Battle of Falkirk

Question 1

Battle of Falkirk - Background

Answer 1

• It was suggested that Wallace was forced to fight this battle by the Nobles, as they saw retreating as cowardly
• July 1298 Edward moved his army north into Scotland, having no idea where Wallace was
• Edwards troops were running very low on supplies and his troops were reaching the point of rebellion

Question 2

Battle of Falkirk - The English Army

Answer 2

• 115 barons and baronets
• 2000 Cavalry force
• Large levies of Welsh troops with Longbows
• Veterans from Edwards war in France
• Superb tactics
• Lots of archers (Crossbow, Longbow)

Question 3

Battle of Falkirk - The Scottish Army

Answer 3

• Well equipped with mounted Knights (around) 600 and Squires
• Earl of Comyn, the Steward and other Scottish Earls contributed troops
• 3 large Schiltrons, each with 2000 pikemen
• In between Schiltrons large number of Archers from Selkirk forest

Question 4

The Battle of Falkirk - Starting positions of the 2 armies

Answer 4

• Wallace formed his men behind a boggy morass which had formed between the Glen Burn and the Westquarter Burn

Question 5

The Battle of Falkirk - The course of the battle (pt.1)

Answer 5

• English cavalry flanked the Scottish army on both flanks, the flanks were split into 2 groups
• The 2 cavalry groups outmanoeuvred the boggy morass, Whilst the Scottish cavalry fled the battle
• Scottish archers were left exposed and massacred by English Horsemen
• English archers picked of the Scottish Schiltrons at range, killing hundreds

Question 6

The Battle of Falkirk - Collapsed Schiltron (pt.2)

Answer 6

• The Schiltrons collapsed and the English cavalry men saw there opportunity and attacked
• Scottish troops fled to Callendar wood, Wallace and his commanders fled North to the Tor wood, burning Stirling town as they went
• Scottish Chroniclers say 10,000 Scots were killed, whereas English Chroniclers say 50,000 but this number is likely to be exaggerated

Question 7

The Battle of Falkirk - Why did the Scots fail

Answer 7

• They only had 8,000 foot soldiers, a small amount of archers and 600-800 cavalry
• The Scottish archers were all killed because they weren’t protected
• They English surprised the Scots as they attacked earlier than usual
• The Scots were vastly outnumbered
• The Scottish cavalry fled early in the battle
• Stirling bride was a fluke as they didn’t have to fight on open ground
• Wallace’s lack of military expertise led to poor decision making

Question 8

The Battle of Falkirk - The English were weak

Answer 8

• The English were exhausted and low on supplies
• The English confined to the south of the Forth
• The English Nobility were fed up with Scotland

Question 9

The Battle of Falkirk - The Scots were still strong

Answer 9

• The Scottish nobility was still intact
• 2 new Scottish guardians were appointed, Comyn and Bruce
• The pope backed the Scots
• The Scots switched their style to Guerrilla style warfare

Question 10

The Battle of Falkirk - The Scots were still strong (Pt.2)

Answer 10

• Raids continued into Northern England
• Wallace visited Norway, France and Rome to lobby on behalf of Balliol
• 1299 Stirling castle fell to the Scots after a siege
• Battle of Roslin in May 1303, which saw an English force wiped out by the Scots at night