Battle of Stirling Bridge

Dunbar - Stirling Bridge - Falkirk - Stirling Castle - Methven - Bannockburn - Dupplin Moor - Halidon Hill

The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the Scottish Wars of Independence. On September 11, 1297, the Scottish troops were victorious under Andrew de Moray and William Wallace at the bridge of Stirling. The British under John de Warenne suffered a crushing defeat.

Numerically, the English were superior to the Scots by about four times, much better trained and battle- experienced much more. De Moray and Wallace had ended the siege of Dundee successfully, and their troops were now on elevated terrain above the Abbey Craig, north of Stirling on the other side of the river Forth.

The British crossed the river and found the Scots to fight. There they were, however, very confident of victory, they used a small bridge, rather than a shallow and broad ford nearby. When the English, led by Hugh de Cressingham, the bridge had crossed, they reached swampy terrain and spread out slowly. Once a part of the British troops had arrived on the north side of the river, Wallace ordered two attacks, a right to cut off the way back into the bulk of the British troops and another in the back.

The existing of Schiltron formations Scottish troops destroyed the English vanguard. The English cavalry proved on the marshy terrain as ineffective and was wiped out. The English troops on the north side fled from the battlefield. In the south of the River John de Warenne had to destroy the bridge and ordered a retreat. Hugh de Cressingham was captured by the Scots and killed, according to legend, Wallace still drew him on the battlefield alive the skin.

The Scots had only small losses, but Andrew de Moray died of his injuries. The victory marked the beginning of a series of successes, with whom Wallace was able to win the favor of the Scottish nobles and which led to the conquest of almost all English castles in Scotland. Just six months later, the uprising led by Wallace against the English was suffocated with the defeat at the Battle of Falkirk.