The battlefields of KwaZulu Natal is a ride I can't wait to do. Here is a little article about the amenities around the area.
Finally, here is a list of the sub routes of the self ride/drive tours.

In mid January 1944, the slow, hard slog up the Italian peninsula was into its fourth month already and the Allies were looking for innovative ways to break the formidable German defenses. With the plan for an amphibious operation at Anzio, US Fifth Army Commander Mark Clark feared the landing force being forced back into the sea by the German reserve forces around Rome. In an attempt to draw the Germans away from the Rome and Anzio area and further south, he ordered an attack by the 36th Infantry Division from Texas across the Rapido River to the south of Cassino. Secondarily, there was even some hope that the attack might succeed with an armored follow up by the 1st Armored Division that would storm up the Liri River valley and beyond. Clark met his first objective, but failed miserably with the secondary objective. The Battle of of the Rapido River, or "Bloody River" as its participants called it, was a disaster on the scale of Omaha Beach, but without the merit of a final success.

The Allied plan was for a forceful movement against the Gustav Line, of which the Rapido River area around Sant' Angelo was a central part of, to tie down the German defenses. Additionally, Clark wanted to inflict enough damage to bring out German Field Marshal Kesselring's reserve forces away from Anzio. Clark instructed the British 10th Corps, led by Lieutenant General Richard McCreery, to attack the Gustav Line on 18 January at three places. The British 5th Divison would attack across the Liri River near Minturno on the west coast of Italy. The British 56th Divison would attack over the Liri near Castelforte. Finally, the British 46th Divison would attack over the Liri near Sant' Ambrogia and most importantly continue to the area of Sant' Apollinare and secure the high ground that overlooked the US 2nd Corps' 36th Division's assault area near Sant' Angelo. The 36th's Commander General Fred Walker had real reservations about his part of the operation and claimed (with some support) that Clark promised the 36th would not have to proceed if the southern high ground around Sant' Apollinare had not been secured by the British 46th. This issue would prove disastrous.

A little background is in order about the relations between the British and the Americans in Italy. British General Harold Alexander was in overall command of the Allied forces in Italy in the form of the 15th Army Group, which consisted of Mark Clark' Fifth Army and Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese's UK 8th Army. Fifth Army consisted, in part, of the US 2nd Corps under General Geoffrey Keyes and the British 10th Corps under McCreery. The British and the American military leadership often saw the same battlefield in two different ways. According to Carlo D'Este in Fatal Decision, the British were all about concentration of force, but the Americans liked to probe on a broad front, then exploit weak spots. More importantly, the key Generals in this fight exhibited their countrys' worst stereotypical traits. Whereas Eisenhower was known first and foremost as a humble diplomat and a great smoother of Allied tensions, Clark seemed pathologically ambitious, vane and held contempt for anyone who might have the gall to cross him. Likewise, where Churchill's manner was leavened by his American mother, Alexander showed the British aristocracy's patronising view of all things American. These traits combined with Clark's coming of age in the Salerno campaign and finding that the Alexander controlled publicity machine made it out to be a British victory made the ground fertile for bad decisons. Clark held a deep distrust of the British and could not stomach the Brits getting any more glory in the Fifth Army sector. Therefore, Clark had made up his mind that the breaking of the Gustav Line, if it happened at all, would be led and exploited by the Americans.

In the Liri Valley plan, McCreery felt his 10th Corps had been spread too wide and did not want to force any particular area too hard for fear of getting in a fight with too few troops and taking heavy losses. This led to the tragically predictable consequence of McCreery's Corps delaying their start by 24 hours, knowing full well it would enrage Clark, then, despite early success, not pushing to take the high ground near Sant' Apollinare without having secured a bridge over the Liri behind them. Clark was livid, if not surprised, but was now presented with two decisions. First, Clark could, but not realistically, delay the 36th's Rapido River assault, because he was already butting up against the 22nd of January which was the planned date for Operation Shingle, the Anzio landings. The Rapido River assault was needed to ensure that Kesselring would have to deploy his reserves away from Rome and Anzio. Second, and ironically, Clark had a good choice and refused to take it. Clark could have followed American doctrine and re-enforced the British 10th Corps's definite, but limited success, but just could not accept the idea of the British getting the credit for the break through. Clark declared the operation was to proceed as planned. The 36th Infantry's Texans and General Walker would bear the brunt of this All-American bravado.

All of this high level bickering and positioning did not mean that the 36th were inevitably doomed to fail, but it surely seems that they were. The 36th had fought hard and painfully in the area around San Pietro in the bloody slog up to the Rapido. They were battle weary and filled with too many green replacements. However, most importantly, the 36th seemed to be filled with the belief that they drew all of the hard missions and the ones no one else wanted. In this case, they may have been right, but that belief in a combat unit is contagious and almost always self defeating. This included their General and at least one of their Colonels, who made their doubts about the operation public, without any notable objections up the chain. The 36th entered the battle looking for failure and they found it in spades.

The plan was for 2 line regiments of the 36th, the 141st and the 143rd to attack across the Rapido on the night of the 20th and in the early morning hours of the 21st of January. The lead elements would cross in boats, then be followed by the engineers who would build foot bridges for the remainder of the regiments' troops to cross. It was a clear and simple plan, but the execution was under-equipped and ill practiced to the point of negligence. The fact that so much coordination was needed was obvious to many, but 36th officers were too busy feeling hard-done-to. Some basic exercises were practiced on the Volturno River, but nothing to the scale that was required of such a tough operation. It was as if the 36th felt the result was not in question, so no real effort should be spent in preparation. The engineers were woefully short on the proper equipment and got little support from Fifth Army. Rather than amphibious DUKWs and specially made foot bridges, the troops got rubber dingys, wooden scows and catwalks laid over pontoons. Adding to the mess was the fact that no roads led to crossing sites and the area was open to German observation all throughout the day. The engineers cleared the mines during the night as best they could, but the infantry had to drag all of the boats and equipment forward themselves.

