Historical Overview Section

The Late Middle Ages in Scotland was a period where the boundaries were set by the death of kings-that of Alexander III in 1286 and James IV in 1513, one by accident and the other by war. The period saw the the Wars of Scottish Independence.

The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotland in 1296, and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328. The revolts which broke out in early 1297, led by William Wallace, Andrew de Moray and other Scottish nobles, forced the 100-yrs War English -Britain to send more forces to deal with the Scots, however Wallace and de Moray's continuing campaigns eventually led to the first key Scottish victory, at Stirling Bridge. This was followed by Scottish raids into northern England and the appointment of Wallace as Guardian of Scotland in March 1298. Edward invaded again and defeated the Scots at Falkirk. The war then ground on until the capture and execution of Wallace in 1305, when Scotland seemed to have been finally conquered and the revolt calmed for a period.

This didn't sit well with Robert The Bruce who had decided tat he was the rightful King of Scotland. In 1306, Bruce rallied the Scottish prelates and nobles behind him and had himself crowned King of Scots at Scone. After being defeated in battle he was driven from the Scottish mainland as an outlaw, but again came out of hiding in 1307. The Scots thronged to him, and he defeated the English in a number of battles. His forces continued to grow in strength, encouraged in part by the death of Edward I in July 1307. The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was an especially important Scottish victory. When in 1327, Edward II of England was deposed and killed. The invasion of the North of England by Robert the Bruce forced Edward III of England to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton on 1 May 1328, which recognised the independence of Scotland with Bruce as King.

After Robert the Bruce's death, King David II was too young to rule, so the guardianship was assumed by Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray. But Edward III, determined to avenge the humiliation by the Scots backed a rival claim by Edward Balliol, the son of John Balliol. Thus the Second War (1332–1357) began with the English-supported invasion of Edward Baliol and the "Disinherited" in 1332, and was tough for a while until in 1338 Scotland received some breathing space when Edward III claimed the French throne and took his army to Flanders, beginning the Hundred Years' War with the Medieval French. King David by now was old enough to lead an army into England at the behest of the Medieval French, but he got a right pasting at the Battle of Neville's Cross, and ended up in prison for 11 years. However the Scots resistance was still virulent, and the English were distracted in France so by the end of the campaign in 1357 Scotland remained independent and remained thus, until the unification of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603,

The wars were part of a great national crisis for Scotland and the period became one of the most defining moments in the nation's history. At the end of both wars, Scotland retained its status as an independent nation. The wars were important for other reasons, such as the emergence of the longbow as a key weapon in mediaeval warfare.

Using the army in ADLG

  • If you take a wall of inferior Pike - make sure you go first!
  • Having too much terrain is a problem for this army in its Pike incarnation - it will allow the enemy to reduce frontage and take you on with their (probably) better quality troops.
  • Don't be tempted to try and secure a flank on terrain, the army is wide enough to create its own secure flanks by filling the table.
  • The Highland ally is the only thing that can clear terrain for you,
  • Taking the 4 LF to protect you from shooting is almost obligatory. Be prepared to lose the LF as getting the Pike into combat when they are at 100% strength is absolutely vital
  • The "IN France" options in v4 allows you to take an unfeasible amount of Longbowmen, and cheapen them down to mediocre as well. Being Mediocre isn't that much of a problem when you have more than a dozen Longbowmen shooting (and their targets takinga -1) every turn!

User-contributed links about this army. Add links in this format:

as an example

  • Scots Army usage stats on the ADLG database

Army Lists

Sample army lists for this army
Britcon 2022 (V4)
1385
Ordinary Included
1 French knight* Knight on foot Elite
5 Scottish schiltron Pikemen Mediocre
3 Skirmishers Light infantry bow ------
==
Brilliant
3 French knights Heavy knight impetuous Elite
2 Nobles Heavy knight impetuous ------
2 Longbowmen Longbowmen ------
2 Scottish schiltron Pikemen Mediocre
==
Highlander Ally, Ordinary Allied
4 Highlanders Medium swordsmen bow


Britcone 2022 (V4)
1385 Scotland
Competent Included
1 French Knights (General Included) Heavy knight impetuous Elite
1 French Knights Heavy knight impetuous Elite
1 Nobles Heavy knight impetuous
4 Scottish Schiltron Pikemen Mediocre
1 Longbowmen Longbowmen
1 Light Infantry Bow Light infantry bow
==
Competent Included
1 French Knights (General Included) Heavy knight impetuous Elite
1 French Knights Heavy knight impetuous Elite
1 Nobles Heavy knight impetuous
4 Scottish Schiltron Pikemen Mediocre
1 Longbowmen Longbowmen
==
Highland, Ally, Ordinary Included
4 Retinue archers Medium swordsmen bow




Britcon 2022 (V4)
1429 in France
Brilliant
2 Men at Arms Knight on foot
2 LI Bow Light infantry bow
8 Longbowmen Longbowmen Mediocre
==
Ordinary
2 Men at Arms Heavy swordsmen armour 2HW
6 Longbowmen Longbowmen Mediocre
==
Ally, Ordinary & Included
3 French Knights (inc general) Heavy knight impetuous Elite
3 Crossbowmen Light infantry crossbow
1 Ribauds Levy
1 Bretons Light infantry javelin Elite


Britcon 2022 (V4)
1385
Brilliant
2 Light Archers Light infantry bow
1 Scottish Nobles Knight on foot
7 Scottish Schiltrons Pikemen Mediocre
1 Longbowmen Longbowmen
1 French Knights Heavy knight impetuous
==
Competent Included
1 Light Archers Light infantry bow
1 Scottish Nobles Knight on foot
4 Scottish Schiltrons Pikemen Mediocre
1 Longbowmen Longbowmen
1 French Knights * Heavy knight impetuous
==
Highland Ally, Ordinary Included
4 Highlanders * Medium swordsmen bow


2022V4 CLWC Winning List "1429 in France"
Brilliant
2 Men at Arms Knight on foot ------
2 LI Bow Light infantry bow ------
9 Longbowmen Longbowmen Mediocre
==
Ordinary
2 Men at Arms Knight on foot ------
6 Longbowmen Longbowmen Mediocre
==
Ordinary Included French Ally
3 French Knights (inc general) Heavy knight impetuous Elite
3 Crossbowmen Light infantry crossbow ------
(giving a late Medieval era breakpoint of 27!!)

