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Reader's Companion to Military History

Bannockburn, Battle of

June 24, 1314

Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland, besieged Stirling as part of the war to establish his kingdom's full independence from the English crown. Edward II, "always lily-livered and luckless in war," advanced with roughly seventeen thousand troops to rescue the stronghold. Encouraged by successful skirmishes on June 23, Robert boldly chose to meet the English army (three times larger than his own) in open battle—contrary to his normal strategy. Edward's vanguard charged prematurely and in disorder, making no impact on the tightly arrayed Scots, whose pikes disemboweled the English horses. Fighting on difficult ground, the English main body barely checked the Scottish advance. After Robert the Bruce's reserve flanked the English, Edward fled, and his troops broke. Pinned against a treacherous stream, the Bannockburn, thousands perished. Never again did the English seriously challenge Robert's rule of Scotland. This glorious victory over a more powerful foe solidified the Bruce's military reputation and helped make him Scotland's foremost national hero.

Shocked by their dramatic defeat, the English adopted the Scots' practice of fighting on foot. Bannockburn, like Courtrai, twelve years earlier, marked the beginnings of a new style of infantry-dominated warfare.



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