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= Battle of Dupplin Moor =
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Introduction
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The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of King David
II of Scotland, the son of King Robert Bruce, and English-backed
invaders supporting Edward Balliol, son of King John I of Scotland, on
11 August 1332. It took place a little to the south-west of Perth,
Scotland, when a Scottish force commanded by Donald, Earl of Mar,
estimated to have been stronger than 15,000 and possibly as many as
40,000 men, attacked a largely English force of 1,500 commanded by
Balliol and Henry Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. This was the first major
battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.
The First War of Scottish Independence between England and Scotland
ended in 1328 with the Treaty of Northampton, recognising Bruce as
King of Scots, but the treaty was widely resented in England. King
Edward III of England was happy to cause trouble for his northern
neighbour and tacitly supported an attempt to place Balliol on the
Scottish throne. Balliol and a small force landed in Fife and marched
on Perth, then the Scottish capital. A Scottish army at least ten
times stronger occupied a defensive position on the far side of the
River Earn. The invaders crossed the river at night via an unguarded
ford and took up a strong defensive position.
In the morning the Scots raced to attack the English, disorganising
their own formations. Unable to break the line of English men-at-arms,
the Scots became trapped in a valley with fresh forces arriving from
the rear pressing them forward and giving them no room to manoeuvre,
or even to use their weapons. English longbowmen shot into both
Scottish flanks. Many Scots died of suffocation or were trampled
underfoot. Eventually they broke and the English men-at-arms mounted
and pursued the fugitives until nightfall. Perth fell, the remaining
Scottish forces dispersed and Balliol was crowned King of Scots. By
the end of 1332 he had lost control of most of Scotland, but regained
it in 1333 with Edward III's open support. He was deposed again in
1334, restored again in 1335 and finally deposed in 1336, by those
loyal to David II.
Background
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The First War of Scottish Independence between England and Scotland
began in March 1296, when Edward I of England () stormed and sacked
the Scottish border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed as a prelude to his
invasion of Scotland. After the 30 years of warfare which followed,
the newly crowned 14-year-old King Edward III was nearly captured in
the English disaster at Stanhope Park. This brought his regents,
Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, to the negotiating table. They
agreed to the Treaty of Northampton with Robert Bruce () in 1328,
recognising Bruce as King of Scots. The treaty was widely resented in
England and commonly known as the , "the cowards' peace". Some
Scottish nobles, refusing to swear fealty to Bruce, were disinherited
and left Scotland to join forces with Edward Balliol, son of King John
I of Scotland (), who had been captured by the English in 1296 and
abdicated.
Robert Bruce died in 1329 and his heir was 5-year-old David II (). In
1331, under the leadership of Edward Balliol and Henry Beaumont, Earl
of Buchan, the disinherited Scottish nobles gathered in Yorkshire and
plotted an invasion of Scotland. Edward III was aware of the scheme
and officially forbade it, in March 1332 writing to his northern
officials that anyone planning an invasion of Scotland was to be
arrested. The reality was different, and Edward III was happy to cause
trouble for his northern neighbour. He insisted Balliol not invade
Scotland overland from England but turned a blind eye to his forces
sailing for Scotland from Yorkshire ports on 31 July 1332. The Scots
were aware of the situation and were waiting for Balliol. David II's
regent was an experienced old soldier, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray,
who was appointed to the role of guardian of Scotland. He had prepared
for Balliol and Beaumont, but he died ten days before they sailed.
Prelude
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Balliol's force was small, only 1,500 men: 500 men-at-arms and 1,000
infantry, the latter mostly longbowmen. He anticipated being joined by
many Scots once he had landed. While they were underway, the Scots
selected Donald, Earl of Mar, as the new guardian of Scotland, and so
also regent for the young David. Mar was an experienced campaigner and
a close blood relative to the young King David. He divided the large
Scottish army: Mar commanded the part north of the Firth of Forth,
while Patrick, Earl of March, commanded those to the south. Balliol
had been in communication with Mar and hoped he would come over to his
side with many of his troops. Knowing Mar to be commanding the troops
on the northern shore of the firth, Balliol landed there, at Wester
Kinghorn (present day Burntisland), on 6 August 1332.
While the invaders were still disembarking they were confronted by a
large Scottish force commanded by Duncan, Earl of Fife, and Robert
Bruce (an illegitimate son of King Robert the Bruce). The Scots
attacked the part of the English force on the beach, but were driven
off after a hard-pressed assault by the volleys of the English
longbowmen and by their supporting infantry before Balliol and
Beaumont's men-at-arms could get ashore.