The movement started as it was to follow, chaotically. Many of the boats had been damaged by German artillery and the infantry had not been trained how to handle them or even how many or what kind of oars were needed. The infantry stumbled through mine lanes in the dark, rattling boats and equipment all the way with at least one group straying into a minefield. The Germans were alerted by the sounds and started to bring fire down on the hapless Texans. When some did make it to the Rapido River, they found that it was narrow, but deep and fast. Many of the boats foundered or were hit by German fire. Shamefully for the 36th, a small number, but too many refused to go or fell in the river on purpose to avoid going. Many of those that did get to the western side of the river were drenched and exhausted. Each regiment got significant numbers across, but could not follow up with supporting battalions and the engineers could not keep their footbridges in tact for more than few hours. The tenuous positions on the western side of the river were quickly becoming untenable and the disaster was setting in by mid morning of the 21st. The lead battalion of the 143rd fell back across the river to their start point. This certainly helped them, but it allowed the Germans to concentrate all of their fire on the northern crossing and the 1st Battalion of the 141st. This battalion was stuck and would never be rescued.

By midday on the 21st, Clark and Keyes were demanding a renewed offensive. Walker wanted a new offensive too, but only to retrieve the lost 1/141st and Walker wanted it under the cover of darkness. Keyes demanded that the new offensive should take place in the mid afternoon, but various other foul-ups meant it did not happen for the 143rd until 15:00 and the 141st until 21:00 on the 21st. Both crossings established a perimeter on the German side, but not large enough to get armor across for fire support. These assaults worked no better than the earlier ones. In fact, the new was exactly like the old, only worse. By midday on the 22nd, the situation was dire and all units were looking to pull back, but had their bridges and boats destroyed. In Cassino: The Hollow Victory, John Ellis says Keyes was not having it and demanded that the Division reserve, the 142nd Regiment, be committed. Walker balked, but complied. Soon, however, the losses became too great and the attack was cancelled in the mid afternoon of the 22nd. What was left of the 2 regiments retreated as best they could, but the 1st of the 141st, as a unit, was never heard from again.

The numbers tell the soldiers' story. 143 killed, 663 wounded an 875 missing ( approximately 500 were confirmed later to have been taken prisoner by the German 15th Panzer Grenadier Division ). The 36th Texas Infantry Division ceased to exist as a combat capable unit. The German 15th Panzer Grenadier Division had 64 killed and 179 wounded. Clark achieved his goals of tying up the Germans prior to the Anzio landings and even managed to get the Germans to send their reserves south. However, embarrassingly for Clark, they were sent in response to McCreery's 10th Corps assaults, not the 36th's.

Churchill had pushed for the Italian campaign, calling it the "soft underbelly" of the German monster, but nothing could have been further than the truth. The German military machine was probably the best defensive army ever assembled and the succession of mountains on the Italian peninsula gave them a natural advantage. The Italian theatre was as grueling a campaign as anything in World War II and worst than most. The Battle of the Bloody River was its saddest moment for the Americans.

Ride Suggestion

Check out this ride that starts in Naples, then winds through the mountains south of the Liri River and finally follows the Liri up to the Rapido River around Sant' Angelo in Theocides.

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Book Recommendations

On January 30 1712, a force under South Carolinian Colonel John Barnwell, attacked the Tuscorora Indian village cum fort of Narhantes, near New Bern, North Carolina. Barnwell had been sent by the South Carolina authorities in response to a call for help from North Carolinian settlers after they had been attacked by the southern part of the Tuscarora Indians, under the leadership of Chief Hancock.

Background

The Tuscarora War is one of the saddest of the Indian wars, both because there were truly good relations between Indians and whites for a long time before the fighting started and because it was one the first such problems in the southern colonies. The Tuscarora, along with smaller tribes of Coree, Matchapunga, Pamlico, Bear River and Neusioc had lived and hunted in the area since before the settlers arrived. Some of the smaller tribes had even moved inland already due to the earlier expansion of the European settlers. The settlers, mainly English, Swiss and German, had been spreading out from their Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds landing areas for 50 years. They were becoming more prosperous, but also more greedy for land. Their sprawl was tolerated at first, but eventually it began to encroach on Tuscarora hunting grounds along the Neuse, Pamlico, Trent and Roanoke Riviers. What was to become the all too familiar complaints in later Indian wars caused the Tuscarora to attack. They felt that they had been taken by duplicitous European traders, had their people enslaved by the same and were increasingly being encroached upon by the European settlers. The northern part of the Tuscaroras, led by Chief Tom Blunt, had felt better treated, so had sided, albeit incompletely, with the settlers. The southern tribes, led by Chief Hancock had decided that terrorising the Europeans by force was the only way to regain their way of life.

On September 22, 1711, the Tuscarora struck the European settlers ferociously in multiple places in between the Neuses and Pamlico Rivers. The settlers were in a bad way already due to a armed dispute between rival leaders of the settlers. They had not prepared defenses and took heavy losses in lives and livelihoods. The Tuscarorans killed, tortured, burned and pillaged their way through the area. The settlers had no forts, but began to gather in some of the bigger plantations homes to fight off the Tuscarora. The North Carolina settler Deputy Governor, Edward Hyde, sent out pleas for help to Virginia and South Carolina. Colonel Barnwell, with a force of a few whites and several hundred Indians (mainly Yamasee, but also Cape Fear, Catawba, Muskhogean, Saraw, Wateree and Wynyaw) was South Carolina's answer.

The Battle of Narhantes Fort 30 January 1712

Barnwell made his way north from South Carolina and arrived in the Neuses River area in late January 1712. Barnwell did not find the promised North Carolina help, but decided to attack the nearby Narhantes anyway. He struck to find the village largely open, but with several small, non-supporting fortifications. There was some fierce opposition including from the women of the village, but Barnwell had taken the village within a few hours. Those not killed were taken prisoner. Barnwell had recruited plenty of his Indian allies with the promise of scalps and plunder, so it was unsurprising to see some of those captured were taken by Barnwell's Indians and they had quietly slipped away with their booty. Barnwell stayed in the area for several days, eventually destroying Narhantes totally.

Barnwell would spend the remainder of the winter stomping through other Tuscaroran villages as he worked the area. However, Barnwell met his match in ferociousness with Chief Hancock, who eventually convinced Barnwell to treat by threatening to kill all of the previously captured settlers, if Barnwell continued his attacks. In the Spring, a comprehensive, but short-lived peace was agreed, but as with so many of these, the terms were not to the long term liking of either party, so they collapsed. This was not the first, nor the last of these battles or treaties, but it was defintely the most savage in this area and it was to poison relations thereafter.

The Tuscaroras moved north a few year later to join their Iroquoian cousins in the New York area. Ironically, but not unpredictably, the Yamasee got the same treatment soon thereefter and had to move south into Florida to avoid being wiped out.

