XPost: soc.history.war.misc, soc.culture.scottish, alt.religion.
hristian.presbyterian
XPost: alt.religion.christian.baptist
From: allan@EASYNET.CO.UK
"Raktizer Omheit" wrote in message
news:454ec049_1@news.iprimus.com.au...
> The Scottish aristocracy was so arrogant and snobbish that they refused to
> grant to their middling class or middle class peasantry the right to use
> longbows on a large scale when fighting in major battles against English
> longbow archers. This led to disastrous and humiliating defeats for the
> Scottish armies against English armies at the Battles of Dupplin Moor in
> 1332, Halidon Hill in 1333, St. Neville's Cross in 1346, Flodden Field in
> 1513, Solway Moss in 1542, and Pinkie Cleugh in 1547. The longbow had a
much
> better rate of fire, range, accuracy, and penetrating power than the
> crossbow.
The longbow was a factor (and certainly vital at the 14thC battles) but
aren't you overstating it a bit. It didn't let the English win at Stirling
Bridge, Bannockburn or Roslin. Basically the Scots won some outstanding set
pieces but their overall success was more often down to avoiding large scale
battles and relying on guerilla warfare etc. In general they did have the
resources to match England pitch battle after pitch battle unless England
was distracted someplace else. At the likes of Solway Moss the bad
leadership from the Scots was a bit of a factor too!
> The Scottish were again defeated heavily on four occasions during the
> English Civil Wars of the 1640's and 1650's, that is, at the Battles of
> Preston in 1648, Dunbar in 1650, Inverkeithing in 1651, and Worcester in
> 1651.
Nothing to do with the longbow mind. Had the mad-mullahs not interfered then
it is likely that the English invading army would have been defeated at
Preston anyway and hightailed it back south.
Allan
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