Year 3 (1644) The Year Things Go Wrong for the King. In 1644 the Royalists started to lose the war. Why? Two people. Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. A Brief History of Sir Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax was born in 1612 in North Yorkshire. He was the son of Lord Lancaster. Fairfax was a Puritan. Fairfax fought for the King during the Bishop’s Wars. He fell out with King when the King refused to talk (negotiate) with Parliament. The King tried to run Fairfax over with his horse. During the civil war most of Yorkshire fought for the King but Fairfax fought against him. Fairfax was a very tough soldier. He survived being shot through the wrist. In the early years of the civil war he lost battles and he won battles. His attacks on the Cavaliers in Yorkshire helped stop the Cavaliers from attacking London. In October 1643, he teamed up with Oliver Cromwell and won a great victory against the Royalists at the Battle of Winceby. The victory at Winceby led to a winning streak of battles against the Cavaliers. A Brief History of Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell was born in 1599 in Huntingdon. He was a Puritan. He was the Member of Parliament for Cambridge. When the civil war started, Cromwell didn’t have any experience as a soldier. But even though Cromwell had no experience he soon discovered that he was a naturally brilliant soldier. Cromwell was excellent at fighting on horseback, (soldiers who fought on horseback were called cavalry). Cromwell trained his men better and harder than most other cavalry commanders. Cromwell became famous during the Battle of Gainsborough in 1643. His cavalry helped win the battle. In October 1643 he teamed up with Sir Thomas Fairfax and won a great victory against the Royalists at the Battle of Winceby. Fairfax and Cromwell would become an unbeatable team that the Royalists had no real answer for. `e Year 3 (1644) The Battle of Marston Moor One of the most important battles in the civil war was the Battle of Marston Moor. It took place on July 2nd in North Yorkshire. The Royalists were fighting an army of English and Scottish Roundheads. Leading the Royalists was the King’s super soldier, Prince Rupert of the Rhine (who had never lost a battle during the civil war). It was a massive battle with 43,000 soldiers taking part. Who won? The Roundheads won. But they didn’t just win, they destroyed the Cavalier army. The Roundheads killed 4,000 Royalist soldiers and lost only 300 of their own men during the fighting. So why was the battle important? After the battle, Parliament captured the Royalist city of York. The North of England was now under Parliament’s control. Were Fairfax and Cromwell at the battle? They were there. They weren’t in charge of the army but they both massively helped the Roundhead army win the victory. `e.