Motorcycle Ride

Try this run from Windsor through eastern North Carolina's multiple National Wildlife Refuges (Roanoke, East Dismal Swamp, Pocosin Lakes, Alligator River, Mattamuskeet and Swanquarter) to Roanoke Island and down to New Bern to get a good feel for this area that was developing quickly in the early 1700s. The area is great for wildlife, but be careful on a bike, I've had various critters run out in front of me on these roads, including black bears.

Book Recommendation: Indian Wars from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Map Recommendation: North Carolina Atlas and Gazetteer 2006 from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

In the late 1600s, tensions rose between the native tribes of present day Maine, principally the Abnaki, and the English settlers of the area. As so often was the case, the tensions which might have arisen over local grievances took on a more Atlantic nature due to war in Europe.

In Europe, at the time, William of Orange had taken the English throne in the Glorious Revolution and had joined the League of Augsburg (Grand Alliance) to halt Louis XIV's aggression in the low countries and German palatinates. In New England, the English colonists and the Indians, goaded on by French Jesuits, fought for dominance as part of "King William's War."

At the break of day on 25 January 1692, Chief Madockawando of the Abnaki, led his warriors on a raid of the village of York, Maine. The Abnaki, probably with the verbal backing of Father Louis-Pierre Thury, killed almost 50 villagers and took more than that hostage. Destroying the village and its people was not enough for Madockawando, he also torced the farms around York on his way out.

The English would settle with the largest of the tribes in the Northeast, the Iroquois, in 1694, which effectively put an end to French hopes for rallying the tribes of the New England against the English. However, it did not stop the French and Abnaki from trying for five more years, two more than the war in Europe. The Abnaki finally came to peace with the settlers in 1699 at Casco Bay, Maine.

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Motorcycle Ride

Start at the John Paul Jones Memorial in Kittery Maine and follow the coast through York and on to Kennebunkport and Biddeford Pool.

Maps

The War of 1812 coincided with an uprising amongst part of the Creek Indian nation that was rebelling against the U.S. governments attempts to "civilize" them. For the "volunteers" of Tennessee, including future President Andrew Jackson, the majority of the War of 1812 was spent fighting Indians and not the British.

In 1811, Tecumseh of the Shawnee, visited the distant cousin Creek and encouraged rebellion against the white man's ways. The tribe split over whether to follow their ancient ways or throw in their lots with the white man. Those for integration with the USA were called "White Sticks" and those who favored fighting were called "Red Sticks." This Creek civil war was destined to go beyond the nation and did soon enough with a slaughter of over 250 whites / mixed raced Creeks near Mobile, Alabama in August 1813. This caused the predictable call for retribution and U.S. military action. Enter "Old Hickory" Jackson and his Tennessee Volunteers.

In late 1813, Jackson entered Alabama and set up a supply post (Fort Deposit)and a forward post on the Coosa river(Fort Strother) in northern Alabama and began operations against the Creek. Almost from the start, Jackson was beset with mutinous Tennesseans who felt that time spent back in Tennessee counted as part of their enlistment, whilst Jackson felt it did not. Many Tennesseans left, but Jackson pushed on with what was left of his force and a couple of green Regiments that had just arrived from west Tennessee.

Being Old Hickory meant doing hard things anyway, so Jackson set off for the known Creek encampment at Emuckfau / Emuckfaw Creek. He camped within hearshot of the encampment on 21 January 1814 and sent out patrols to find them. The patrols reported that not only did they find them, the Creeks knew of them too. At daybreak the next day, the Creek attacked front and rear, but were thrown back. Jackson counter-attacked and killed a good many. He then wanted to take the initiative and destroy their base. Jackson sent his old friend, General John Coffey, to root out the Creek base on Embuckfau Creek. Coffey went forth, but found the place too well defended and retired. Once Coffey returned, the Creeks attacked Jackson again with a feign on one side and a main attack on the other. Once again, the Creeks were thrown back, but Jackson was in trouble with bloodied, green troops in "Indian Country" with little back up. Jackson felt he need to retire and re-enforce at Fort Strother.

On his way out of the area, Jackson camped on Enitachopco Creek on the 23rd and fixed fortifications, knowing that another attack was likely. Luckily, they got a quiet night and they headed out in the morning. The quiet was not to last. Not long on the trail, they began crossing Enitachopco Creek and the rear guard was put to the run by the Creek attack. The panic spread and a meltdown was looking likely, but Jackson managed to pull together enough to fend off the attack with even his Nashville artillerymen fighting hand-to-hand. Eventually the tide turned with more of the lead elements re-crossing the creek to take part. The Creek warriors began to slip and finally decided getting away from Old Hickory was better than dying in place.

Jackson had the upper hand in both engagements, eventually, but had found out how hard it was going to be to fight in this nearly unsupportable backwater of eastern Alabama.

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Motorcycle Ride

Try this ride which encompasses both battle sites at the two creeks.

Maps

At the confluence of the Two Medicine and Cut Bank Rivers is where the Marias River begins and flows east for approximately 60 miles to Lake Elwell, then on for another 80 miles where it meets the Missouri River near Loma, Montana. Somewhere along this stretch of river (possibly here), there lies an ancient site where Major Eugene Baker of the U.S. Army took his mixed detachment from the 2nd US Cavalry and the 13th Infantry to surround an encampment of Piegan Indians on 22 January 1870. (See a picture of Baker and some of the 2d Cavalry officers in 1871, here) What happened next is clear, but why is not so clear.
The area had seen an altercation between two hotheads, one white, Malcolm Clarke, and one Indian, Owl Child. Clarke beat Owl Child, who he claimed had stole his horses. Owl Child retaliated by killing Clarke. As so happened in those days, this caused cries for the army to make sure another white was not killed by another Indian, so Baker was sent to teach the Indians a lesson. Baker's detachment left Fort Shaw on 15 January 1870 and rode north to find a group of Indians known as the Piegans. Baker found an encampment at a big bend on the Marias River and surrounded it in the winter's night of 22/23 January 1870. There is some debate as to whether Baker knew it was the camp he was looking for or another one.

On the morning of the massacre, Chief Heavy Runner tried to stop the attack by showing papers that he claimed gave him and his people clear passage in the area. Regardless, Baker issued the order to fire on the camp and many women, children and elderly were killed, the camp was burned and the survivors set afoot in the Montana winter without provisions.

