Unraveling the Battle of Falkirk: Braveheart's Defiance and Edward I's Triumph

 

The Battle of Falkirk was fought between Sir William Wallace and King Edward the first of England. The military engagement took place in a small town near the town of Falkirk on 22^nd July 1298. The Scottish population rallied behind Sir William to gain independence from English rule. This Scottish struggle is known by historians as the first war of Scottish independence.

Background

Scotland and England had territorial disputes near the border regions. Both sides claimed territory and often it led to minor skirmishes and conflicts on the border areas. Things became much worse for Scotland when its king Alexander died without leaving behind any apparent successor. This created a power vacuum in the country and many clans formed groups creating a succession crisis. King Edward Longshanks of England took advantage of the situation invaded the Scottish lands and occupied the whole country.

Longshanks believed that Scottish lands were integral parts of his kingdom. During this period, another person came to prominence. His name was William Wallace, in his first move, he with his 30 men attacked the town of Lanark and executed English Sheriff. This news spread around the Scottish Highlands as wildfire and soon many locals joined the rebellion of Wallace.

 Although, English knights and army were far more equipped in material and numbers Wallace’s forces were formidable foes. With hit-and-run guerilla tactics, English forces suffered heavy losses at the hands of William’s much smaller army. The battle of Stirling Bridge was a major military engagement between the Scottish forces and the Longshanks army. With his tactical brilliance, Wallace was able to defeat a much larger force. This cemented his position as the central figure in the first Scottish War of Independence. After this major victory, Wallace was appointed Guardian of Scotland. His main goal was to establish Scotland’s sovereignty and strong opposition to the Longshanks.

Edward Longshanks Campaigns  

Longshanks was known to be very ruthless and he took charge of the whole campaign. He was determined to make Scotland part of his kingdom. Consolidating his rule over the British Isles and crushing the rebellion were his primary goals and all efforts were shifted to fulfill these two goals. There were many reasons Longshanks believed he would overcome the rebels mainly because he had a much stronger army and battle-hardened longbowmen who were very effective in the long range. Furthermore, the trump card was his heavy cavalry. In short, his army was very well organized, disciplined, and very well-fed.  In addition to that, huge numbers of resources were diverted to this front with additional manpower to crush the rebellion once and for all. He started his campaigns by laying siege to key Scottish towns and castles. He had formed this strategy to subdue the rebel forces and establish his control over the occupied areas. Later, he marched his troops further north to confront Scottish forces and defeat them decisively.

While Wallace’s army mostly consisted of infantry equipped with swords and spears. Moreover, he did not possess heavy cavalry and was outnumbered. Furthermore, there was a divide in Scotland’s nobility as many nobles were hesitant to fight on Wallace’s side mainly due to many reasons. In short, William’s army was outnumbered, they lacked discipline and formation, and they suffered heavily against the longbowmen and heavy cavalry. Lastly, their food supplies were also very thin.

The prelude

Wallace’s rebellion was gaining more support from the local population and the English feared in the long run they’d be fighting an army that they couldn’t defeat or would bring severe consequences for them. So, they wanted the rebels to be defeated as early as possible. Furthermore, after the battle of Stirling, Scots had gained key castles and towns and their support further soared. So, the battle of Falkirk was a major event and changed the history of both England and Scotland.

The battlefield

The battle of Falkirk was fought between the two armies near a small town Falkirk on 22 July, 1298.

Battle Formations

English forces under Longshanks were highly disciplined and battle-hardened. The battle formations of English were simple but quite effective. In the first row were longbowmen who were known for their barrages of arrows from a long range. Just behind the longbowmen, were the infantry, highly disciplined and armed with polearms, spears, and swords. While the heavy cavalry was strategically positioned and when they sensed any weakness in the flanks, they would unleash their full force.

Sir William’s army mostly consisted of infantry armed with spears and swords. But his forces lacked the heavy cavalry, on the whole, the army lacked superior weapons.

The Battle Unfolds

The battle of Falkirk began as both armies were facing each other. King Edward made the first move and ordered his longbowmen to unleash the deadly volley of arrows towards the rebel forces. From the very beginning, Scottish forces struggled to keep their balance and their formation was under a deadly volley of arrows. Scottish cavalry was hesitant to charge due to the heavy volley of English longbowmen. Furthermore, they would not have been effective in charging because those longbowmen were protected by English heavy cavalry.

Sir William tried to rally his men and launched an offensive to push back the Longshanks infantry and bowmen. Due to high discipline, the English stood their ground, while the bowmen continued with their deadly volley of arrows.

As the battle continued, Scottish forces suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield. The center of the army went completely into chaos and they began retreating from the battlefield. Lack of coordination with the cavalry eventually played a significant role in the defeat of Sir William Wallace’s army.

Aftermath

The battle of Falkirk was a decisive victory for Edward Longshanks. After the battle, Wallace went into hiding. He was eventually captured and was executed by the English Forces. Although English forces were successful they only temporarily halted the rebellion. After the Battle of Falkirk, Robert the Bruce took control of what remained of the Scottish rebels and would begin his struggle and eventually defeat the English forces and become King of Scotland in the early 14^th century.

Robert the Bruce’s campaigns will be posted in more detail in our upcoming posts.