The Battle of Bannockburn Brought to Life in Unique Animation 1314 AD ( The Braveheart Sequel !)

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On the 24th of June 1314, King Robert the Bruce  of Scotland prepared his Schiltron formations   for the fateful clash at Bannockburn. With  Unyielding resolve, he grasped his sword and   commanded his troops to advance, his booming  voice resonating across the battlefield.   Like an unstoppable tide of defiance, the  Schiltrons surged forward, poised to break   the ranks of the English knights. The fate of  Scotland's hard-fought independence hung in   the balance, the outcome of this pivotal  showdown holding the destiny of nations,   with its significance to be  forever etched into history.   At the turn of the 14th century,  Scotland found itself embroiled in   relentless conflict. The Scottish Wars of  Independence had been raging since 1296,   marked by both triumphs and setbacks for  Scotland. Notably, the legendary rebel   William Wallace had dealt a significant blow to  the English, although he ultimately succumbed to   the formidable Edward I. Despite this defeat,  Wallace's heroic struggle ignited a fervent   sentiment of resentment and resistance to  English dominion throughout Scotland.   Amidst this turbulent landscape of feuding  nobility, one figure emerged to shape the   course of the nation's fate – Robert the Bruce.  A prominent noble with blood connections to   past Scottish monarchs, Robert would play a  pivotal role in the events that followed.   Robert the Bruce's loyalties were  intricate and uncertain. Initially,   during the rebellion against English rule in  1296, he found himself aligned with Edward I,   alongside other influential Scottish figures. This  surprising alliance arose from his intense rivalry   for the Scottish throne, which he believed was  rightfully his, and his opposition to the powerful   Comyn family, who resisted Edward's rule. However, tensions escalated in 1306 when,   during a meeting with the Comyns, Robert the  Bruce fatally wounded his opponent after a   heated dispute. This act of violence left Bruce  with no option but to claim the Scottish throne,   resulting in his excommunication by the Pope and  persecution by the English King . Asserting his   claim as the great-great-grandson of David  I, Bruce received his coronation at Scone on   25th March, with the support of a faction within  the Scottish Church and nobility. Nevertheless,   Bruce faced staunch opposition from various  Scottish lords, particularly the Comyns and   their allies seeking revenge, while  others outright rejected his claim.   In the meantime, one of Edward I's  lieutenants confronted Bruce's forces,   leading to the dispersal and defeat of  Bruce's army at Methven in June 1306.   By the end of June, Bruce's position had  crumbled, and his supporters were scattered,   leaving him as a hunted fugitive. Despite the dire  circumstances, Bruce managed to elude his pursuers   and sought refuge on the remote Isle of Rathilin,  where he regrouped and reorganized his forces.   In early 1307, Robert Bruce, accompanied by  a small group of followers, boldly returned   to the mainland, making landfall in Ayshire  before vanishing into the rugged wilderness   of Carrick. Simultaneously, his younger brothers  led an expedition to Galloway with the intent of   disrupting English communications. However, their  plans took a disastrous turn as they fell into an   ambush and were subsequently captured. Under King Edward I's command,   Bruce's brothers met a grim fate, facing  execution by hanging. Despite the influx   of English troops into the southern regions  of Scotland, Bruce's following steadily grew,   and he achieved some triumphs against the English  in confrontations at Glen Trool and Loudon Hill.   On July 7th 1307 the formidable old King Edward  I died, leaving his politically inept son,   Edward II, to grapple with a kingdom rife with  internal strife and dissent. Edward II faced   numerous distractions due to his favoritism  of unpopular nobles and opposition from   his barons. This diversion provided Robert  Bruce with a crucial window of opportunity   to confront his Scottish adversaries. Bruce swiftly retaliated against his enemies   in the southwest before advancing northward to  challenge his chief rivals. With his eventual   triumph Bruce was able to consolidate his hold  over Aberdeen and the north-eastern region.   Having vanquished most of his Scottish opponents  by 1309, Bruce shifted his focus towards expelling   the English from his kingdom. Over the following  years, he solidified his position in Scotland by   conquering most of the English-held castles  and rallying the remaining powerful Scottish   nobles to support his victorious cause. By 1314, Bruce's brother was besieging one   of the last key fortifications still in English  hands, Stirling Castle. The besieged governor of   Stirling Castle acknowledged the inevitable fall  of the stronghold and reached an agreement with   Edward Bruce, pledging to surrender the castle  if no relief arrived by June 24th . However,   King Robert Bruce was displeased with this  arrangement, recognizing that the deadline   would prompt the English into immediate action. At  this critical juncture, the prospect of a pitched   battle emerged as the only means to prevent  the castle's relief, and Robert Bruce was well   aware that such an encounter could jeopardize  the hard-won gains of his campaign thus far.   