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The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field was fought in northern England on September 9, 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by Thomas Howard. It ended in a bloody defeat for the Scots.

Background

This conflict began when King James declared war on England, to honour the Auld Alliance; namely, to divert Henry VIII's English troops from their campaign against the French king Louis XII. England was involved in a larger conflict; defending Italy and the Pope from the French, (see Italian Wars), as a member of the "Catholic League". James of Scotland invaded England with an army of over 60,000 men. By the time he reached the battlefield, however, this number had been reduced to around 30,000; when they were met by an English force of about the same size.

The battle actually took place near the village of Branxton, in the county of Northumberland, rather than at Flodden – hence the alternative name of Battle of Branxton. The Scots had previously been stationed at Flodden, near to Branxton. (This was to be the last battle to take place in Northumberland.)

Battle

The battle was the climax of days of maneuvering. The English finally managed to cross the River Till, and got behind the Scottish positions. The Scots' cannon opened fire; but due to poorly-trained artillerymen, cumbersome guns and damp powder, they mostly missed. The more limber, and much better-trained English artillerymen then returned fire, with deadly accuracy; blowing the Scottish guns and gunners off the field. The English cannons and longbowmen then concentrated a furious fire upon the pikemen of the Scottish schiltrons. This took a terrible toll, and caused the Scots to charge down the hill and relinquish the defensive high ground, in order to come to grips with the English, whose billmen wielded a devastating weapon that was more than a match for the Scottish spears, which had changed little since Bannockburn, and were better-suited for use against cavalry charges than for infantry melees. In the bloody, slogging-match that characterised such warfare, the Scots were eventually encircled, and cut to pieces. The Scottish reserve, led by the Earl of Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll (c.1507–1558), who was to pay for this inaction with his head many years later, watched impassively as King James and his army were destroyed. The king, many of his nobles, and over 10,000 Scottish men were killed. The English losses are estimated at between 1,500 and 4,000.

Aftermath

Tactically, this battle was one of the first major engagements on the British Isles where artillery would play a decisive role, and one of the last decisive uses of English longbowmen.

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Surrey, was Lieutenant General, and was largely responsible for the Tudor victory for Henry VIII of England. Howard was subsequently restored to his father's title of "Duke of Norfolk".

Skirmishes over the English-Scottish border had been taking place for centuries; and this was perhaps the longest such 'war' on record.

There was not a noble family in Scotland who did not lose at least someone at Flodden. They and the other dead are remembered by the pipe tune `The Flowers of the Forest';

We'll here nae mair lilting at our ewe milking,

Women and bairns are heartless and wae,

Sighing and moaning on a ilka green loaning,

The flowers of the forest are a wede away.

External link

• flodden.net
• A detailed account of the battle.

• 1513
• Battles of the Italian Wars
• Battles of Scotland
• Battles of England
• History of Northumberland