On 11 September 1297 a Scottish army under William Wallace and Andrew Moray destroyed an English force as it crossed a narrow bridge over the River Forth near Stirling. It was the first great victory of the Scottish Wars of Independence and made Wallace a national hero.
The bridge at Stirling
The English crossed the bridge only a few men at a time. The Scots waited on the rising ground, swept down once the vanguard was over, seized the crossing and cut the English army in two. The isolated part on the far bank was destroyed.1
The tactic was simple, but it worked because the Scots chose the ground and the moment. Our article on the Battle of Stirling Bridge covers the campaign that led to it. › Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1297
Also on this day
1697: Battle of Zenta. At Zenta on the Tisza, Prince Eugene of Savoy's Habsburg army caught Sultan Mustafa II's Ottoman forces in the middle of a river crossing during the Great Turkish War.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was the Battle of Stirling Bridge?
It was fought on 11 September 1297 at a bridge over the River Forth near Stirling in Scotland, during the First War of Scottish Independence.
Who won the Battle of Stirling Bridge?
The Scots, led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray, won a decisive victory over the English army of the Earl of Surrey.
How did the Scots win?
They used the narrow bridge as a trap, letting only part of the English army cross the River Forth before seizing the bridgehead and destroying the isolated vanguard.
Notes
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