ABSTRACT
Tudor had been reinforced by Wiltshire, who had raised a contingent of French and Breton mercenaries, stiffened with Irish galloglass. Edward did not hesitate. He swung his troops toward the town, marching upon Mortimer's Cross, some 17 miles north; here he was planning to inderdict the Lancastrians' line of advance. Gregory puts the total Lancastrian dead at around 3,000; this seems on the high side. By 12 February the Earl of Warwick had marshalled his available forces and advanced as far north as St Albans, the scene of his triumph six years earlier. This was a bold stroke, one which entailed a fast, forced march as far as Dunstable, then on through the winter darkness, for the leading formations to arrive at St Albans by dawn on 17 February. This was boldness, strung out along the line of approach; the Lancastrians would have been at risk of a crushing attack on their exposed flank had Warwick's scouts been more diligent.
