William william wallace.
Legend. His basic situation is not accurately recorded in the official history, and all the statements about his early experiences come from oral documents handed down from later generations, and no reliable evidence can be found. No wonder, as the second son of a little-known aristocrat, he has nothing to do with family property and title, so naturally no one deliberately records his resume. It was not until he became a "rebel" hated and pursued by the English and an idol revered and imitated by the Scots that everyone began to collect his deeds and romanticize his legend.
There is no exact and credible statement about the year of his birth. The legendary date spans nearly ten years, and people choose subjectively according to their own understanding. I hope that the older this tragic hero is, the better. I believe he was born in1267; People who think he is a young hero claim that his birthday is actually 1275 or1276; Some people say that it is a historical coincidence that he was born in 1272 or 1274, because the former was the year when his old enemy always inherited the throne in the Cross Army, and the latter was the year when Ya returned to London to be crowned. Some people also advocate 1270, probably to get an integer.
Whether his father's name is Malcolm or Richard also has different opinions. Lao Feng prefers to believe that his father's name is Malcolm and Richard is an uncle. Because according to a more recognized statement, the Hua family has three brothers, the eldest is Malcolm, the second is William, the third is John and the third is Richard. At that time, it was popular for the eldest son to inherit his father's name, so it was reasonable for the name Malcolm Jr. to come from his father's name.
It is said that Wallace is two meters (six feet seven inches) tall, which makes him a giant even today. Moreover, according to research, the average height of adult males at that time was only 1.5 meters. In his life, he didn't leave a true portrait, but as an ideal hero and an example for people to follow, there are many versions of his image in Scotland, including youth idols, beards, whiskers and even white hair and beard, and most of them are indomitable and indomitable fighting postures. But the most controversial thing is the statue recently completed in front of Stirling Tourism Service Center. Because many people say that William Wallace should be commemorated, not Mel Gibson.
It is thought that the Wallace family has moved from Wales to Scotland. Wallace is also known as Walensis, which means "Welsh speaker". This family is a small aristocrat in the southwest of Scotland, that is, a small Lord who obeys the big princes. This multi-layer enfeoffment system was very common in medieval Europe. Ancestors of Fahrenheit, as vassals of Scottish High Stewards, acquired the territory of Eldersley (Eldersley) no later than 1250, which was then located near Paisley, Renfrew. William's mother also came from a noble family, and was the daughter of Sir Reginald de Crauford, the sheriff of Ayre (located on the west coast of Scotland).
William's early experience is unfounded, but according to the custom at that time, William, as the second son, should be a priest. It is said that one of his uncles is a priest in Dunipace near Stirling. The professor gave him Latin and biblical proverbs and instilled free thoughts. It is said that his swordsmanship and riding and shooting skills were also learned when he became a monk.
The legendary Wallace is a martial artist who can defeat several people and finally win. I believe the legend is true that he can survive the repeated killings and bloody battles. But the truth doesn't stop there. Wallace is still an excellent commander. Obviously, he has no formal military education, but years of experience in mountains and rivers have made him rich in combat experience, well versed in guerrilla tactics, know how to collect and use information, be able to use troops reasonably according to the characteristics of the enemy and ourselves, be good at using the terrain, and grasp the attack opportunity just right.
On the other hand, Wallace is bloodthirsty and murderous. There is a painting showing Wallace in battle. The sky is bleak and the ground is foggy. Wallace, with a sword in his hand, wandered among the corpses everywhere, like a hungry tiger going down the mountain. The color is cold and gloomy, and the atmosphere is terrible and cold. He retaliated against the injuries and insults caused by the British and killed him in cold blood. Every time the rebels conquer a castle occupied by the British army or defeat the British army on the battlefield, they will kill all the English people and their foreign mercenaries, including civilians, and never take them captive. When they are in a better mood, they will let the girls, children and monks go. Sometimes even his subordinates feel so cruel and uneasy that they go to the bishop to confess afterwards. After all, he lives in an era of fighting violence with violence, and barbarism is the need of survival. The arrogance, insults and cruel repression of the conqueror, as well as the life-and-death pursuit for many years, have burnt the last bit of kindness and compassion in his heart with the fire of revenge.
