Battle of Bannockburn

Battle of Bannockburn, (June 23–24, 1314), decisive battle in Scottish history whereby the Scots under Robert I (the Bruce) defeated the English under Edward II, expanding Robert’s territory and influence.

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By the time of the battle in 1314, all of Scotland had been cleared of strongholds loyal to Edward II with the exception of the besieged Stirling Castle, which the defenders had promised to surrender if they had not been relieved by June 24. Edward is estimated to have assembled an army of some 13,000 infantry—bolstered by a contingent of Welsh archers and roughly 3,000 cavalry—to aid those still loyal to him in Scotland. His primary objective was the raising of the siege of Stirling Castle. To meet Edward’s army, Robert gathered his smaller force, consisting of perhaps 7,000 infantry (primarily pikemen) and several hundred light horse, at the New Park, a hunting preserve a mile or two (1.6 to 3.2 km) south of Stirling. Robert planned to use the trees there to funnel any attack into his heavy infantry and freshly dug anticavalry ditches. He had taken up his position there when the English vanguard appeared on June 23.

Edward attempted to circumvent the Scottish positions and possibly relieve Stirling Castle with a small unit of cavalry, but Scottish infantrymen rushed to meet them. After those two groups fought to a stalemate, Scottish reinforcements arrived to send the English cavalry fleeing. Meanwhile, a second unit of English cavalry charged the Scottish main position, interpreting their opponent’s movements as a possible retreat. After being rebuffed by the main Scottish force at the New Park, the second English attack climaxed with Robert’s engaging in personal combat with an English knight. The encounter was reportedly observed by both armies, and it ended with Robert’s cleaving the knight’s head with his battle axe. After that, all English troops retreated to the main army as night fell. That evening the two armies experienced very different situations. Scottish morale was high following the day’s victory, and Robert sought to increase it with an encouraging speech. Meanwhile, the English, who feared a counterattack, spent much of the night awake and in formation; those who did rest dealt with poor camp conditions in a wet marsh.

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The Scots began the second day of the battle by holding mass. Edward supposedly delayed the engagement, initially confused by the disposition of Scottish infantrymen wielding long spears. Nevertheless, he still ordered an attack against the Scots with his cavalry. Upon the initial charge, the English avoided the anticavalry ditches, but they were unable to penetrate the Scottish lines. After multiple cavalry charges failed to break the Scottish defenses, Robert began to move his infantry forward. As the English backed up, the ditches hindered them after multiple horsemen fell in and could not escape. The battle transformed into an all-out rout, with many of the English being slaughtered. Edward himself barely escaped.

English losses included 34 barons and knights as well as thousands of footmen killed or captured while fleeing from the battle. The Scots claimed to have lost only two knights but several hundred infantrymen. The battle is traditionally regarded as the culmination of the Scottish Wars of Independence, although Scottish independence would not be officially recognized until 1328, at the conclusion of the Treaty of Northampton with Edward’s successor, Edward III.

Bannockburn, like the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302), has been credited with initiating a new form of warfare in Europe in which infantry, not cavalry, dominated the battlefield. The battle also marked the last major victory of the Scots over the English during the Middle Ages.