2020 Scots open winner 200 points
Command I
Competent General
1 Dismounted Knight, elite
4 Pikemen, mediocre
2 LI, bow
1 LMI, crossbow
1 HKN, impetuous, elite
1 light artillery
==
Command II
Competent General
1 Dismounted Knight
4 Pikemen, mediocre
2 LI, bow
1 LMI, crossbow
1 HKN, impetuous elite
==
Command III
Highland ally general, included
4 MI, swordsmen, bow
Fortified camp 24 units

Deployment: the artillery goes in the centre with the two pikemen blocks on either side. The crossbowmen are on the outer flanks of the pikemen and the dismounted knights on the wings. The LI protect the pikemen from being shot at and the knights are in reserve behind the pikemen. The Highlanders are on whichever flank offers the best terrain to operate from, possibly in ambush.

Tactics: Shoot'em up then charge them with the two Scots commands. Same with the Highlanders but try to outflank too. Most opponents don't realize the army has a lot of shooters (7 shooting units and 4 LI) until they are in range so you can do a lot of softening up before you get in contact. The knights are your flank guards and are great MI deterrent. As they start behind the pikemen, they rarely get into combat but their mere presence in reserve is enough to condition your opponent's moves.

222 Med Scots (Cutner - Britcon 2019)
Brilliant
1 Noble Kn Impetuous
4 French Knights Impetuous Kn Elite
1 Levy
2 French Xbow
==
Ordinary Included
6 Scots Spearmen Pike Mediocre
4 LF Bow
1 Foot Knight Elite w/General
==
Highlanders Ally
Ordinary General
4 Highlanders

222 Mike Bennett Central London winner 2019
Ordinary General
1 Nobles Heavy Knight impetuous Elite
3 Scots Spearmen Pikemen Mediocre
2 Longbowmen Longbowmen ------
1 Longbowmen Longbowmen Mediocre
==
Brilliant General
6 Scots Spearmen Pikemen Mediocre
1 Longbowmen Longbowmen ------
2 French knights Heavy Knight impetuous Elite
==
Ordinary General, allied
4 Highlanders Medium swordsmen bow ------
1 Island Warriors Heavy Swordsmen 2HW ------

''"Decision points for me in this layout

  • Light infantry or long bowmen; wanted one with main pike command, 3 to give a second bad terrain option, so none left for lights
  • 2 knights or 3 pike. Took 2 extra knights for flexibility (of course a bit limited since they are impetuous). Good v hi 2hcw who pikes do not like
  • 1 more pike, reduce 3x knights to ordinary, 1x longbow to mediocre. I hate bow mediocre (they need to roll high to hit), but longbow mediocre are ok.

(Nb this is a limited list, late medieval Western Europe tournament. I expected smaller armies and little shooty, skirmishing light horse or cavalry)"''

222 Scots Campaign 2019 (100% win record)
Competent Included
3 French Nobles, Included General
2 Pike
1 Crossbow
==
Competent
2 Longbow
2 LF Bow
9 Pike
==
Ordinary, Included, Unreliable
4 Highlanders

Tactics - hurl the 9 pikemen forwards into the enemy as fast as possible (which the Competent general is more than good enough to do) and attempt to engage as much of the opposing army as you can with this one command whilst working the flanks with the others. The 2 Pike in the French command can support the Knights to make a 5-wide 'as good as it gets' mounted command to beat opposing mounted wings, aided by the crossbow. Terrain on one flank will be home to the Highlanders, who are hard to beat in period.

222 Scots Michigan Brothers
Brilliant
7 Scottish Pikeman Pikemen Mediocre 8 56
2 Longbowmen Longbowmen Ordinary 9 18
2 levy Levy Ordinary 3 6
2 light infantry Light infantry bow Ordinary 4 8
1 Nobles Foot Knight Elite 14 14
1 French Foot Knights Foot Knight Elite 14 14
==
Competent
3 French Knight Heavy Knight impetuous Elite
==
Ordinary Highlander Ally
3 highlanders Medium swordsmen bow Ordinary

USTT 2018 200 AP
Strategist
4, , Heavy spearmen
3, , Longbowmen
2, , Levy
==
Ordinary Included
6, , Heavy spearmen
1, , Knight on foot
==
Competent Allied
4, , Medium swordsmen bow
3, , Heavy swordsmen 2HW

200 Points
Hamish McAlpine - Brilliant
8 Pikemen Pikemen Mediocre
1 levy Levy ------
1 light infantry Light infantry bow ------
Bruce McForsyth - Ordinary
6 Pikemen Pikemen Mediocre
2 Longbowmen Longbowmen ------
1 levy Levy ------
Donald McTroosers - Competent + Included
3 French Knight Heavy Knight impetuous Elite
1 Nobles Heavy Knight impetuous

200 Points
Horde
6 Pike (I)
Competent General
==
5 Pike (I)
2 Longbow Elite
1 LF
Competent General
===
Competent General
3 Kn Impetuous Elite
3 Knights Impetuous Ordinary