Some said Baker knew that it as the wrong encampment, some said he didn't care, some said he was a drunken commander and didn't know what was happening. None of the PR options were good and the Army made it worse by ignoring, at the least, but probably covering up the massacre. As so often happens in these cases in the U.S. Army, a young soldier steps up where his superiors have fallen down and tells the truth. Lieutenant William Pease, acting as a Blackfoot agent, reported the massacre to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Ely Samuel Parker. Parker, a Civil War veteran, confidante to U.S. Grant and an Iroquois Indian whose real name was Donehogawa, demanded a investigation, but the outcome was prevarication as the Army closed ranks with General Sherman saying he would prefer to believe his soldiers.

In the end, no official recognition of the massacre was forthcoming and only time has brought a gradual acceptance of the fact of this massacre. Author Dee Brown, in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, puts the casualties at 33 men, 90 women and 50 chldren. Best research on the topic seems to be by Stan Gibson. He and Jack Hayne are working on a book on the topic.

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Motorcycle Ride

This is a long ride starting and ending at Browning, Montana at the Museum of the Plains Indians. The ride passes through the origin of the Marias and also runs about 5 miles north and parrallel to the Marias for a good while on the beautiful U.S. Highway 2.

Maps

Since its shameful fall in August 1812 with scarcely a shot fired in defense, the Americans wanted Detroit back. So embarrased by it, a winter campaign was conceived to win it back. William Henry Harrison, the hero of Tippacanoe, was selected to take back the area and further the American goals in the War of 1812. Harrison's second in command was General James Winchester. The two split their forces to move on Detroit.

On 18 January 1813, Winchester's lead elements entered Frenchtown (near modern day Monroe, Michigan) and took it in a short battle with a handful of British Regulars and a couple of hundred of local Indians. The American soldiers were militia that had recently been recruited in Kentucky and marched north with severe privation. The Kentuckians found great stores of food and gorged themselves for several days. Unfortunately, their officers had not ordered them to fortify the area for a counter-attack.

A mixed force of British, under Colonel Henry Procter, and Shawnee, under Chief Tecumseh, counter-attacked on 22 January 1813. There followed a fierce battle that would go down as one of the biggest ground battles in the War of 1812. The British and Indians attacked across the American front. The American right flank was enveloped and surrendered, including Winchester. The left flank, however was holding well along a fence in the west of the area. The Kentuckians there were not surprised to see a British truce party arrive, but they were surprised to hear that it was the Kentuckian's surrender they were after. Winchester had sent word that they should give up. The Kentuckians did surrender, but only with the assurance that the captured would be protected from the Indians.

The British then quickly unoccupied the area of operations for they feared that Harrison's column would soon descend on Frenchtown. They left the prisoners with Tecumseh's force. Some, but not all, of the Kentucky prisoners left with the Indians were massacred. The remainder were taken to Detroit for ransom. The "Raisin River Massacre" became a rallying point for remainder of the war in the old northwest. The event had a solidifying effect on the frontiersman for the war that was not there previously. Future Kentucky units rushed north yelling, "Remember the Raisin!" The area was re-captured by Kentucky cavalry units in September 1813.

Trivia; Although born in Ohio, George Armstrong Custer lived in Monroe as a boy and married a local girl. No doubt, young Custer would have heard the story of the massacre in his local school.

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Motorcycle Ride

Check out the Raisin River Battlefield Tour. Then go from the Raisin River Battlefield Visitor's Center and follow the Raisin River out to Raisinville, Dundee and back to Monroe to the Sterling State Park.

Maps

After the defeat at Middle Creek / Big Sandy on 10 January 1862, the Confederates were definitely on the defensive in eastern / central Kentucky. Kentucky was a key area for the Union to establish dominance, both politically and logistically. The long hoped for push into Tennnessee would be happening in Febuary 1862, so the importance of clearing Kentucky of any serious Confederate forces was paramount to the Union. Not only would Tennessee be open to attack, but the Union would have direct access to the Cumberland Gap through eastern Kentucky and Tennessee to western Virginia. This area was critical for supplies for the Confederacy with such staples as salt and lead mines for ammunition.

Confederate General Felix Zolicoffer was to defend the Cumberland Gap and in the winter of 1861/62, he decided to occupy the area south of present day Nancy, Kentucky for winter quarters. Zollicoffer built defenses along both sides of the Cumberland River. Union General George Thomas wanted to break the remainder of the eastern Kentucky forces under General Goerge Crittenden, Zolicoffer's commander. When Crittenden determined that Thomas was to attack the area, he took personal command of the position.

As Thomas moved into the area in heavy rain, Zollicoffer and Crittenden thought they might be able to split Thomas's forces by catching them off guard with the swollen Fishing Creek separating Union camps. Zollicoffer took his troops out of their defensive positions in the middle of the night for a forced march through appalling conditions to attack. The forces met at Logan's Crossroads, near Nancy, KY.

The Confederates achieved some level of surprise in the attack, but Union pickets and a cavalry patrol provided enough alert for Thomas to get his men moving. Crittenden had some early success, but three factors meant the battle was soon to sway in the Union's favor. First, at least a regiment of Rebels had old flintlock rifles that would not fire in the deluge, so at least 1/8th of the force had to be sent to the rear. Second, Fishing Creek, although swollen, was not impassable, so Thomas was able to bring full force to bear. Finally, the Yankees had a further forces advancing to join the fray.

As if all of this was not enough, Zollicoffer got lost whilst working the lines and met up with Union Colonel Speed Fry. It is not clear as to whether both confused each other intially as friend or foe, but Fry was on the uptick quicker and realised Zollicoffer for who he was and got him in the chest. The loss of Zollicoffer threw panic into the closest Rebel brigade which took flight. Their panic sparked the other brigade and soon the Union rout was on. Crittenden was to get his troops across the Cumberland in a ragged retreat, but was to later be reprimanded on charges of drunkedness at the battle with aspersions being cast about his committment to the southern cause. His daddy would not have been proud.

The Union was now successful in pushing the line across eastern and south-central Kentucky much further south to near the Tennessee line. The stage was now set for attacking down the western end of the Cumberland in western Kentucky and Tennessee at Forts Henry and Donelson in Febuary 1862.

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Motorcycle Ride

Check out the Cumberland Cultural Cultural Heritage Highway for beautiful ride around the area of the battle.

Maps

On 18 January 1919, the warring parties of the First World War met in Paris to discuss terms. Knowing the Germans were on the verge of collapse, both militarily and domestically, the Allied powers exacted a "just peace."
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles are still debated today and, famously, became the basis for the rise of German militarism again in the mid to late 1930's.
The German's sent a list of complaints, but the victors were in no mood to listen.

