Battle of Neville's Cross

Illumination in the Chroniques of the historian Jean Froissart for the battle of Neville's Cross

date	October 17, 1346
place	Neville's Cross at Durham
output	English victory

Parties to the conflict
Kingdom of England	Kingdom of Scotland
Commander
Ralph Neville Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy William Zouche	David II
Troop strength
6000-7000 men	12,000 men
losses
a few hundred	7,000 fallen

The Battle of Neville's Cross took place on October 17, 1346 in west Durham . The young Scottish King David II wanted to attack the French King Philip VI with his attack on northern England . after his defeat by Edward III. of England on August 26, 1346 at the Battle of Crécy . But just like in the Battle of Halidon Hill , the Scottish troops were defeated on unfavorable terrain.

prehistory

King Edward III of England broke the Edinburgh-Northampton Accords that guaranteed the border between England and Scotland. He argued that it was negotiated when he was a minor and that it was not his will. In 1332 Edward Balliol's favorite, Edward Balliol , marched into Scotland and crowned himself king. But the followers of King David II expelled him, so that he fled to England and Edward III. asked for help. The English king helped by moving to Scotland with Edward Balliol in 1333. He quickly won Berwick back and won the Battle of Halidon Hill. Because of the impending danger to David II, he and his wife were brought to safety in France.

During the absence of young David, the Scots under Andrew Murray ended Balliol's rule at the Battle of Culblean (1335). In 1341 the seventeen-year-old David II returned to Scotland and took over the rule again. Due to the regulations of the Auld Alliance , he attacked England in 1346 to relieve France after the crushing defeat of Crécy on August 26, 1346. He assumed that northern England was largely undefended, as he suspected the English troops were bound in France. However, the English had prepared for this case and were able to quickly mobilize two parts of the army, each with a good 3,000 men.

The battle

The Scots stopped at Bear Park, near Durham, on October 17, 1346. It was only when William Douglas of Liddesdale and a Scottish division led by him came across an English vanguard that David II was informed that an experienced force of archers and knights was nearby. Even so, because of their numerical superiority, the Scottish king was convinced that the English troops could not win.

He positioned his three battalions at the foot of the hill of Neville's Cross. The English had meanwhile crossed the Wear and climbed the hill faster than the bulkheads, who were held up by fences and walls. Based on the experience of the defeats at the Battle of Dupplin Moor and the Battle of Halidon Hill , the Scots initially took a defensive position and expected an English attack. The English archers who stood above the Scottish armed forces, however, were able to provoke the Scots into an attack by volleys of arrows. The approaching Scots lost order and were exposed to the English hail of arrows. Around 3500 Scottish soldiers were killed and the English won the battle despite their clear numerical inferiority. Allegedly only about one hundred English soldiers died in this battle. There were several deserters among David II's followers. Robert II and the Earl of March fled, even David's own battalion tried to flee. The Scottish king was badly injured and taken prisoner along with numerous other Scottish nobles. The rest of the Scottish force was pursued for more than 20 miles. David II of Scotland was imprisoned at Odiham Castle and did not return to Scotland until eleven years later.

literature

Geoffrey WS Barrow: Neville's Cross, Battle of . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 6, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-7608-8906-9 , Sp. 1117 f.

Web links

http://www.schottland-online.net/zeittafel4.htm