Wallace's deep-rooted hatred for the British people comes not only from his belief in freedom, but also from his personal feelings about the pain of national subjugation and genocide, from which he knows national hatred. 129 1 year, when the old people loved to perform "supreme" farce, Malcolm, the old man in Geng Jie, was one of the few Scots who refused to bow his head. In order to avoid persecution, he ran away from home with his eldest son, but was finally killed by an English knight named fenwick in Rau Mountain, Ayrshire. Young William had to join his mother. It is said that he entered the missionary school during this period, but soon he was wanted for killing the British occupation troops who challenged him, and he began to wander in the rivers and lakes. Since then, the story is somewhat like "Water Margin", with fighting, chasing, revenge and narrow escape. Some people even say that Wallace is actually one of the archetypes of the legendary Robin Hood. Most of these stories were exaggerated and romanticized by the Scots who were bullied by the invaders, hoping for revenge.
During his guerrilla career, Wallace gradually formed a backbone with relatives as the core, including Patrick auchinleck of Gilbank, cousins Adam, Richard and Simon Wallace. Cousin William de Crawford, nephews Edward Ritter and Tom Halid, and noble Sir john graham Jr., Irish Stephen (Irish Stephen), soldier Gray (Gray), Clay (Krugerton's Kelly), friar joho blair (I don't know if he is a slow ancestor), bandits Eduardo, John Jie Yu and George all cast a shadow in front of them. They armed themselves with equipment, horses and supplies captured by the attacking British army, and became stronger and stronger.
What is more credible is some large-scale battles. It's like an ambush in Lawton Mountain. 1July, 296, William Wallace led dozens of clan members to wait for him in Luodun Mountain where his father and brother were killed. He used a narrow road to ambush, killed his enemy knight Feinik, and intercepted his convoy. Another example is the night attack on Lanark (in southern Scotland). Marion Bradford, Wallace's wife (the only daughter of a rich Lord, whether they were formally married or not), died at the hands of Sir William hessel Rigg, the old appointed Lanark county magistrate. Wallace led his men into the castle at night and bloodied the sheriff's residence. In BH, this incident was arranged as an official defense of the "first night right" and forced the people to rebel, which was regarded as the fuse of the great uprising. Maybe Mel has seen Driving to Liangshan. Foreigners don't think there is anything shameful about "rushing to the crown and being angry as a beauty".
The Battle of Lanark was a turning point in Wallace's fate. Militarily, this battle killed more than 240 British soldiers, made Wallace famous, and inspired the rebellious consciousness of the oppressed Scottish lower class. More than 3000 insurgents quickly gathered around him and became a real army. Before that, he was followed by dozens of relatives and some real Jiang Yang thieves, at best, a guerrilla. Politically, Wallace changed from spontaneously resisting the brutal rule of the occupation army to fighting for the recovery of the motherland. As mentioned earlier, Bishop Robert Westhart had long been interested in launching the Zionist movement, but he suffered from a shortage of soldiers, and the powerful only valued self-interest and ignored the righteousness. The rise of Wallace's rebels is exactly what he wants. The old monk found Wallace and persuaded him to play the banner of restoring national independence and welcoming King barrio back to Korea. This move, like Fan Zengli urging Xiang Liang to meet Chu Huaiwang, gave the Wallace Rebel a political position and appeal. Before that, Wallace and his anti-British struggle had been regarded as a mob uprising, which could not be recognized by big noble. At the same time, the church network of the whole Soviet Union was mobilized to contact the insurgents all over the country, so that the uprising wave spread rapidly. Some nobles also joined the rebellion. However, this move also labeled Wallace, who has no political inclination, as a "pro-Pakistani faction" and will inevitably become a victim of aristocratic factions in the future.
Wallace led the rebel army to attack the city and pull out the village continuously, sweeping the whole northern highlands.
-Locke Dorchatt, Wallace joined hands with local rebels to raid MacFadyen, a British Irish regiment with numerical superiority and the support of puppet troops, which wiped out the enemy and killed all Irish prisoners, but all Scottish prisoners who surrendered their arms and begged for mercy were released. After Michael Fadion himself fled the battlefield, he was hunted down and beheaded.
