Warfare Through Time (Medieval)

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WARFARE THROUGH TIME (Medieval)

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Battle of Falkirk

Date: 22 July 1298 Location: Falkirk, Scotland War: First War of Scottish Independence Belligerents: England & Scotland Leaders: Edward I of England & William Wallace (Scottish) Size of English army: 15,000 men (2,500 cavalry, 12,500 infantry) Size of Scottish army: 6,000 men (1,000 cavalry, 5,000 infantry)   

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Pie de foto: : Formations of the two opposing armies, the Scottish spearmen have arranged themselves in four schiltrons, between the schiltron's gaps there were archers in position

The Battle

Wallace positioned his men on higher ground, defensively, because he was greatly outnumbered. The four schiltrons were defended by Scottish archers and the archers were defended by the Scottish cavalry.  The English cavalry manoeuvred along both sides of the hill, capturing the Scottish cavalry by surprise. The Scottish cavalry that wasn't destroyed in the initial attack fled the battlefield. Then the more skilled English archers subdued the Scottish archers. Edward ordered a frontal cavalry charge at the four schiltrons, as you'd expect, it was unsuccessful. Edward ordered his archers to move up, telling them to unleash a hail of arrows on the schiltrons. When gaps appeared in the schiltrons, the English cavalry quickly moved in and cut the Scottish spearmen from the inside. Seeing imminent defeat, William Wallace and his survivors escaped the battlefield, escaping in the Torwood forest. 7 years later, on August 23rd 1305, Wallace was executed for high treason, being hung, drawn and quartered.  

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What equipment was present at Falkirk?

Pie de foto: : Scottish schiltron repels an English cavalry assault

The key weapons and equipment at the battle were:  Swords Longbows Crossbows Spears Chainmail armour

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Pie de foto: : A European broadsword

Swords

A broadsword is a sword with a broad blade. It was a cutting weapon rather than a stabbing weapon. They were predominantly used by European knights. Their length ranged from 30 - 45 inches and weight ranged from 3 - 5 lbs. These broadswords had the power to sever limbs and decapitate enemies in a single swing. Knights had to train relentlessly to master their weapon and become proficient in sword combat.  

Longbows

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Pie de foto: : A Medieval longbow

The longbow was the signature weapon of Medieval archers, while crossbows existed, they weren't in widespread use. The crossbow was plagued by a few critical flaws which will be discussed on a later slide. Longbows were cumbersome and required extensive training to master. The skeletons of longbowmen were different to other types of soldier, they had enlarged arms and in elderly life the longbowmen would suffer from spinal pains due to the stress of constantly drawing the weapon in training and in combat situations. The arrows fired from the longbows easily penetrated through the chainmail armour of early Medieval knights. To penetrate plate armour though, the armour of late Medieval knights, standard arrows struggled to puncture them. Specialised arrowheads and specific ranges were required to penetrate plate armour. It would be very difficult to aim precisely for armour weakpoints while under enemy fire and pressure.

Spears

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Pie de foto: : A typical spear

The spear was a polearm weapon, the signature weapon of early medieval infantry. It consisted of a pole and a metal, spiked head.