British prime minister David Lloyd George said that the First World War was the worst thing to happen to England since the War of the Roses (1455 – 1485). But how accurate is this?
Answer: Not very. War of the Roses’ battles were normally fought by armies numbered in their thousands, rather than tens of thousands. Battle casualties were counted in the hundreds rather than the thousands. More British were killed in a single day at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 than in the whole of the War of the Roses.
Source: The War of the Roses- Peace & Conflict in 15th century England by John Gillingham
More at: History
Comments are closed.
Back Home