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Although Warsaw born Soviet Marshal Konstanty Rokossovskiy stood on a hill overlooking Warsaw on 2 August 1944, he was not to complete the capture of it until 17 January 1945. The Russians had encouraged an uprising by citizens of Warsaw in preparation for the Soviet capture. However, German Marshal Walther Model, the "Fuhrer's Fireman," decided to counter-attack to the east of the city.*

The German counter-attack was viewed as a mere local setback to the Russians' continent wide front, but it was disastrous for Warsaw. The Warsaw Uprising went ahead from 1 August 1944 to 5 October 1944 with devastating results for the occupants of Warsaw.

Although the Soviet forces "liberated" what little was left of Warsaw on 17 January 1945, the Poles were actually just experiencing a change in ownership. Rokossovskiy was to later become the Soviet imposed Minister of Defense of Poland.** The Poles were not to have real liberation until 1989.

*Europe At War, No Simple Victory, Norman Davies, Macmillan, 2006, pages 115-116.
**Ibid, pages 242-243

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Check out Norman Davies's new book, Europe At War, where he makes clear that eastern Europe was not "freed" by the Soviets. Indeed, the Soviets ran more people through concentration camps than the Germans. Rokossovskiy himself spent time in the GULag.

On 17 January 1781, the outlook for the British Army in America changed forever. A British Legion (combined infantry and cavalry) led by one of the British star, young officers, Banastre Tarleton, met its match on this day with a mixed force of one-third Continentals and two-thirds militiamen, led by what can only be called a "Good Old Boy," Daniel Morgan.

American General Nathaniel Greene commanded the southern army and knew he couldn't withstand a full encounter with the British, so he instructed his forces to split up and conduct operations against isolated British outposts. General Daniel Morgan commanded one of these smaller units. Tarleton was well known to the American forces for "Tarleton's quarter." Tarleton had a reputation, at least partly earned, for total war. He did not mind burning provisions and communities who supported the patriot cause. He also was reputed to have refused quarter to Americans at Waxhaws (Buford's Massacre) by refusing surrender and continuing to assault.

Morgan had decided to attack Fort 96. Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton had set off to catch Morgan and prevent Morgan from disrupting the British / Loyalist forts and communities, like Fort 96. Tarleton had Morgan on the run and Morgan was attempting a ragged retreat when he decided to turn and face up to Tarleton in an area known a Cowpens (an open area of upland pasture) in northwestern South Carolina, near Gaffney. Tarleton had pushed his Legion hard through the night and they arrived at Cowpens ready to fight but tired.

Morgan had a plan to feign retreat after the intial exchange of rifle fire, knowing that Tarleton liked to take the initiative as fast as possible. When Morgan's skirmishers fired and pulled back, Tarleton ordered his Legion forward to press the attack in hopes of a rout. Morgan had his skirmishers join his infantry line in fall back positions. What was planned and what just happened next is open to debate, but what is clear is that Morgan managed to envelope Tarleton's Legion with infantry and cavalry and deliver withering fire into the British ranks whilst they were totally committed to a headlong rush. This may seem unusual, but much of the killing by the British Legions was by bayonet, so when they pressed the attack, they would have been mentally and physically committed to a bayonet charge. Taking heavy fire from an infantry line that was thought to have fled, whilst simultaneously having your flank rolled by cavalry might just make you want to drop your bayonet and run. That's what Tarleton did with a handful of his command. Most of his force did not do so well with the majority being killed, wounded or captured.

Tarleton, 26 years old at the time, was rebuked and many older British officers felt it had been just a matter of time before the young rake's risk taking had cost the British Army dear.

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Motorcycle Ride

This is truly one of those perfect marriages of a great battlefield and a great ride. Here's a beauty of a ride along the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. It starts very near The Cowpens National Battlefield and makes it way through several state parks, lakes and geological sites.

Maps

John Jordan Crittenden, one of Kentucky's most prolific politicians, attempted to broker a compromise to save the Union in the U.S. Senate. The Crittenden Compromise failed on 16 January 1861 and virtually guaranteed civil war.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 allowed the southern states and new states south of the 36'30" latitude to continue slavery, whilst the northern states and new states north of that line couldn't. The Compromise of 1850 changed this and allowed the new territories' residents to vote on the issue regardless if south of the 36'30". The Crittenden Compromise tried to mitigate the Compromise of 1850 in favor of the South. However, the Crittenden Compromise was a step too far in reverse for the Republican party which had formed specifically to oppose the expansion of slavery.
Crittenden was especially torn over the issue, as he had one son (Thomas L. Crittenden) and a nephew (Thomas Turpin Crittenden) who fought for the North and one son who fought for the South (George B. Crittenden). In the end, the gulf was just too wide for even a despairing father to stop. J.J. Crittenden died in the middle of the Civil War.

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If you find yourself traversing western Kentucky on I-24, get off near Eddyville, KY and try the backroads through Crittenden County, Kentucky, named after J.J. Crittenden. . It also gives me a good reason to recommend another ferry. Try the free (well the KY taxpayer is paying)Cave-in-Rock ferry over the Ohio. This is Battlefield Biker's ancestral homeland and are the roads that Battlefield Biker learned to ride on as a young boy. Enjoy a little slice of rural Kentucky.

Maps

The Union Navy under Porter continued a relentless bombardment from 13 January to the early afternoon of 15 January. When the bombardment stopped, a force of sailors and marines landed and attacked with pistols and cutlasses. This attacked was repulsed by the Confederates who had re-occupied the earthen works. However, the focus on the amphibious landings caused the Confederates to leave too little on the up river side where General Terry had landed on the 13th of January.
Terry's force worked its way into the landside walls and turned the position one pit at a time. The Confederates of Colonel Lamb fought valiantly, but the "Gibraltor of the South" was lost and the last port for large scale re-supply of the southern cause was now in Union hands.

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Start at the Fort Fisher, NC Historic Site on the north side of the Cape Fear. Take the ferry to Southport. Follow North Carolina State Route 211 to US 17 and follow the coast south to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Maps

By the end of 1864, the Confederacy had only one major port remaining to run goods in and out to the Bahamas, Bermuda and Nova Scotia for much needed supplies. That port was Wilmington, North Carolina and it was protected by Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher sat at the mouth of the Cape Fear River's entrance into the Atlantic. Fort Fisher was a formidable obstacle, not just for its position, but for the extended earthen works as well. Such was its strength that it was often referred to as the "Gibralter of the South." Naturally, it became a prime objective for the North as they tried to choke of the remaining supply lines to the South.