Scottish accounts of the time dismiss their losses as trivial, while
one English source gives 90 Scots killed, two give 900, and a fourth
1,000. One chronicle, the 'Brut', reports that Fife was "full of
shame" at being defeated by such a small force. There is no record of
the casualties suffered by Balliol's men. Mar withdrew his main force
to the capital, Perth, amalgamated the survivors of Kinghorn and sent
out a general call for reinforcements. Buoyed by their victory,
Balliol and Beaumont's force completed their disembarkation and
marched to Dunfermline, where they foraged, looted a Scottish armoury
and then headed for Perth.
English approach
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The Scottish army under Mar took up a position on the north bank of
the River Earn, 2 mi south of Perth, and broke down the bridge. The
Scots were enormously stronger than the English. Chronicles of the
time give strengths of 20,000, 30,000 orin seven cases50,000. The
historian Clifford Rogers guesses they numbered something more than
15,000. Nearly all of the Scots were infantry. The English arrived on
the south bank of the Earn on 10 August. They were in a difficult
position: in enemy territory, facing an army of more than ten times
their number in a good defensive position across a river and aware
that the second Scottish army, under March, was moving towards them.
The Scots were content to rest in their defensive positions, while
planning to send a portion of their army on a wide outflanking
manoeuvre the next day. Any attempt by the English to force the river
would clearly have been foredoomed. The English may have been hoping
Mar would desert to their cause, but he gave no indication of doing
so. The two forces faced each other across the river for the rest of
the day.
The Scots were so confident of victory that some started their
celebrations that evening, according to a contemporary source
"playing, drinking and making merry" late into the night. A guard was
set by the broken bridge, but otherwise no precautions were taken
against any action by the English. Realising they had no hope if they
either retreated or remained where they were, the entire English force
forded the river at an unguarded spot. Advancing in the dark, at about
midnight they stumbled upon a Scottish camp and attacked it. Those
Scots who were not killed or captured fled. The English believed they
had overcome the main Scottish force, but were disabused at dawn when
they saw the Scots advancing against them in two large bodies. This
revelation demoralised the English, but according to the chronicles
they were given heart by a stirring speech from one of their leaders.
The English arrayed themselves for battle on foot, except for 50
German mercenary knights who fought mounted. The other men-at-arms
formed up in three tightly packed ranks with a fourth rank of
pike-equipped ordinary infantry. The longbowmen were divided and
assigned to each side of this central group. They were positioned
where a valley narrowed as it entered hilly terrain. The infantry
occupied the centre of this valley where it was about 600 ft wide with
the archers on higher and rougher terrain on each side. The horses of
the men-at-arms were kept to the rear.
Scottish attack
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The Scots were still supremely confident and formed up in two large
groups or battles - also referred to as schiltrons. These were tightly
packed, deep, pike-armed formations. Mar suggested that the English be
given the opportunity to surrender, so that they could have been
ransomedwhich would have raised a large sum. On seeing the English
across the Earn, Bruce, who was in command of the leading schiltron,
and who was aware, at least in part, of Mar's correspondence with
Balliol, publicly claimed that this unopposed crossing was due to
treachery by Mar. Mar denounced this as a lie and declared he would
prove his loyalty by being the first to strike a blow against the
English. Bruce claimed this honour for himself and the two Scottish
schiltrons proceeded to race each other to come to grips with the
English.
Bruce's schiltron, being already in the lead, won the race. But its
headlong charge disorganised it and left the slower men behind. When
it contacted the English only 800 men were still with Bruce, but they
struck with such force that they drove the infantry in the English
centre back nearly 10 yd. The English did not break, but turned their
shoulders to the Scots, braced themselves and halted the Scottish
onrush. The Scots in their haste had allowed themselves to be
channelled by the terrain and all of them attacked the English
men-at-arms in the centre, ignoring the longbowmen on the valley
sides. Pushing back the English centre had the effect of exposing
their flanks to these bowmen. The rest of Bruce's schiltron followed
him into the valley, pressing their comrades in front of them forward
against the English so strongly that the front ranks of neither force
were able to use their weapons.
