The Scottish Wars against England Male lust and a mole can be blamed for the opening of the Scottish Wars of Independence. The male lust was in the breast of Alexander the Third, The King of Scots. (Note that the ruler is not King of Scotland but King of Scots.) Alexander had a new French wife, Yolande, and longed throughout the council meeting in Edinburgh to be back with his wife across the storm lashed Firth of Forth in Fife. Against all advice, Alexander set out for Fife and barely made it across the Forth by boat before galloping off with two attendants. In the storm the riders lost sight of each other and next morning the body of the king was found at the foot of the cliffs at Kinghorn. Legend has it that his horse was startled by a mole and both rider and horse fell over the cliff. The good news was that there was an heir but she was a mere female child and the granddaughter of the King of Norway. Not ideal for a faction driven Scotland but even this lifeline was lost when the Maid of Norway died shortly after landing in Scotland. Two factions now contended for the throne namely the Balliols and the Bruces who represented the most powerful noble sin the land. Into this argument came Edward the First of England who agreed to adjudicate as an honest and impartial broker. To be fair to Edward, his decision to award John Balliol the crown was probably the right one as he just about had a stronger claim. Edward now, however made his move and had Balliol pledge allegiance to him. This was no doubt viewed by Balliol as a formality but Edward capitalised by demanding Scots troops to fight in his wars overseas. Balliol eventually put his foot down and Edward invaded Scotland sacking Berwick ruthlessly and deposing Balliol before assuming the crown as his own. In this he was supported by the Bruces who were disappointed when he did not pass the crown on to them. For a while, Edward totally controlled Scotland but gradually small rebellions began to break out. Andrew Moray raised a rebellion in the north while in the South of the Country a member of the lesser gentry, one William Wallace, raided English garrisons. An English army under Surrey and his hated treasurer for Scotland, Cressingham, set out to disperse the rebels. At Stirling Bridge, however, the English recklessly crossed the river on a small bridge and the Scots descended on those who had crossed and wiped them out. Cressingham’s skin was flayed from his body and became a belt for Wallace. With Moray dead from wounds received at the battle, Wallace was appointed Guardian of Scotland and raided into the North of England. Soon, however, Edward himself crossed the border in search of the Scottish army. Wallace, at first, carried out a brilliant retreat despoiling the land as he went and it is said that Edward was on the point of retreat but, receiving reports that the Scottish army was at Falkirk, advanced and brought Wallace to battle before he could retreat. The combination of longbows and knights won the day for the English. Wallace escaped the field and being stripped of his guardianship acted in an ambassadorial role on the continent. Over the next few years there was little to trouble Edward’s rule but then Robert the Bruce, grandson of the man who competed with Balliol for the throne found himself with a problem. There can be little doubt that Bruce had been manoeuvring for years to get his hands on the crown. He was even prepared to work with the Balliols. It all went wrong though in a meeting in a churchyard which culminated in Bruce stabbing his Balliol rival to death. Suddenly, Edward who had found out about his treachery, wanted him dead and in addition he was excommunicated by the church. It was an all or nothing situation and Bruce had himself proclaimed king. At first, Bruce tried to fight a noble war but a total defeat at Methven caused him to switch tactics. From now on he fought a guerrilla war for the next eight years against the invaders. Wallace is often regarded as a guerrilla fighter but it was Bruce who perfected the art. Step by step, he captured and reduced to ruin all the Scottish castles with the principal exception of Stirling which in 1313 he began to besiege. This final stage was too much for Edward the Second and he pulled together a massive army to invade Scotland. Reaching Stirling, Edward knew he had to break through to the castle as this act would by terms of an agreement between the Scots and the governor of the castle result in the siege being lifted. Unfortunately for him, The Scottish army, which had been drilling for a year for this very moment blocked his path. On the first day, the English tried to manoeuvre around the Scots but the well drilled schiltrons blocked their efforts. Frustrated Edward moved his army across the treacherous Bannockburn into a triangle of boggy ground. Told of the low morale in the English camp, Bruce decided to attack. Rather than a battle this was a massacre with the English squashed together between the Scottish spears and the treacherous stream behind. Edward escaped but his