

An anti-Norman insurrection centred on the Isle of Ely. The Danish king Sweyn Estrithson sent a small army to try to establish a camp on the Isle of Ely. The Isle became a refuge for Anglo-Saxon forces under Earl Morcar, Bishop Aethelwine of Durham and Hereward the Wake in 1071.[4] The area was taken by William the Conqueror only after a prolonged struggle.[5]

1088 1088 Rebellion of 1088 England
William Rufus
Duchy of Normandy
Robert Curthose
Internal Conflict, William Rufus Victorius
1135 1154 The Anarchy Supporters of Stephen of Blois Supporters of Empress Matilda and Henry Curtmantle Civil War
  • Treaty of Wallingford
  • Henry would do homage to Stephen, in return Stephen promised Henry would become King of England upon his death
1173 1174 Revolt of 1173–74 English royalists English rebels
Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Scotland
County of Flanders
County of Boulogne
Duchy of Brittany
Internal Conflict

Treaty of Falaise

  • Scotland cedes the castles of Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh, and Stirling over to English soldiers
  • William is forced to recognize Henry's overlordship
1215 1217 First Barons' War England

Pro-Angevin forces

Rebel Barons
France

Kingdom of Scotland

Civil War, Angevinian victory
1264 1267 Second Barons' War English royalists Rebel barons Civil War, Royalist victory
1264 1267 Welsh Uprising (1282) English royalists Dafydd ap Gruffydd Internal Conflict, Royalist victory
1321 1322 Despenser War England

Contrariants

Supported by: Kingdom of Scotland

Civil War, Decisive Royal victory
  • Return of the Despensers
  • Execution of rebels
  • Revocation of the Ordinances of 1311
  • Strengthening of the monarchy until 1326
1326 1326 Invasion of England (1326) Royal government

Edward II (POW)
Hugh Despenser the Younger Executed
Hugh Despenser the Elder Executed
Earl of Arundel Executed

Contrariants

Supported by:
County of Hainaut[6]

Isabella of France
Roger Mortimer
Earl of Leicester
Earl of Norfolk
Earl of Kent

Civil War, Contrariants' victory

Continuation of the Despenser War. Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimers invasion led to:

1381 1381 Peasants' Revolt Royal government Rebel forces Internal Conflict, Royal government victorious
  • Most rebel leaders executed
  • no further attempts by Parliament to impose a poll tax or to reform England's fiscal system.
1400 1415 Glyndŵr Rising
Part of the Hundred Years' War
England
Welsh rebels
Kingdom of France
Internal Conflict, Total English victory
1455 1485 Wars of the Roses House of York

Supported by:
Burgundian State
Lordship of Ireland
Duchy of Brittany[a]

House of Lancaster
House of Tudor

Supported by:
Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Scotland
Principality of Wales
Duchy of Brittany[b]


Yorkist rebels

Civil War, Victory for the House of Lancaster and their allies
1497 1497 Cornish Rebellion of 1497  England

Henry VII
Giles, Lord Daubeny

Cornish rebels

James, Baron Audley  Executed
Thomas Flamank  Executed
Michael An Gof  Executed

Internal Conflict, English victory
1549 1549 Prayer Book Rebellion  England

England Edward VI
England Edward Seymour
England John Russell
England Anthony Kingston
England William Francis

Southwestern Catholic Rebels

Sir Humphrey Arundell  Executed
John Winslade  Executed
John Bury  Executed
Robert Welch, Vicar of St Thomas, Exeter  Executed

Internal Conflict, Edwardian victory
  • rebellion suppressed
  • execution of rebel commanders
1639 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms Royalists

Confederates

Parliamentarians

Scottish Covenanters

Civil War, Parliamentarian victory

Bishops' Wars (1639)

Second Bishops' War (1640)

Irish Rebellion of 1641

First English Civil War (1642–46)

Irish Confederate Wars (1642–48)

Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1644–47)

Second English Civil War (1648)

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649)

Third English Civil War (1650–1652)

1685 1685 Monmouth Rebellion Kingdom of England Royal army of James II Rebel army of Duke of Monmouth Internal Conflict, Victory for James II
1688 1689 Glorious Revolution Kingdom of England James II William of Orange
Dutch military forces
British military forces
Internal Conflict
1689 1746 Jacobite Rebellions Kingdom of England England (until 1707)

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (from 1707)

Jacobites Civil War, Royalist victory

in England, Scotland and Ireland

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ After Francis II became ill, his treasurer, Pierre Landais, ruling the Duchy in his stead, aided Richard III in attempting to capture Henry Tudor.
  2. ^ Francis II sheltered Henry Tudor, supplying him with money, troops, and ships. It was only after Francis fell ill that Henry was forced to flee Brittany to France.

Sources

[edit]
  • Guy, J. (1988). Tudor England. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-285213-7. OCLC 17677564.
  • McCaffrey, Wallace (1984). "Recent Writings on Tutor History". In Schlatter, Richard (ed.). Recent Views on British History: Essays on Historical Writing since 1966. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-0959-4.
  • Wagner, John A.; Schmid, Susan Walters, eds. (2011). Encyclopedia of Tudor England. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-298-2.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Barnett, Correlli. Britain and her army, 1509-1970: a military, political and social survey (1970).
  • Carlton, Charles. This Seat of Mars: War and the British Isles, 1485-1746 (Yale UP; 2011) 332 pages; studies the impact of near unceasing war from the individual to the national levels.
  • Chandler, David G., and Ian Frederick William Beckett, eds. The Oxford history of the British army (Oxford UP, 2003).
  • Cole, D. H and E. C Priestley. An outline of British military history, 1660-1936 (1936). online
  • Higham, John, ed. A Guide to the Sources of British Military History (1971) 654 pages excerpt; Highly detailed bibliography and discussion up to 1970.
  • Sheppard, Eric William. A short history of the British army (1950). online

Historiography

[edit]
  • Messenger, Charles, ed. Reader's Guide to Military History (2001) pp 55–74; annotated guide to most important books.