Battle of Ewloe

Battle of Ewloe
Edward Frank Gillett: Henry's army trapped in a Welsh defile (c. 1920)
Date 1157 Location Ewloe wood (near Flintshire) Result Welsh victory[1]
Belligerents
Kingdom of Gwynedd	Kingdom of England and Welsh allies
Commanders and leaders
Owain Gwynedd Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd	King Henry II
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy casualties in the outflanking force

The Battle of Ewloe (also known as the Battle of Coleshill, or Counsylth, or Coleshille, or Cennadlog) was fought in July 1157 between the army of Henry II of England and an army led by the Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd. The location was marked with a plaque to commemorate 850 years since the battle.^[2]

Background

King Henry (who ascended to the throne in 1154) decided to invade

Owain's army made camp at

Henry managed to escape back to his main army alive. Not wishing to engage the Angevin army directly, Owain repositioned himself first at St. Asaph, then further west, clearing the road for Henry II to enter into Rhuddlan "ingloriously". Once in Rhuddlan, Henry II received word that his naval expedition had failed. Instead of meeting Henry II at Deganwy or Rhuddlan as the king had commanded, the English fleet had gone to plunder Môn and the Norman troops on board had been defeated by the local Welsh soldiers (Henry FitzRoy himself had also been killed). Despite Owain's success in the Ewloe woods and the success of his men on Anglesey, Henry had still succeeded in securing Rhuddlan, and so Owain felt obliged to make peace with him. Owain surrendered the lands of Rhuddlan and Tegeingl to Chester. He also gave Cadwaladr his lands back in Ceredigion, which re-cemented the alliance between the two brothers. Owain also agreed to render homage and fealty to Henry. Henry II had achieved the objective of his campaign with Owain’s forced submission.^[5]

References

53°11′56″N 3°04′05″W / 53.199°N 3.068°W / 53.199; -3.068

Sources

• Hosler, John D. (2007). Henry II: A Medieval Soldier at War, 1147–1189. Leiden, South Holland: Koninklijke Brill.
  ISBN 978-90-04-15724-8
  .