army was virtually destroyed. In most histories, Bannockburn in 1314 concludes the wars but these ran on for almost another decade before peace was restored and Bruce recognised by the English king as being King of Scots. Part of this process in obtaining this result was the Declaration of Arbroath one of the greatest documents proclaiming the rights of a people to self determination. The death of Bruce sparked another round of conflict. This time the Balliols supported by the English invaded in an effort to get them back on the throne. The Scots suffered a horrendous defeat at Halidon Hill which for the first time saw the English utilising dismounted men at arms and longbows together. This was the winning formula that would be used throughout the Hundred Years war and beyond. The Scottish and English conflicts continued, with occasional gaps, throughout the next few hundred years with the Scottish spears generally coming off worse other than the notable exception of Otterburn. Scottish contingents of men at arms and longbows also fought on the continent supporting the French against the English armies there. Even with the switch to pikes in 1513, Scottish armies suffered disasters at Flodden and then at Pinkie although certainly in the former case the Scottish army which was on paper a more modern and better equipped army suffered from the most awful bad luck. Both the weather and hidden terrain in the form of a ditch contributed to their defeat. With the accession of James the Sixth of Scotland to the English throne the wars died out in 1603. Feudal Scots Army Commander 1 Any Instinctive Dates 1100-1306 Sub-Generals 1-3 Any Instinctive TERRAIN Standard, Mountains, Forest allied General 0-1 Galwegian ally - any Instinctive before 1150 Camp Flexible :Poor or Average WEAPONRY Characteristics Min UG Name Type Quality Shooting Protection MELEE Mandatory Optional Max Size Cavalry - Charging Lancer Devastating Charger Melee Expert 4 Mounted Knights Average Protected 4,6 Formed Loose - - - - 8 Cavalry Experienced Short Spear - - 0 Prickers Average Unprotected 4,6 Formed Flexible Javelin - - - 6 Infantry - Long Spear Shield wall Caltrops 36 Spearmen Average Protected 6,8,9 Formed Flexible - - - Orb 120 Infantry Experienced - - - 6 Ettrick Archers Average Unprotected 6,8,9 Formed Loose Powerbow - - - 16 Infantry Experienced - Combat Shy - 0 Skirmishing Archers Average Unprotected 6,8,9 Skirmisher Bow - - - 12 Infantry Unskilled 2-Handed Cutting Devastating Charger - 0 Islemen Average Protected 6,8 Tribal Flexible Powerbow - Shoot and Charge - 8 Infantry Unskilled - Devastating Charge - 0 Catterans Average Protected 6,8 Tribal Loose Powerbow - Shoot and Charge - 24 Notes This list represents the Kingdom of the Scots from 1100AD until the Bruce went into hiding after the Battle of Methven. After this date until 1314 there were virtually no pitched battles with the Scots restricting themselves to raiding and the taking of castles. In the late 12th Century there were a number of major battles with Stirling Bridge and Falkirk being the most notable examples. The schiltron at this period was predominantly a defensive formation and shieldwall is preferred to shove. At Falkirk the schiltrons were surrounded by rope and stake entanglements. Scottish archers of this period are often denigrated as being poor but in fact suffered from a shortage of numbers rather than not being well skilled. The Islemen and Catterans must be commanded by their own general who is considered sufficiently integrated not to be an ally but can command no other troops. As in their own list Islemen and Catterans may be formed in separate units or in mixed units with one rank of Islemen and one or two ranks of Catterans. Notes: Orbs and shieldwall can only be claimed when in close order. Scots Isles and Highlands Army Commander 1 Any Instinctive Dates 1000AD - 1500AD Sub-Generals 1-3 Any Instinctive TERRAIN Coastal, Mountains, Forest Internal allied General 0-1 Camp Mobile :Poor or Average WEAPONRY Characteristics Min UG Name Type Quality Shooting Protection MELEE Mandatory Optional Max Size Infantry Unskilled 2-Handed Cutting Devastating Charger - 24 Islemen Average Protected 6,8 Tribal Flexible Bow - Shoot and Charge - 60 Infantry Unskilled - Devastating Charger - 24 Catterans Average Protected 6,8 Tribal Loose Powerbow - Shoot and Charge - 60 Infantry Experienced - - - 0 Skirmishing Catterans Average Unprotected 6-9 Skirmishers Bow - - - 18 Mixed Warriors Infantry Unskilled 2-Handed Cutting Devastating Charger - 0 Islemen Average Protected 3,4 Tribal Flexible Powerbow - Shoot and Charge - * Infantry Unskilled - Devastating Charger - 0 Catterans Average Protected 4,6 Tribal Loose Powerbow - Shoot and Charge - * Only before 1300Ad Infantry - 2-Handed Cutting - - 0 Irish Mercenaries Average Unprotected 6,8 Tribal Loose - - - - 18 Galwegian Ally before 1150 Infantry - - Devastating Charger - 0 Galwegian Allies Average Unprotected 6,8,9 Tribal Loose - - - - 18 Allies Viking Allies only before 1175 Notes This list represents the Lordship of the Isles.