-Perth, an important town in the north, the rebels filled the moat, set up a ladder and broke into the city, killing 2000 British troops.
-Dunota Castle, Wallace, who still remembers the atrocities such as the "Al Barn Incident", refused to give any pity to more than 4,000 English people and their followers who fled to the castle for refuge. The resisters were finally driven off the cliff, and even the church was set on fire, and the people hiding inside were roasted alive.
-In Aberdeen Port, the British army hurriedly boarded the ship to evacuate, and the insurgents who came quickly attacked the deck at low tide. None of the armor was killed and more than 100 ships were burned; The sheriff sent by England hung the flag of barrio, thus avoiding a bloody battle.
Subsequently, Wallace and Morey joined forces to besiege Dundee.
At this time, the British army that subdued the Scottish nobles had marched north under the command of Lao Wa.
The pound became the focus of the British-Soviet war at this time.
(The whole city of Stirling is located on the alluvial plain of Fox River bend and valley, and the terrain is like Tongguan. Wallace Memorial Tower is located in Dumyat Mountain, two miles north of the city. It looks like a road sign and can be seen from a distance.
The parking lot at the foot of the mountain is free. Daya Mountain is about 100 meters high, with beautiful mountains and lush trees. The mountain road is steep and steep. Some kind people suggest that if any tourists are weak or want to save energy to climb the memorial tower, they can take the car ferry instead of walking. In early autumn, it is cool and comfortable, the mountain breeze is blowing gently, and the air is fresh, just for mountaineering.
The memorial tower is located on the site of Craig Abbey. The monastery was Wallace's command post in the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The construction of the memorial tower took eight years and was completed in 1869. The tower is 220 feet (67 meters) high and has 246 steps. The total cost was over 65,438+0,000, which was astronomical at that time. Such a large sum of money comes from donations, from Scots all over the world, and from many European countries, including Italian national hero and liberator General garibaldi, who also struggled for the ideal of national independence and freedom all his life.
This is a square tower made of light yellow and brown stones, with narrow windows, crenels on the top floor and round redoubts at the four corners, much like an ancient castle. The tower is the product of the revival of Victorian Gothic architecture. The facade treatment is actually very fine, but it can only be seen when it is close. But apart from the octagonal pilaster in the northwest corner and the small steeple at the top of the tower, the gorgeous and detail-oriented Gothic style is not obvious. The mottled stones and unclear outline make the building look quaint and Gu Zhuo, and it becomes more solemn and dignified under the drooping thick clouds. This style is more in line with Wallace's identity as a civilian hero and tragic fate.
Prominent in the southwest corner of the tower is a Wallace statue as high as 15 feet. Wallace has a beard and a strong body, wearing a kilt and cloak, holding a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right. His face was cold and he looked straight ahead. Does he mean that Tian Ming vowed to recover the rivers and mountains, or directed the uprising brothers to attack the enemy? The statue is about 30 feet (9 meters) from the ground, commanding, like a god of war in mid-air, riding a cloud and flying in the wind, giving people a solemn and sacred feeling. Looking up at the statue, I felt reverence in my heart, and the mountain wind echoing in my ear seemed to be his call-Pro Liberty!
In the hall at the bottom of the tower, there is a brief introduction of Wallace and the memorial tower itself.
It is definitely not easy to climb the narrow and closed spiral staircase, but it is definitely worth a try.
Climbing the 7 1 steps and reaching the first floor of the tower is a display of Wallace's life story and an introduction to the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The most striking scene is the three-dimensional simulation of Wallace's trial in Westminster Hall.
Wallace's sword is displayed in a corner here. This sword was originally enshrined in Dumbarton Castle, and the memorial tower was removed after it was built. This is a common broadsword used by both hands at that time. The length is about 66 inches (1676 mm), of which the blade is about 52 inches (132 1 mm). 700 years later, it is still dazzling. The sword was originally an ordinary weapon at that time, without the maker's mark, and its age was unknown. From the material analysis, it was made in Scotland, and most of the common weapons in Britain at that time were produced in Flanders or Germany. 1505, King James IV of Scots reinstalled the hilt to make this sword more worthy of the hero's name. This is a typical aristocratic thinking, thinking that only gorgeous is noble. Although out of respect for heroes, it is shallow.
