Late Middle Ages · Europe · War

1333

Halidon Hill: longbow against Scottish schiltron

July 1333

Edward III's archers, posted on a slope outside Berwick, shredded the Scottish relief column under Sir Archibald Douglas. It was a rehearsal for Crécy, demonstrating how devastating massed longbow fire could be against infantry advancing uphill. The English would use the same tactical formula for the next century: dismounted men-at-arms anchoring flanks of longbowmen on rising ground.