On Christmas Day 1864, General Benjamin Butler and Admiral David Porter led a combined force that was to attempt an amphibious assault on Fort Fisher. Porter played his part with one of the fiercest bombardments that the Union Navy had conducted to date. However, Butler lost his nerve after his initial attack was rebuffed and cancelled the ground attack and departed. Porter and Union commander, U.S. Grant were disgusted with the lack of Butler's resolve. Grant relieved Butler, replacing him with Alfred H. Terry (who was later to become one of the best known Indian fighters of the West). Porter was to give a reprise of his successful bombardment. Terry had previously been in charge of the Siege of Charleston and knew that he had to co-ordinate heavily with Porter for the complex mission to succeed.

On January 13th, 1865, under covering fire by Porter, Terry landed a force up river from the fort to block a Confederate re-enforcement of the fort once the amphibious assault began. Union forces probed the fort's defenses and Terry decided that the fort was vulnerable from the river side. In the mean time, Porter continued his bombardment and prepared an amphibious assault of sailors and marines on the ocean side. With the fort now cut off from land side support and no naval protection to speak of, the Confederate forces, under General Whiting and Colonel Lamb, hunkered down under a remorseless bombardment by Porter over the next two days. The damage to the earthen works could not be repaired due to the ceaseless nature of the fire.

The stage was now set for the final assault on the 15th of January.

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Start in Southport, North Carolina on the south side of the Cape Fear. Take the ferry to Fort Fisher. Then follow the coast from Fort Fisher to Camp Lejeune, NC. Check out Fort Fisher, NC Historic Site and the Camp Lejeune self guided tour on the other end.

Maps

This article from the New York Herald of 11 January 1861 gives a feel for what it must have felt like to see the terrible events of pre-Civil War America unfolding to display the bloody outbreak of war. This article focuses on the gravity of the situation when federal troops aboard the The Star of the West were denied landing at Ft Sumter.

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Try the ride from Myrtle Beach, SC to Ft Sumter National Park along US Highway 17/701 which takes in the length of Francis Marion (the legendary "Swamp Fox" of the Revolutionary War) National Forest.

Maps

On 10 January, 1862 Union forces, under Colonel James Garfield, sought to drive out the Confederates, under General Humphrey Marshall, who were recruiting in the vicinity of Paintsville, Kentucky. Garfield was an new Colonel of Ohio volunteers who was to make his name at the Battle of Middle Creek. This fame would eventually propel him to the White House. Marshall, on the other hand, came into the battle with an outstanding reputation from the Mexican War where he led the First Kentucky Cavalry. He was to leave Middle Creek with a big question mark over his head.
As Garfield approached from the north, Marshall fell back to Prestonburg along the Middle Creek to take up defensive positions, even though his rebels were not well provisioned. The Confederate cavalry that was to provide a rear screen were surprised by the Federal cavalry as they were breaking camp. The intial rout by the Union forces turned into a bloody pursuit as the recovering Confederates ambushed the pursuing Union cavalry. Garfield pushed on, however, and caught up with the mass of Marshall's force to the west of Prestonburg. Marshall had taken a strong position and had set a trap along Middle Creek to catch Garfield's forces as they advanced into a hammer and anvil position. Garfield, who was unsure of Marshall's positions, sent a small cavalry force into the open area to see where Marshall's forces were. Marshall fell for the ruse and released the trap too early. Garfield now knew where Marshall had deployed and set to advancing slowly and methodically on the ill-equipped and hungry Confederates. This was truly one of those Civil War battles where brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor was a reality. Kentucky units on both sides of the war met in the boggy ground around the creek, sometimes in hand to hand fighting. As the pressure on the Confederates grew into the early evening, Marshall felt he had no choice, but to retire as he feared widespread desertion from his hungry troops.
The overall effect of the battle was not hugely in favor of the Union, but the future President Garfield had made his name in showing that the area could be held by the Union. The fact that eastern Kentucky was now off-limits to the Confederates meant that the Union forces could begin their push into Tennessee.

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Check out the scenery on two of Kentucky's great parkways, the Combs Mountain Parkway and the Hal Rogers Parkway (formerly the Daniel Boone Parkway). Be unique. Be someone who has actually been to Kentucky Appalachia, rather than a smug jokester about it.

Maps

On 10 January 1776, the English pamphleteer, Thomas Paine, anonymously released Common Sense, a 50 page pamphlet that outlined Paine's belief that "...there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island." Paine thereby stated, "It is repugnant to reason, to the universal order of things to all examples from former ages, to suppose, that this continent can longer remain subject to any external power." It sold a half a million copies. It was so influential that Washington had it read to the troops to encourage re-enlistment when the Continental Army's fortunes were flagging. If "no taxtion without representation" was the rally cry to rebellion, then Common Sense was the intellectual underpinning.

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check out the circular route to the sotheast of Thetford, Norfolk, Paine's birthplace, where you can find a statue in the town.

Maps

On 10 January 1642, King Charles I had to leave London as the unrest against him grew. He had recently tried to arrest five members of parliament on treason charges, but failed. His coach had been surrounded by a mob when he had demanded that those who were sheltering the five members should give them up. This was enough to scare Charles and his Queen, Henrietta, into leaving London. They first decamped to Hampton Court, then Windsor Castle and finally to Oxford to set up an alternative government to the Parliament in London. Parliament was busy activating its militias, called the "Trained Bands." Although there were some attempts at reconciliation, the train of events leading to civil war was already underway.

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I'm sure it was faster for Charles by horse and carriage, but if you don't mind fighting London traffic, you can retrace the royal route to exile. Start in Whitehall, then to Hampton court, then to Windsor, then to Oxford.

Maps

One of the major problems that Union forces had with capturing Vicksburg and all of the lower Mississippi was that they faced almost continual harrassment of supply lines, both on land and rivers. In Fort Hindman, near Arkansas Post and overlooking the Arkansas River, the Confederates had a strong position to harry any Union boats trying to make their way up to Little Rock. Additionally, it was a safe haven and replenishing point for Confederate gunboats working the Mississippi River. Before the Union forces could secure the lower Mississippi river area, they needed to secure their supply lines throughout Missouri, Arkansas and along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Hence, on 9 January, Union General John McClernand led a combined graund and naval force with Admiral David Porter to shut down Fort Hindman starting on 9 January 1863. Union troops, led by General William Sherman landed on the 9th and began assaulting the outlying trenches of the fort immediately, eventually over-running them and forcing the Confederates to retreat to the fort itself. On 10 January 1863, Porter laid into the fort with naval fire. By 11 January 1863, McClernand had tightened the noose with infantry preparing for a full attack on the fort and Porter's guns both bombarding the fort and cutting off retreat lines. Eventually, Confederate commander General Thomas Churchill saw the futility of further resistance and surrendered the fort. One more secure post along the Mississippi was secured for future Union operations.