Meanwhile, King Edward II urgently sought to  mend relationships with his barons and marched   northwards to Berwick, hastily assembling  an army to relieve Stirling by the appointed   date of June 24th. As the English army advanced  towards Stirling, meticulous arrangements were   required to store and transport supplies. Employing scorched-earth tactics, the Scots   ensured that the advancing English forces found  minimal sustenance in the devastated terrain.   Facing an adversary with an army almost twice the  size of his own, King Robert Bruce strategically   positioned his forces a few kilometers south  of Stirling, patiently awaiting Edward II's   approach and the impending confrontation  near a stream known as Bannockburn.   Robert organized a force of about 7,000 to 8,000  infantry into four divisions known as schiltrons,   strong defensive squares of men equipped  with pikes. He strategically positioned   these divisions along the road that traverses  the New Park forest leading to Stirling.   On the morning of June 23rd, light Scottish  horsemen conducted a patrol to observe the arrival   of the English Army. The sight of 2,500 heavily  armored knights, resplendent in their gleaming   weapons and armor, was formidable, followed by  11,000 infantry marching a few miles behind.   The advancement of two English cavalry formations  marked a significant development in the unfolding   events. The first formation was under the  command of the Earl of Gloucester and the   Earl of Hereford. The second, a smaller  contingent of approximately 600 soldiers,   led by Sir Robert Clifford, pursued a route closer  to the River Forth, aiming to cut off the Scottish   line of retreat towards Stirling Castle. Subsequently, the Hereford-Gloucester force,   spearheading the advance, successfully crossed  the Bannockburn and proceeded towards the dense   woodlands concealing the Scots. Unbeknownst  to the English forces, King Robert Bruce had   ventured ahead on a minor reconnaissance mission  without wearing his heavy protective armor.   At that moment, the impetuous young noble Henry  De Bohun caught sight of a knight mounted on a   small grey horse, commanding his pikemen while  wielding an axe in his hand. The presence of a   double tressured lion on his surcoat and the  glint of gold from the crown encircling his   helmet left no room for doubt: the knight  was none other than the renowned Bruce.   De Bohun, attuned to the opportunity for personal  glory, rapidly altered his course, spurring his   horse towards the king with an air of arrogance.  Fearlessly, Bruce steered his horse toward his   challenger, who approached on full gallop. As  the distance between the two combatants closed,   Bruce demonstrated his remarkable dexterity by  maneuvering his steed, eluding the thrust of De   Bohun's lance. Rising in his stirrups, Bruce dealt  a powerful blow with his axe, slicing through   the English knight's helmet and penetrating  deeply into his brain, killing him instantly.   Fuelled by their leader’s gallantry, the Scots  pressed forward to face the incoming English.   As Hereford's men continued their advance  along the road, expecting the Scots to retreat,   they were taken aback to discover that Robert  had cunningly prepared large pits covered with   branches throughout the open field in front  of his army. Instead of yielding ground,   the Scottish schiltrons lowered their spears,  forming a phalanx-like formation, and launched   a fierce counterattack, inflicting heavy losses  on Hereford's cavalry as they encountered the   formidable wall of Scottish pikes. Simultaneously,  another schiltron emerged from the woods, moving   strategically to shield the flanks of the engaged  schiltron against Gloucester’s incursions.   Meanwhile, the commander of the Scottish  left flank noticed Clifford's contingent   attempting to encircle their position. He  skillfully led his men out of the woods,   forming a sturdy formation of spearmen. Despite  repeated attacks from Clifford's cavalry,   the Scottish formation remained impenetrable,  frustrating the Knights, who were forced to resort   to throwing various weapons at the Scots. At that critical juncture, another Scottish   contingent joined the fray, relieving the  pressure on their allies. Seizing the opportunity,   the engaged Scots charged against the  English ranks, compelling the English   heavy cavalry to retreat and effectively  concluding the fighting for the day.   Although the English maintained a significant  numerical advantage and their losses were not   substantial, their morale suffered  greatly from the fierce combat.   As evening approached, King Edward's troops  sought a place to encamp. He decided to move   most of the cavalry and about half of the  infantry into a marshy area across the   Bannockburn, while the remaining infantry was  stationed on the other side of the stream.   Meanwhile, Robert Bruce called a council  of war with his officers. Though past   experiences had taught him to avoid  pitched battles against heavy cavalry,   valuable information from a defector—a Scottish  knight in English service—shifted the odds. The   defector revealed that the English were  demoralized and disorganized, providing   a convincing case for a victorious attack if  Bruce chose to do so the following morning.   Upon hearing this vital information, Robert  asked his officers for their views on whether   to engage. With unwavering determination,  they unanimously advocated for battle.   