To use such a big and heavy weapon freely requires not only extraordinary strength, but also sufficient height. This can confirm the legend about Wallace's tall figure from the side.
On the second floor, there are 64 steps, which were converted into "Heroes Hall" in 1885. Marble statues and life stories of Scottish celebrities such as Roybert Bruise, Sir Walter Scott, robert burns, David Livingston and james watt were displayed, and Scottish celebrities in the 20th century were also shown by audio-visual means.
Going up 62 steps to the third floor is a 360-degree panoramic view, which depicts the surrounding scenery and marks the positions of several major wars in different historical periods, such as the Battle of Stirling Bridge at 1297 and the Battle of Bannockburn at 13 14.
The fourth floor is the top of the tower called "Crown". The "Crown" is composed of eight thick flying arch coupons. There are three minarets on each arch ticket, and there is also one at the top of the arch ticket. This architectural style is a variant of Scottish Gothic architecture, imitating the shape of the Scottish crown and representing the national character of Scotland. Many church towers in Scotland have similar styles, such as St. Gilles Church Tower in Edinburgh, which was built in the15th century. It is more humane, sharp, tall and serious than the typical Gothic square tower in England. However, the tops of church towers are often lighter and more transparent, while memorial towers are much thicker.
There are tickets but no webbed, and the top floor is an open terrace with an extremely wide view, which is the best foothold overlooking the ancient battlefield.
Looking around, university of stirling's quiet and serene campus is hidden among the green trees at the foot of the northern mountain, and the rolling hills of Ochir are behind it, like a solid wall, guarding the sparsely populated Scottish highlands behind it. The mountain peak in the far west is the towering Lomond Mountain. The valley at the foot is the only entrance between these two barriers. The Foss River forms an alluvial plain at the original broad valley bottom. The river twists and turns, drawing one meander after another, with rich water plants and snow-white sheep walking on it. The river extends eastward, disperses into numerous tributaries at the mouth of the river in the distance, seeps into a large wetland, and finally flows into the North Sea from FOSS Bay. Not far from the foot of the southwest mountain is the ancient bridge, built in the fifteenth century, next to the wooden bridge site that used to be the battlefield. Numerous houses have been built on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Sterling Castle is just across the valley from this compartment. This castle is similar to Edinburgh. It stands on a cliff overlooking the downtown area in the south. The endless green in the south of the city is the lowland plain in central Scotland.
This is really a battleground for dragon strategists.
Suddenly, a series of sunshine, like a shining sword, pierced the red cloud and pointed to the ancient bridge. Suddenly, the houses, roads, vehicles, cattle and sheep in the valley seem to have disappeared. My eyes are full of flying flags, bright armor, roaring horses and dazzling swords and guns. )
Time goes back to the year 1297.
On September 10, the first enemy of the rebel army rushed to the north bank of the Foss River, occupied the favorable terrain on the Ochir Mountain, and the Craig Monastery at the top of the mountain became the headquarters.
As a mountainous farming and pastoral country, Scotland does not have so many resources to support large-scale cavalry and has no place for them. The main force of the regular army is 15 foot spear infantry, and its military system and technology are much worse than those of European powers.
By this time, the Scottish regular army no longer existed. The team that came to Sterling to meet the British army was simply a mob. Morey's 6000 northern troops are in good condition, with some regular troops, including 150 armored cavalry. Wallace's 10 thousand people are composed of civilians who rose up temporarily, plus some small nobles who attached meaning. They are short of officers, poorly equipped, poorly trained and have little combat experience. Nevertheless, their patriotism has reached the level of fanaticism, and they are eager for world war I.
The British army led by Warren then arrived at the South Bank to meet the defenders of the pound. This is a terrible army, with a total of 1000 heavy cavalry, 50,000 infantry and 300 Welsh longbowmen. They are not only superior in number, but also veterans with battle-hardened, invincible and high morale. The commander-in-chief is experienced and popular. They despise their opponents and think that these Scots have neither courage nor unity, and lack discipline and tactics. They are just amateurs. Their aristocratic officers were either taken to France by their old men, or they dared not appear in the hands of the British, or they went to prison.
