Schiltron Trumps English Cavalry
Scotland's Military Innovation From William Wallace to "The Bruce"
William Wallace designed the Scottish Schiltron to slow the reign of terror by England's King Edward Long Shanks. Robert, The Bruce improved it to establish Independence.
The Schiltron
The Schiltron (pronounced: skil-tron) was a colossal ring-shaped deployment that William Wallace employed to defend against the English cavalry charge and attack the enemy at the same time. This tactic was designed to use somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand men in a large ring. Each man was armed with 15 foot pikes. These were generally made from a tree or a large branch. They were reported to be 4-6 inches in diameter. Eaxh man set the butt end of the pike in the ground and leaned the pointed end outward in the ring, sealing off more than every one of the 360 degrees. A literal shell of shields was deployed defensively around the completed ring and were held fiercely at each man's side. In case of a long bow attack, the shields could be placed overhead. Even if cavalry got around and behind the Schiltron they still faced a resolute embankment of shields and an impenetrable porcupine of spears.
Stirling Bridge
This was the strategy the Wallace deployed at the famous Battle of Stirling Bridge on September 11, 1297. This battle revolved around the "Bryg of Tre", a narrow wooden bridge that was in the same approximate location as the present stone Bridge of Allen built in the 15th century. On this day, the Schiltrons were transformed from a defensive unit into a lumbering offensive one by an unfortunate miscalculation by English Strategists. Anxious to end the struggle quickly, economic interests prevailed when urged by King Edward's Scottish Treasurer, Hugh de Cressingham, the infantry was sent across the bridge to subdue the Scots. It was a death trap. Wallace waited until the largest part of the infantry was over the bottle neck of the bridge and then attacked. The English lost 5000 men on that singular day. William Wallace was established as the Protector of Scotland.
Falkirk and the Demise of William Wallace
Less than a year later, on July 22, 1298 Wallace was defeated attempting the same schiltron strategy on a different field. This time he did not have the complicity of English ineptitude. While the schiltrons held firm for a long time two things finally dislodged them. The first was the mysterious failure of the Scottish Cavalry to participate in the fight. This was not of great effect until another new English weapon was unleashed, which the absence of cavalry left unmolested. The Longbow archers from Lancashire finally broke the schiltron defenses and the battle of Falkirk was effectively over. Over the next 16 years, Scotland's freedom waxed and waned due mostly to the irresoluteness of the Aristocracy which could not seem to decide between selling their souls to Long Shanks or preserving their freedom by following Wallace's example. In the interim Wallace was captured, hanged, drawn and quartered and his head was placed on a spike on the London Bridge.. It would be up the The Bruce to secure Scotland's freedom.
Robert "The Bruce" - The Battle of Bhonnaich Burn
Robert the Bruce improved the Schiltron. Wallace’s version was an unmovable defensive formation. It relied on the enemy attacking it and thereby gave up the battle tested practice of taking the initiative. Bruce had just shy of 17 years to think about improving it for the Battle of Bhonnaich Burn. His deployment had some major differences. Each Schiltron was considerably smaller. The Pikes themselves were made more manageable and spear-like to facilitate movement. The biggest change by far, however, was the fact that these formations did move. It was a major improvement in military technology that was analogous to the difference between a fortress and a tank. On June 24, 1314 at what is now called Bannockburn the Scottish Cavalry dispersed the English archers and the much more mobile schiltrons of The Bruce established him as King over a free Scotland.
Sources
Scotland, The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson, 2000, Grove Press
Tales of a Scottish Grandfather, from Bannockburn to Flodden by Sir Walter Scott, 2001, Cumberland House Publishing
