The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN

The Battle of Bannockburn was fought between Scottish and English armies, near Bannockburn, Scotland, on June the 24th, 1314, during the Scottish war of independence against England. The battle began when the Scottish forces, numbering about 40,000 troops under the command of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, intercepted an army of about 60,000 commanded by Edward II of England, which was en route to the relief of a besieged English stronghold at Stirling Castle. After inconclusive skirmishing between patrols of the two armies, the English launched a mass attack, led by cavalry, on the Scottish positions. Bruce, however, had prepared the ground before his lines with a series of deep, camouflaged pits. The mounted English troops blundered into the pits and were slain by Scottish pikemen. In the fighting that followed, the English army was decisively defeated, losing an estimated 10,000 men. Bruce' s victory, accomplished with about 4000 casualties, secured his throne and the independence of Scotland.
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