The two armies confronted each other across the Fox River.
This is a battlefield that should be defended rather than attacked. On both sides of the winding Foss River, soft wetlands make it impossible for heavy armored forces to start a battle queue. Although there are artificial dikes on the north shore, they are very narrow. On the river, the only wooden bridge can only accommodate two riders in parallel, and the nearby estuary shoal can only cross the river at low tide. No matter which side overcomes these difficulties, last stand will attack the enemy on the hill. Therefore, whoever takes the initiative to attack will put himself at a disadvantage.
Wallace and Morey saw this. They strictly restrained the imminent troops, lined up on the hillside half a mile away from the bridge, kept a favorable offensive and defensive position, and waited for the enemy.
Warren also saw this, and he also noticed that the position of the rebels just threatened the flank of the causeway. His idea is to lead his opponent to the open space at the gate and let the heavy cavalry show their talents. This is his old trick when Dunbar defeated Kang Ming. Lao Wa didn't want to be reckless, because Lao Ai had approved his retirement, but Brian Fitz-Allen, who succeeded him, was still in his post.
Lao Wa first sent two monks across the river to persuade him to surrender, claiming that he could let bygones be bygones. Wallace's answer was crisp and neat. We're not here for peace talks. We want to avenge our country. Come on, we're waiting.
This answer angered the arrogant English knights, who went to war one after another. At the battle meeting held in Lauva, Sir Richard Lundy, a Scottish aristocrat who took refuge in the British army in Ivan, cautiously offered him 500 cavalry and some infantry to attack from the shoal behind the Soviet Union, and then the main force crossed the bridge from the front. Out of underestimation, arrogance and distrust of traitors, most British generals dismissed Lundy's point of view, refused on the pretext that it was inappropriate to divide their troops, and had disputes with a few supporters. The venue was in chaos. Hugh Cresingham, second only to Lao Wa, stood up and accused the quarrel and delay of "wasting the salary given by the king" and claimed to "perform his duties". The above confession made Lao Wa and all the generals who advocated caution choke their eyes: insisting on caution again is tantamount to admitting cowardice.
This is how the decision to cross the bridge was made.
September morning 1 1.
British troops dressed in splendid armor and robes held high flags of various colors, lined up in double columns, and carefully crossed the wooden bridge.
Wallace and Morey stood at the top of Craig Church, "reviewing" the enemy's armed parade. They must wait for the right time to attack. We can't wait until all the British troops cross the river, then they will face a quantitative disadvantage of 1: 3; You can't attack too early, so the enemy can still fight back.
Sixteen thousand Scots on the hillside tried to resist the impulse to kill and waited in line for the leader's order.
The British troops crossing the bridge were crowded with narrow and muddy bridges.
1 1 point, the horn of the attack sounded. The originally energetic Scottish infantry suddenly broke out "Ping Ya Ting!" Pingping! Pingping! ! Pingping! ! ! "Roar, flat-headed spear, waving swords, holding up bricks, rushing down the mountain like a mountain. At the same time, an elite team, deus ex, took the bridge.
The attacked British army panicked, and there were swamps and mud ponds everywhere, which made them unable to display. The impact of the rebel army was fierce and rapid, and the unprepared British army was immediately disrupted and retreated to the causeway and meandering river southeast of the bridgehead, which was tightly compressed into a ball. The cavalry can't run and impact, but they can only struggle clumsily in the same place and be stung into a honeycomb by the enemy's spear. Cavalry and infantry who fell off their horses were trampled to pieces by their companions. Only a few heavy cavalry stood out before the wooden bridge was demolished, and some clever soldiers took off their armor and swam away. Those who jumped directly or fell into the water were dragged down by heavy armor.
Standing on the south bank, Lao Wa watched the bloody battlefield in horror and watched his men being driven and slaughtered like cattle and sheep. There was nothing he could do: the only wooden bridge had been broken, and the high tide flooded the crossing yard, so the British troops left on the south bank could not cross the river to rescue Baoze, who had no way out. Lao Wa has 300 Welsh archers in his hand. If they didn't cross the river, they could at least use deadly arrows and rain to delay and kill the Soviet troops who charged intensively and give some support to their companions. But now they are also trapped in the quagmire on the north shore, struggling to protect themselves.