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Check out this biography of John A. McClernand, who was a congressman before becoming a general. McClernand did well at first, but went head on with Grant, shortly after Arkansas Post, and lost over the conduct of the Vicksburg campaign. McClernand was one of the main sources that reported back to Washington about Grant's drinking. To which, Abraham Lincoln was to have said, "I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals."

Motorcycle Ride

Try this circular route from Pine Bluff to Stuttgart to Gillett to Dumas and back to Pine Bluff which passes by Arkansas Post National Memorial. It also includes the long stretch of scenic highwy US 65.

Maps

After the disaster of Little Bighorn, the Indian Fighters of the upper plains went hell for leather in harrying Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. However, the harsh winter of 1876 made it hard for the US Army to conduct the pursuit. General George "Three Stars" Crook called it a season until the weather eased. However, the aggressive, but vain General Nelson "Bear Coat" Miles wanted none of Crook's waiting and launched new offensives over Christmas 1876 and into early 1877 in search of Crazy Horse's Oglala Sioux. On 7 January, Miles' column was attacked, but rebuffed and Miles took a Cheyenne contingent (Crazy Horse allies) prisoner. Thereafter, Miles encountered raids to free the prisoners, so he decided to set up a defensive position near Wolf Mountain. On the morning of 8 January the battle commenced with Crazy Horse attacking from various angles, but always finding no joy. As the weather cleared a bit, Miles was able to get range with his artillery which prompted an advance on Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse had no choice, but to retreat to save his force. The numbers lost by both sides were small and the battle may have gone down as a draw. However, the larger point was made on the Indians. They were not safe from US forces in their own areas...even in the dead of winter. Total capitulation was to follow shortly. Miles was not liked by much of anyone, but his successes were rewarded and he eventually became the Commanding General of the US Army in 1895.

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For a good long run all around the area of Miles' and Crazy Horse's actions in the Tongue River area, try this circular ride from Ashland to Busby to Decker to Birney and back to Ashland.

Maps

For every Gettysburg and Vicksburg in the American Civil War, there were hundreds of smaller actions that did not involve the great Generals and large numbers of troops. However, these small actions often had real strategic consequences. On 8 January 1863, a Confederate advance led by General John Marmaduke made an attempt to capture the important Union supply point at Springfield, Missouri. The Supply point, led by General Egbert Brown, was important to supplying the Union Army of the West. The battle is unusual in the fact that it involved a substantial amount of urban combat..something fairly uncommon in the Civil War.
The Union garrison was warned of the advance with a few hours to spare. The defense was short on experienced soldiers, but had the advantage of high ground in the form of four earthen forts around the town. Marmaduke was short of one of his three columns, which had been delayed by skirmishing near Hartville, but decided to attack on the morning of 8 January anyway. Marmaduke made several attempts, but failed in each. Most of the fighting occured around fort number four with Marmaduke trying frontal assaluts and flanking movements with little success. As night fell, Marmaduke realized he had lost and retreated back to Arkansas.
The Second Battle of Springfield will never be called a turning point in the war, but one could imagine that Vicksburg and the final Mississippi River stronghold of Port Hudson, LA, might not have fallen in July 1863, if Springfield had been lost to the Confederates in January.

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Check out this book about a young Union logistician in the Western theatre;

Motorcycle Ride

Follow the general direction that Marmaduke took from Harrison, Arkansas to Springfield, Missouri, through Ozark on US Highway 65.

Maps

Fifteen days after the Treaty of Ghent was signed (Christmas Eve 1814), General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the British at New Orleans. Neither the British, nor the Americans had received news of the peace yet. Although the final engagement happened on 8 January, 1815, the fighting around New Orleans had been going on since 14 December 1814, starting with a Royal Marine vistory over US gunboats guarding the entrance to New Orleans on Lake Borgne. On 23 December, Jackson failed to dislodge the British at their quarters on the Villeré Plantation. Jackson fell back and occupied the approach to New Orleans at the Rodriguez Canal. On 28 December, the British probed the line in force, but were repelled. On 1 January 1815, the British attempted to dislodge Jackson with artillery, but the duel ended with the American artillery victorious, probably because they had more ammunition. The Americans had more ammunition due to Jackson's temporary alliance with the Baratarian pirates, including Jean Lafitte, who hated the British more than the Americans.
Finally, on 8 January, the British executed a frontal assault on the American positions which failed miserably, including the loss of the British Commander , Pakenham. Jackson had delivered the heaviest defeat on the Brits in the war, even though they were formally at peace. The British and the Americans continued the fight in the area, not hearing of the peace until 12 Febuary 1815.

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Start at Chalmette, near the site of the 8 January battle and make your way to Louisiana State Route 23, running southeast to the tip of the delta, following the Mississippi River. New Orleans is a bit rougher these days, so be prepared for detours and some deserted areas. As always, be aware of your surroundings when riding through this area.

Maps

On 5 January 1940, The Finns began an offensive on the Raate Road, near Suomussalmi and ended up destroying or capturing the Russian 44th Division. The 44th had been halted at a roadblock southeast of Suomussalmi around the present day intersection of roads 912 and 843. The Russians hunkered down along the road between Suomussalmi and Raate in what the Finns called motti formations, a logging term doubling in meaning that the 44th's sub units could be broken into smaller chunks and cut up individually like so many logs. The Finns operated in small units all along the road and and spent days conducting close range grenade attacks and terrifying the Russian officers with highly selective sniper fire. The Russians were out of their mind with cold, hunger and fear. A single sniper round fired by a Finn marksman would unleash totally undisciplined "mad minutes" from the Russians, normally killing nothing, but trees. Soon, ammunition ran short and re-supply from the air turned the starving troops into in-fighting hords. After 2 days of this nightmare, the 44th dissolved in death, capture or flight. It was the high water mark for the Finns and showed the Russians that taking the grossly outnumbered, but skilled Finns would not be a cake walk. Check out the book recommendation below, Frozen Hell by William R. Trotter, which has an entire chapter dedicated to this battle.

