Bannockburn 1314: Robert Bruce's Great Victory

Peter Armstrong has done an incredible job researching his account of Scotland's greatest victory at Bannockburn, in 1314. After 2 years of researching Bannockburn myself, I found this book on Google Books. The detail was so impressive I bought it, and after receiving it, found even more. If you have an interest in Scottish or military history, this is the book for you.

I thought this book on the Battle of Bannockburn was very good. It was concise and had an excellent intoduction to the battle itself. The pictures, graphics, and illustrations were excellent. One fault I found was not enough time was spent on The Good Sir James of Douglas and his pursuit of a defeated enemy. This pursuit with an inferior force was one of the greatest I feel in military history and not enough was written about it.

Like all Osprey books, this is a great visual source, and like most titles in the Campaign series it gets pretty in-depth in its examination of this crucial battle in Scottish history. I'll give it 5/5!

Part of the Osprey campaign series,this one focuses on one of the conflicts in the longrunning conflict between England and Scotland,a north versus south territorial/political dispute that extends over a period of centuries.Not until the 20th century and a ton of social legislation which makes it worthwhile for the Scots to put down the sword,does this on/off again sporadic conflict end.Bannockburn 1314, is one of the more memorable flare-ups between the "English and the "Scots". Edward II,the English king appears to lack the leadership qualities necessary to win this campaign against Scotland in 1314.This is how I interpreted the authors' writing.On the other hand,King Robert I(known as Robert the Bruce)knows all the tricks including how to immobilize the English army by trapping pieces of Edwards grand army in the marshy bogs and soaking wet terrain.According to Armstrong,Edward II was never able to bring but a fragment of his troops into battle.It seemed the English strategy was to show more personal courage and hope this factor to overcome the Scots.Unfortunately for the English,the Scots were just as brave and had alot more "tools" to use,if not the manpower. The result was a disaster for Edward II and he was almost personally captured twice during this campaign and a follow-up one. There are lots of color plates illustrating the uniforms and equipment of both sides.The portraits are made in context to dramatic points in the conflict so the reader gets to see both the equipment used and great displays of Action.As always maps galore and timetable overviews as well as marches to and from Bannockburn.In the case of Edwards' army a speedy march from Bannockburn. This book doesn't however give alot of politics,the last minute,"side-changers",Scots who welcome the English, or English not at all saddened by Edward losing his skin.

Pete Armstrong, a British artist and model-builder, has written an excellent campaign summary of Scotland's greatest military victory, the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Although some of the exact details of this famous battle remain open to debate, Armstrong does a fair job in presenting a balanced campaign narrative that incorporates different viewpoints. Bannockburn is also enhanced by excellent artwork and maps, which help to bring the battle into sharp focus. All in all, this is one of the better Osprey Campaign series titles. In accordance with standard Osprey Campaign series format, Bannockburn 1314 begins with short sections on the origins of the campaign (8 pages), a campaign chronology, opposing commanders, opposing armies and opposing plans. The section on armies details the infantry and cavalry formations of both sides and the author stresses that while the English had superior cavalry, their failure to employ combined arms tactics utilizing both infantry and cavalry was a fundamental flaw in their numerically superior army. Certainly combined arms tactics are sound advice in any period, but while the author points out the English failure in this regard, he fails to point out how the Scottish were any different. If the English were overly reliant on their cavalry, the Scots were certainly overly reliant on spear-armed infantry. The Scots had no answer to the English superior quality and quantity in archers, and this had led to the defeat at Falkirk 16 years before. The section on plans notes that the English King Edward II was well provided with intelligence about the enemy as well as supplies, but had no real plan of campaign other than to relieve the siege of Stirling Castle. Edward's lack of combat experience and his assumption that the Scots would disperse in the face of a major English invasion are cited as primary causes of his negligent planning. Again, while the author's assessment of deficient English planning appears correct, it is hard to see that the Scottish King Robert the Bruce had any serious plan of campaign either. Until the second day of battle, the Scots kept their options open to fight or flee and their victory was the result of opportunity, rather than planning. The campaign narrative itself is 38 pages long and is enhanced by five 2-D maps (Scotland in 1314, Edward II's invasion, the flight of the English army, Scottish raids in northern England, Bannockburn then and now) and three 3-D "Birds Eye View" maps (the fighting on 23 June 1314, the Scottish attack and the collapse of the English army). There are also three excellent battle scenes: the encounter between Robert the Bruce and Henry de Bohun, the attack of the Earl of Gloucester's cavalry on a Scottish schiltron and Edward II's flight). A somewhat longer than usual 20-page section on the battle's aftermath covers casualties, reasons for the English defeat, results of the battle, the continuation of the English-Scot war and changes in militar