By 12, seeing that the large-scale battle was basically over, the stunned old tile left a few troops to continue defending Sterling and led his own escape. He promised to bring reinforcements back ten weeks later, but he kept going straight to York and never looked back.
The victorious insurgents waited for the tide to recede, waded across the shallows and killed them, chased them to the north, and didn't retreat until they hit Dunbar. Scots along the way were also moved by the wind and intercepted defeated troops everywhere.
More than 5,000 British troops died in battle, and the Scots did not take prisoners as usual. Cresingham paid the price with his life for his arrogance and recklessness. The Scots hated this guy who scraped deeply, and found his body from the disorderly army and smashed him into pieces.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was later called "9. 1 1" by the British.
Since then, Sterling and Dundee's British troops have surrendered. Within a month, the remaining British troops in all parts of Scotland fled like frightened rabbits, and only in some prison camps did they remain.
The nobles who supported King barrio held a meeting in Perth, and named Wallace and Morey knights and lord protector in the name of minibus.
10 On June 8th, in retaliation for the crazy damage to Scotland when the British troops retreated to raise food, Wallace led an army to invade England, ravaged Northumberland and Cumbria, went deep into Durham, plundered a lot of food and livestock, and returned home with a full load around Christmas. By 1298, Kang Ming and other puppet army leaders were at their wits' end.
Wallace was warmly embraced and followed by the Scottish people. At the same time, it is also facing a serious crisis-
There were not many casualties in Soviet operations, but the losses were irreparable-Andrew de Morey was seriously injured and died. In the third Asian era, as the earl of the north, the Morey family was one of the important ministers of the Scottish court. With the British invasion, they were deprived of their rights. However, his aristocratic lineage still made Andrew recognized by the upper class. Therefore, he played an irreplaceable role in the great cause of the uprising and revival. However, he died.
Bishop Westhart was detained, Morey died and Wallace was politically isolated. Nobles only care about their own self-interest, and their shameful surrender is even dirtier than Wallace's desperate efforts. Out of envy, out of the need to safeguard their own interests, especially out of the desire for the throne, they can't tolerate Wallace's popularity, let alone Wallace's political banner of "welcoming the two saints back to the DPRK." They only gave verbal support to the anti-British struggle of the lower classes because of the situation. Although Wallace made a lot of efforts to win the support of civilians and small lords, he still could not change his fate of being isolated or even betrayed. In this respect, Wallace and Yue Fei have many similarities.
1March, 298, Lao Ai came back from France after learning the news of "9. 1 1" pound fiasco. He temporarily left bandit 4 to clean the fire in the backyard. After establishing the wartime capital in York, he led 90,000 troops into Scotland on July 3rd.
Wallace knew that he had no strength to fight against his old love. He adopted the strategy of clearing the scorched earth and resisting the Japanese war, and withdrew the residents and livestock on the way to the British March. He wanted to use the complex and well-equipped British main force to harass the enemy's supply line, forcing the British army to retreat because of insufficient supply, and finally defeated the opponent. This guerrilla strategy is a correct decision in line with Mao Zedong's outstanding military thought.
However, at present, the nobles do not support him. No one fought with him, but many noble lords took refuge in Lao Ai. Two pro-British guys, Dunbar and Earl Angus, sold the position of Wallace's troops to the enemy. In Falkirk, Wallace had to confront the enemy who followed him with superiority.
Falcock is an ancient city, located 35km east of Edinburgh, 30km west of Glasgow and 65,438+05km north of Sterling. The two canals meet here, and it rose as an important machinery manufacturing town in the industrial revolution. As a traffic artery, there have been many fierce battles here in history. According to research, the high street in the busy downtown area is the place where British and Soviet troops invaded.
On July 22nd, the Battle of Falcock broke out.
