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How the Scots Fought Off the English
Excerpt from How Wars Are Won: The 13 Rules of War—From Ancient Greece to the War on Terror, by Bevin Alexander, page 40
Another remarkable case of the effective use of guerrilla tactics is Scotland, which preserved its independence from England by following for 250 years, with occasional lapses, the “testament” of Robert the Bruce (1274-1329). For years Robert had seen the brave “schiltrons” or massed bodies of Scottish spearmen shattered by arrow storms from English longbows followed by charges of English armored knights. He admonished the Scots to abandon this direct challenge, maintain the defensive, only fight in strong positions among hills and morasses, trust to retirement into the woods rather than fortifying castles, ravage the open country in front of the advancing enemy, and confine their attacks to night surprises and ambushes. When the Scots did this, the English could get nowhere. When they faced the English head-to-head, as occasionally happened after taking bad advice, they lost.
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