The Scots were either largely without helmets, or wore helmets without
visors (face guards), for contemporaries noted that the English
archers "blinded and wounded the faces" of those in the leading
schiltron. Harassed by the longbowmen, the Scots on the flanks pressed
closer to their main body, further compressing it and hampering the
freedom of movement of its members. Mar's schiltron, which was also
rushing towards the English, became disorganised due to its haste and
was similarly channelled by the steep valley sides. They charged into
the rear of Bruce's formation, causing chaos. The struggle continued
from a little past dawn until after noon. In the centre of the
Scottish mass the result was literally suffocating; men were pressed
too tightly together to be able to breathe and any who lost their
footing were trampled to death. Contemporary accounts speak of more
than a thousand Scots being smothered without coming into contact with
the English. One claimed that "more were slain by the Scots themselves
than by the English. For ... everyone fallen there fell a second, and
then a third fell, and those who were behind pressing forward and
hastening to the fight, the whole army became a heap of the slain."
The English, being in a looser and less deep formation, had room to
use their weapons more effectively, once they had withstood the
initial onslaught. The survivors of Bruce's schiltron attempted to
extricate themselves, adding to the confusion and making easy targets
for the English men-at-arms. The chronicles record the English
infantry having to climb over heaps of dead Scots to be able to strike
at those still living. All the while, the longbowmen continued to
shoot into the Scottish flanks. Eventually the Scottish resistance
collapsed and they were routed. Several of the surviving Scottish
nobles made their escape on horseback; the rest of the Scots fled on
foot. The English men-at-arms mounted their own horses and pursued the
Scots, hacking them down until sunset. The English then occupied Perth
and set to work on improving its fortifications, against the
anticipated arrival of March's army.
Casualties
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Precise figures for the English dead are available: they lost 35
men-at-arms: 2 knights and 33 squires. Several accounts stress that
not a single English archer was killed. The losses among the Scots are
less certain, but all accounts agree they were very heavy. Mar and
Bruce died on the field; as did 2 other earls, 14 barons, 160 knights
and many less notable men. Of the contemporary accounts which estimate
the number of Scottish dead, two English chronicles give more than
15,000. Two Scottish accounts record 2,000 or 3,000 dead, while a
third specifies 3,000 "nobles" and "of other men an untold number".
Most accounts refer to the Scottish dead lying in great heaps, some
taller than a spear's length. The only high-ranking Scottish survivor
was the Earl of Fife, who was captured and changed sides.
Aftermath
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A week after the battle, March arrived outside Perth, having added the
remnants of Mar's army to his own force. There was little he could do.
Given that Balliol had defeated Mar in open battle, it would have been
folly for March to assault him in a fortified town. Balliol had
captured plentiful supplies of food in Perth and the ships which had
landed his army defeated the Scottish navy, enabling food and
reinforcements to be shipped in. In any event, before long the
Scottish host had exhausted its own supplies, stripped the surrounding
countryside of food and dispersed.
Balliol was crowned King of Scots at Sconethe traditional place of
coronation for Scottish monarchson 24 September 1332. Within two
months Balliol granted Edward III Scottish estates to a value of
£2,000, which included "the town, castle and county of Berwick".
Balliol's support within Scotland was limited and within six months it
had collapsed. He was ambushed by supporters of David II at the Battle
of Annan on 17 December. Balliol fled to England half-dressed and
riding bareback. He appealed to Edward III for assistance. Edward III
dropped all pretence of neutrality, recognised Balliol as King of
Scots and made ready for war. After the defeat of the Scots at the
Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333 by the English Balliol was
reinstated on the Scottish throne. He was deposed again in 1334,
restored again in 1335 and finally deposed in 1336, by those loyal to
David II. The Second War of Scottish Independence which had started
with Balliol's invasion finally ended in 1357. The modern historian
Ranald Nicholson states that Edward III copied the tactics used at
Dupplin Moor"all the men-at-arms dismounted, while archers were posted
on either flank"in the English victories at Halidon Hill and Crécy.
Location
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Historic Environment Scotland has identified a site on Gaskmoor, which
it suggests corresponds with the accounts in the chronicles. This is
on the Dupplin plateau, south-east of Dupplin Loch, and 5 mi
south-west of Perth. It points out that if correct
and concludes that this choice of terrain "is evidence of the tactical
brilliance of the [English], who were battle-hardened veterans."
Historic Environment Scotland added the battlefield to the Inventory
of Historic Battlefields in Scotland on 21 March 2011.
License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dupplin_Moor