User:Gog the Mild/English invasion of Scotland (1333-1336)

Background
The First War of Scottish Independence between England and Scotland began in March 1296, when Edward I of England ((r. 1272 – 1307)) stormed and sacked the Scottish border town of Berwick as a prelude to his invasion of Scotland. After 30 years of warfare that 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 ((r. 1306 – 1329)) in 1328 but this treaty was widely resented in England and commonly known as turpis pax, "the cowards' peace". Some Scottish nobles refused to swear fealty to Bruce and were disinherited; they left Scotland to join forces with Edward Balliol, son of King John I of Scotland ((r. 1292 – 1296)), whom Edward I had deposed in 1296.

Robert Bruce died in 1329; his heir was his 5-year-old son, David II ((r. 1329 – 1371)). In 1331 Balliol and Henry Beaumont, 4th Earl of Buchan, one of the exiled Scottish nobles, gathered in Yorkshire and plotted an invasion of Scotland. Edward III insisted that 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. Five days after landing in Fife, Balliol's force of some 1,500 men met the Scottish army of 15,000–40,000 men. The Scots were crushed at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, with thousands of casualties, including much of the nobility of the realm. Balliol was crowned king of Scotland at Scone – the traditional place of coronation for Scottish monarchs – on 24 September 1332.

Balliol's support within Scotland was limited and his supporters fell out among themselves. In December Balliol was ambushed by supporters of David II at the Battle of Annan a few months after his coronation. He fled to England half-dressed and riding bareback and appealed to Edward III for assistance. Edward III dropped all pretence of neutrality, recognised Balliol as king of Scotland and made ready for war.



Balliol, in command of the disinherited Scottish lords and some English magnates, crossed the border on 10 March. He marched through Roxburghshire, burning and pillaging as he went and capturing Oxnam. He reached the important Scottish border town of Berwick in late March and cut it off by land. Edward III's navy had already isolated it by sea. Edward arrived at Berwick with the main English army on 9May. Aware that they were in a hopeless situation the Scottish garrison formally agreed to surrender on 20 July if were not relieved by then. Archibald Douglas was guardian of the realm for the underage David and assembled a large army north of the border. As a matter of national pride Douglas would have to come to the relief of Berwick. The English army is estimated to have been less than 10,000 strong – outnumbered approximately two-to-one by the Scots.

On 19 July the Scots approached the English on Halidon Hill – a small rise of some 600 ft, 2 miles to the north-west of Berwick. To engage the English, the Scots had to advance downhill, cross a large area of marshy ground and then reascend. The Battle of Dupplin Moor the previous year had shown how vulnerable the Scots were to arrows. The prudent course of action would have been to withdraw and wait for a better opportunity to fight, but this would guarantee the loss of Berwick. Douglas ordered an attack. The Scots suffered many casualties to English longbows with the arrows "as thick as motes in a sun beam", according to a contemporary. The survivors pressed on uphill and on to the waiting spears. There the Scottish army broke. The camp followers made off with the horses and the fugitives were pursued by mounted English knights. The Scottish casualties numbered in thousands, including Douglas and five earls dead on the field. Scots who surrendered were killed on Edward's orders and some drowned as they fled into the sea. English casualties were reported as either fourteen or seven. The next day was when Berwick's truce expired, and the town and the castle surrendered as agreed.