On the morning of June 24th, the English displayed  a shift in attitude from an earlier sense of   overconfidence to one of caution. King Edward II  positioned his cavalry at the front of his army,   with archers and infantry forming up behind  them. In response, King Robert the Bruce made   the daring decision to lead his outnumbered  Scottish forces across the open field.   Against the formidable English army, King  Robert Bruce executed what may have appeared   to be a perilous maneuver – advancing his  infantry against heavy cavalry. However,   this audacious move was made possible by Robert's  innovative training of schiltrons, enabling them   to move in formation, a key difference from  the tactics employed by the Scots in the past.   To divert attention away from his spearmen,  Robert dispatched his archers ahead,   skillfully drawing the focus of the  English bowmen onto the Scottish archers.   During this initial skirmish, the English  archers eventually got the better of their   Scottish counterparts, forcing them to retreat,  but only after diverting their attention enough   to enable the Schiltrons to close the distance. As the English lines were still forming, a dispute   ensued among their commanders over who should  lead the cavalry attack. The Earl of Gloucester,   previously accused of cowardice, impatiently  charged headlong across the open space between   the two armies, accompanied by Clifford  and other prominent knights. Regrettably,   their charge met a swift and fatal end as they  collided with Edward Bruce's impenetrable wall   of raised spears, resulting in the majority of  the charging English cavalry being obliterated,   with young Gloucester among the first to fall. In the wake of this disastrous cavalry assault,   the formidable Scottish schiltron steadily  advanced, withstanding dogged and stubborn   English attacks while inflicting devastating  losses. The unexpectedly rapid advance of the   spearmen left the English knights with no time  or room to maneuver, gradually hemming them in   between the Bannockburn and the marshy area. As the grueling battle progressed, the Scottish   formations displayed remarkable discipline  and cohesion against the flower of English   knights. Being hemmed in, the English knights were  unable to utilize their greatest strength – the   unstoppable momentum of their mounts. At the same time, a significant group of   English archers took precarious positions on the  flank of the battle and unleashed an unrelenting   and crippling hail of arrows. The ferocity  of their shooting was so relentless that,   if it had continued, the situation could  have become critical for the Scots.   Yet, Robert Bruce showed a keen tactical  understanding and recognized the imminent   danger presented by the English archers. He  quickly commanded his reserve light cavalry to   counter the archers promptly. The charge executed  by the lighthorse proved remarkably effective,   dispersing the archers and throwing them into  disarray amidst the advancing English forces   from the rear. This further heightened the  confusion and alarm among the English ranks.   After firmly repelling the English bowmen, the  Scottish archers gained newfound courage and   unleashed an unyielding torrent of arrows  upon the struggling enemy mass. At first,   the English forces gave way gradually, but their  resistance ultimately crumbled, causing a rapid   escalation of men breaking away and fleeing  towards the rear. The resounding triumph of   the Scots was met with a jubilant shout from their  ranks, emboldening the schiltrons to surge forward   and capitalize on the English retreat. Facing imminent defeat, King Edward   hastily escaped with his personal bodyguard,  causing panic among the remaining troops and   transforming their retreat into a full-fledged  rout. The losses suffered by the English during   the course of the battle, and especially  after the rout, were indeed disastrous,   with some estimates indicating an almost total  eradication of their infantry forces. Knights and   men-at-arms were not spared either, as casualties  reached as high as 700 individuals killed.   In stark contrast, the Scots suffered relatively  light losses, securing an unparalleled triumph   for Robert the Bruce and his forces. This victory  paved the way for the north of England to become   susceptible to Scottish raids, and it also  facilitated the Scottish invasion of Ireland.   These consequential events eventually culminated  in the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328.   Under this treaty, the English crown officially  acknowledged the full independence of the Kingdom   of Scotland, thereby recognizing Robert the Bruce  and his descendants as the rightful rulers.
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Channel: HistoryBattles3D
Views: 78,590
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Keywords: Battle of Bannockburn 1314, Scottish history animation, Robert the Bruce, Medieval warfare reenactment, Animated historical battles, Scottish independence, Braveheart, Outlaw KIng, Bannockburn documentary, Medieval Scotland, Dramatic battle scenes, Animated History Channel, Bannockburn victory, Medieval History, Scottish historical figures, Bannockburn, Animation, History, Scotland, Battle, Robert, Bruce, Medieval, Freedom, Epic, Reenactment, Warfare, Tactics, Documentary, Education, Unreal
Id: lae33J7kkVY
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Length: 16min 31sec (991 seconds)
Published: Wed Oct 18 2023
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