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 22nd 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.
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 14th century.
Robert the Bruce’s campaigns will be posted in more detail
in our upcoming posts.
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