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If you find yourself in Finland, try following the road from Kemi to Suomussalmi for a daylong ride. I rode the E75 from Kemi to Oulu and on to Helsinki last year and I can highly recommend the area. If finishing around Kemi look for campgrounds on the Gulf of Bothnia. Its a beautiful place to wake up (in the summer anyway).

Maps

On 5 January 1941, Australian troops taste their first victory in WWII by taking the Town of Bardia (Burdi) in Lybia near the Egyptian border. The Aussies take approximately 40,000 Italians prisoner.

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Now that Lybia is opening up, maybe I'll be able to take this ride from Burdi (Badria) to Tubruq (Tobruk) to follow some of the British / German North African campaigns

Maps

This is a map of the country which combines topographic mapping with road and tourist detail.

On 5 January 1781, the American turncoat, Benedict Arnold, torched Richmond, Virginia whilst serving as a British General. Beset by money problems and small thoughts, Arnold had betrayed his country, not because he was not promoted in the Continental Army, but because others were promoted ahead of him and he had huge debts riding over him. Ironically, Arnold would go on to never fit into the British Army either, as he did not have the pedigree to become a senior general. Arnold finally died in Britain in 1801 in England.

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Try Virginia State Route 5 from Richmond to Charles City to Williamsburg along the James River.

Maps

On 1 January 1862, Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson began his spectacular Shenandoah Campaign from Winchester, Virginia. Most of the serious fighting would not occur until the Spring, but on 3 January, near the town of Bath in present day West Virginia, Jackson set the tone of his legend to come. When some of the troops under General Loring complained to the Confederate leadership about the hard nature of Jackson's command, Jackson resigned in disgust that the charges were taken seriously. Luckily for the Confederacy, calmer heads prevailed and Jackson wasn't questioned further. Jackson was a hard, puritannical man, but only asked of his men what he himself would endure. One story tells of Confederate soldiers waking up near Bath with snow on their blankets. They began to complain about Jackson, but they were startled to find Jackson stand up amongst them and shake the snow off his blanket as well. This kind of leadership was what allowed Jackson to literally walk his men's shoes off and run circles around the Federals during the Shenandoah Campaign througout the first half of 1862.

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For a good feel for the northern part of the Shenandoah and the early part of the campaign, thry this ride from Winchester, VA to Bath, WV to Romney, WV and back to Winchester.

Maps

After the decisive British victories in New Jersey, Washington had to be cunning, daring and lucky. He'd been lucky to get away from the advancing British earlier in the war with a reasonable force left. He had already made his daring crossing of the Delaware over Christmas, but those types of raids would be hard to re-create. Therefore, on 3 January 1777, George Washington evaded a decisive engagement with Cornwallis near Trenton, but cunningly managed to cut off the British rearguard in several surprising engagements around Princeton , New Jersey. Cornwallis and his Hessians around Ternton regrouped and took off in pursuit, but the damage had been done.
The British were to leave New Jersey soon thereafter to focus on the more straegically important northeast coast. Washington had proven to the British that neither he nor his ragtag troops could be taken easily.

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Check out New Jersey County Route 518 from Lambertville on the Delaware River to New Brunswick, NJ. This route passes just north of Princeton, where Washington stayed (Rockingham State Historical Site)later in the war.

Maps

King Charles orders the issuance of an indictment of treason against the "five members" of parliament. The members were John Hampden, Sir Arthur Haselrigg, Denzil Holles, John Pym and William Strode. Hampden died at the Battle of Chalgrove the very next year. Haselrigg fought throughout the war with his regiment of cuirassiers, or "lobster" cavalry. Holles fought at Edgehill, but was later a leading proponent of a negotiated settlement of the war.
Pym was the driving force in Parliamanent to reign in the King, but died two years later of cancer. Strode, after being imprisoned for eleven years at the King's behest, was probably only second in vociferousness in the war party to Pym.

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Check out the Battle of Chalgrove and the ride around the Oxfordshire countryside.

Maps

Battle of Nantwich - 25 January 1644

With the arrival of Irish forces (somewhat) loyal to the King in late 1643, the Royalists had developed a strong footing in the northwest of England and were besieging the strategically important town of Nantwich. The Royalist commander Lord Byron decided to complete his conquest of Cheshire by quickly capturing Nantwich, which was being defended by Parliamentarian Sir William Brereton. However, the Parliamentarian Sir Thomas Fairfax had other plans. Showing his grasp of the whole war and not just that of his eastern England locality, Fairfax pulled together his disparate forces around Lincolnshire and marched to the relief of Nantwich. The two forces met near the present day Shropshire Union Canal on the close, flat pastures to the west of Nantwich.
Having deployed tightly coming out of Nantwich, Fairfax had to fight on each flank to open up space for his cavalry. On the other hand, Byron, converging on Nantwich, had to deal with over-extension. One has to imagine an inner concentric arc pushing against an outer concentric arc to understand the tension between the two forces. Fairfax was able to hold both flanks as his centre made the advance into Byron*s centre who were unsupported by their flanks due to the over-extension. Eventually, the Royalist centre cleaved in two and flanked away in opposing directions. This saved the left side, but doomed the right which fell back near Acton church.
Things went from bad to worse for Byron, as the blocking force meant to hold the Nantwich Roundhead forces at bay, failed. These Parliamentary forces proceeded to attack the Royalist baggage train near Acton church and the Royalist right flank near the present day Acton Bridge (footbridge) over the canal. In the melee, the Royalist lost many, but many more surrendered, including whole Irish regiments who felt they had been tricked into coming to England to fight for the King.
Nantwich was a clear win for the Parliamentary forces, having relieved the siege, captured the Royalist baggage train and not a few senior officers. Strategically, it kept the centre of England in play and established Fairfax as a Parliamentarian commander of national stature.

Rides, Routes and Waypoints,/h3>
40-45 miles, depending on the options chosen. Take the A51(T) west/ northwest out of Nantwich to the A49 south. Turn left onto the A49 and go to Whitchurch. Follow the A49/A41 ring road around Whitchurch to the A525 going to Nantwich / Stoke. Just before Burleydam, take the A530 back to Nantwich. In Nantwich, follow the A534 to Acton. The area around Acton foot bridge is where most of the fighting occurred. Good views can be had from Welshman*s Lane and the parking area next to the canal bridge on the A51(T). If you have extra time, try the excellent A41 from Whitchurch to Tong, near the M54, adding 30 extra miles.
Use Ordnance Survey Landranger 118. The battlefield is centred on SJ 635536. If using a road map, the battlefield is located in west Nantwich and Acton.

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