Robert the Bruce
The Battle of Bannockburn
Page 2
Edward 11 king of England summoned eight earls and 87 barons to assemble with their retinues at the town of Wark, near Berwick, in June 1314. The army was a considerable one, there were around 5,000 Welsh footsoldiers, some longbow men, others spear-armed, 16,000 men came from the northern half of England, and included more bowmen, the main striking force was made up of 3,000 cavalry, who included the heavily armed and armoured knights and men-at-arms on their warhorses: This mighty English army, also acquired some Scottish troops, followers of Lords opposed to the Bruce claim to the throne of Scotland, crossed the border on the 17th June, the destination, Sterling.
King Robert had been upset by his brother Edward's chivalric gesture, the long campaign he had been waging to drive the English out of his realm and to restore independence to Scotland had been successful because he had avoided a pitched battle with the English. The Scottish army was much weaker than the English, particularly in its numbers of mounted knights. The main strength of the Scots lay in their schiltrons, large formations of footsoldiers drawn from the ranks of ordinary folk. They were armed with unwieldy 14 ft pikes, and fought in closely packed ranks to provide an unyielding wall of spearpoints against any enemy advancing to close quarters. However, the size of the formations made them easy targets for the powerful longbows of the English, and they were not as mobile as the enemy's cavalry. The schiltron could beat the English, as William Wallace had proved at the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. But the battle had to be fought on the schiltron's terms, so Robert knew he could only win if he dictated the course of the campaign. Robert mustered his army at Torwood, on the road from Falkirk to Stirling. He had already picked the spot for his battle with Edward's men, near the village of Bannockburn, to the south of Stirling Castle. When Edward's army reached Falkirk on the 20th June, Robert pulled his troops back behind rows of small pits, anti cavalry traps dug on both sides of the main road. To counter an outflanking move to the west, across the New Park, Robert had his men barricade the paths with boulders and underbrush.
On Sunday 23rd June, the vanguard of Edward's army came out of the woodland south of Bannockburn. The Scottish army lay just before them, it was forming up to resist the English. The commanders of the vanguard, the earl of Gloucester and the earl of Hereford mistook the Scots movements for the beginnings of a retreat and advanced.
Henry De Bohun, nephew of Hereford, spotted a lone horseman to the front of the Scottish lines. He rode towards him, as he neared he saw a coronet on the Scotsman's helmet and realised that it was none other than Robert himself. De Bohun urged his horse into a gallop and lowered his lance for the charge. Robert, on a small pony and more lightly armoured, avoided De Bohun's charge, then split the young knights head open with a battleaxe.
Hearted by this display of their leader's prowess, Robert's schiltrons advanced and drove back the knights charging in De Bohun's wake. A smaller English force attempted to outflank the Scots army by moving through some marshy ground to the eastern side of the road. The earl of Moray, after a rebuke from Robert, belatedly moved to counter this. The English failed to break through Moray's schiltron, and drew back to the main army.
The English commanders now chose to bivouac on the Carse, a tract of level ground to the east of the Scot's positions, over Bannock Burn. There, the troops would have access to the water of the Forth - the sources of fresh water frequently determined medieval armies manoeuvres. The army made a crossing of the Bannock Burn, then settled down for the night.
Robert had been planning to retire, in the face of the superior English force. However, a Scottish knight named Alexander Seton, deserting the English army, rode into the Scottish camp and reported that the enemy had been demoralised be the events of the day. On the basis of this information, Robert chose to risk battle with the English.