Although Wallace's troops have been expanded and improved in equipment, they are still mainly spear infantry, plus some cavalry and archers. He adopted the heavy infantry tactics that have been used for more than 1000 years-turning people into several dense deep phalanxes and becoming a thick human wall, with defense as the attack. Kneel on one knee in the first row and put the spear handle on the ground; The back is upright, the spear points forward, the spear in the back row is placed on the shoulder of the person in front, and the people are close together. Archers and cavalry maneuvered in the gap between the arrays. This formation is designed to resist the impact of cavalry or other intensive infantry in great depth without being dispersed, and it is an effective method to contain heavy infantry. At that time, because horses and armor were expensive, only nobles and knights became lifting cavalry. Often out of contempt for lowly infantry fighting with their legs, they make pretentious charges on the other side, and most of the results are that the lowly ones win. However, this tactic also has fatal weaknesses. First, it can't be flexible and can't stand the blow from the flank and behind. Once the circuitous enemy bypasses the front, the phalanx will collapse immediately; Second, the population is dense, and it is easy to be killed by long-range weapons such as arrows and spears fired by light infantry or light cavalry. Therefore, the dense infantry phalanx must rely on the terrain or cavalry to cover the side and back, and use cavalry to expel the enemy projectionist. The three arms form a tiger-thick stick relationship. Heavy cavalry restrained light infantry by impact, light infantry and light cavalry attacked heavy infantry by projecting weapons, and heavy infantry fought against heavy cavalry in dense formation. Once the dependence-mutual restriction relationship is missing or misplaced, it is bound to be a river of blood.
Wallace noticed these problems and deployed his troops on the hillside, backed by the forest array, and deployed cover units on both wings. However, there is not much room for him to choose the terrain, because the British army who followed him has arrived. His strength is too limited, his opponents always love him, and he has absolute advantages in quantity and quality in all arms, the most deadly of which is his invincible Welsh longbowman. The longbow was the most effective projectile weapon at that time, about 5 feet long, longer and harder than the usual bow, with a longer range and a much faster firing rate than the crossbow with the same range. A well-trained long archer can shoot 12- 15 arrows every minute, penetrating the chain mail chain 240-280 yards away. The whistling arrow rain flying all over the sky not only has terrible lethality, but also causes great psychological shock to the enemy. Of course, long archers need long-term training, extraordinary brawn and superb skills, and this skill from civilians is despised by many nobles, so only Britain in Europe has this unique weapon.
The first to arrive at the battlefield was the British heavy cavalry, who took the initiative to charge from the flank without waiting for the arrival of the old love, and defeated the poorly equipped Soviet cavalry and archers in one fell swoop. When they were ready to attack the spear array, Ed arrived. Edward I of England of England deserves to be an excellent strategist. He immediately stopped this reckless action, which was tantamount to suicide, but first ordered his long archers to shoot at the phalanx intensively. The Soviets lost their cavalry and were helpless against the enemy more than 200 yards away. It has to let an arrow fall from the sky and penetrate the body of its companion.
The continuous volley of thousands of long archers is terrible. Bodies covered with arrows fell one after another. Soon, the phalanx was shot by an arrow cluster with an obvious gap. I always shout "Charge!" The troops "ma bu" or horse stance just look commanded the British army and ran towards the gap. The Soviets fought to the death, but the phalanx weakened by the arrows and rain could not resist the thunder impact of heavy cavalry. Heavy spears can't cope with one-on-one close combat, and dense formations make them unable to move to adapt to changes in the battlefield. The phalanx was torn apart, the orderly resistance collapsed, the fighting turned into a brutal massacre, and more than 10,000 Scottish children were stained with blood in Shan Ye. The rebel army was wiped out, Graham and other generals died, and Wallace led the remnants into the jungle to get rid of the enemy's pursuit.
The Battle of Falkirk became a classic example of synthetic arms operations in ancient military history.
Old love didn't chase, because I was still worried about the feud with bandit four. 1299, the two enemies ran out of military expenses and had to call a truce to make peace. Old love got Franda, and she married Bandit Four's sister as her second wife.
Soon, Wallace resigned from his post in lord protector and disappeared from Scotland. Some people say that he returned to the civil organization resistance movement because his flag appeared in many places; Some people say that he went to France, Norway, and even went to the Pope for international assistance. There is no official record of his activities, but the armistice agreement reached between Britain and the Soviet Union in June 5438+030 1 1 is said to be related to his diplomatic efforts. The bandit four profited from it and occupied the southwest of Scotland with the attitude of "peacekeeping"