Historian Reacts - The Battle of Flodden 1513 by BazBattles

[@seanmac1793]

13:34 it's also worth keeping mind that cannon this period are only loosely related to the cannon of the Horse and musket era. They are slow and very diffcult to maneuver, they pack a punch but are slow to load.

[@Dragonite43]

Also, I think they were in much small numbers too.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

2 Men in a Trench excavated the Scottish gun emplacements at the Battlefield. The programme is on KZbin

[@timnewman7591]

The last medieval battle in many ways, most of the armies on both sides were equipped as they would have been around the time of Agincourt. Northern England wasn't having none of this new-fangled gunpower stuff, bow and bill was good enough for the Hundred Years War and Wars of the Roses and was still good enough for them. The next big clash between English and Scottish armies (Pinkie) would see much more "modern" armies. There's an interesting quote from an English source about the ineffectiveness of the longbow, which was a bit of a shock to the English at the time. In earlier battles since the English adopted massed longbows as a major part of their army, engagements with the usually lightly armoured Scots had very often been decided by archery barrages. This time it was pretty ineffective. "They were clad in armour of such proof, and were such large and stout men withall, that even with five or six arrows in them they marched on." Though despite this, and similar events in the campaign in France, there were military theorists in Elizabethan England still arguing for the retention of the longbow as a primary weapon of war (they lost that argument).

[@TheMasonK]

Reaction to Publius Scipio Africanus by Biographics please!

[@artofstorytelling9406]

That would be cool to see

[@theinsanepumpkincarver]

Please not. Considering the numerous errors in their Alexander the Great video, I have lost all confidence in them.

[@bakthihapuarachchi3447]

Absolutely yes

[@xiahoupaul19]

I can't wait for you to react to more BazBattles stuff, it feels so refeshing.

[@Simpson17866]

I always used to think that The Hunt For The Bismark was this grand epic game of cat-and-mouse. BazBattles did an excellent job of showing that it was actually the greatest comedy of errors since the Battle of Phillipi :D

[@JoeMama-yd3xi]

Lmao in the thumbnail the profile of your face exactly matches the look of James II! No wonder you’re a descendant!

[@TheMasonK]

Yeah he really does look like him. That’s crazy. 😂

[@Thraim.]

13:50 I'll push back on that a bit. While I usually agree that leaving the high ground is a bad idea, in this case staying wasn't that good, either. Both the English artillery and the bowmen were badgering the Scottish troops. Staying on the hill while losses mounted would've broken Scottish morale sooner or later. That being said, they should have coordinated a general assault instead of each flank doing whatever.

[@jeffreygao3956]

20:04 Oh dear! That's a whole chain of command needing overhauls!

[@professorwhat2704]

Glad to have you back with us. Looks like you're feeling better. I ordered a VTH tshirt and got it yesterday. Maybe I'll be some advertising. Lol

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Pikes... we know that James was a keen student of military technology, he had the largest artillery train in Europe at the time and built the most powerful warship in the world, The Michael. He also imported large numbers of pikes from mainland Europe to train his soldiers in the continental phalanx system of combined arms that became the basis for infantry warfare in Europe from 1500 to the dawn of the flintlock musket in the late 1600s. He also imported mercenary faptains from France, Flanders and Switzerland to train his army. The problem was, however, the pike companies in Europe were mostly professional mercenary soldiers. The Scots army was almost entirely levies and James simply did not give them enough time to master the drills required to use pikes effectively which means en masse and in conjunction with lanscecht (swordsmen who would use great swords and were embedded in the formation as shock troops) and missile troops in Archers or arquebus firearms. One question: we know from contemporary sources that on the day the pikes were bested by the billhooks, citations of pike shafts being severed by bills are specifically mentioned. OK, if the Bill was so superior, why did the bill become obsolete versus the pike 30 years later? I have a theory here. Pikes, like all pole arms are traditionally mounted on ash poles. Ash is a medium weight but very hard and tough wood which is difficult to break. In fact, numerous experiments havd been undertaken where shafts of different woods and different levels if seasoning were attempted to be severed by swords and billhooks. The reality is that it is VERY difficult to sever a mature, seasoned ash pike shaft with a billhook or sword. Now, we know that James prepared for this war in a rush, we also assume that it was highly likely his pikes were imported without poles, I.e. the hardware only. What was the availability of 12ft seasoned ash shafts in Scotland in the summer of 1513? Given he had recently cut down every hardwood tree in Fife to build The Michael, where did thd poles come from? He needed thousands of them? My theory is that other woods and unseasonal woods were used, everything from elder to Scots Pine. Green wood is very easily cut by a billhook, after all that is what the agricultural version of the weapon is designed for.. cutting green poles for coppicing. My theory is that in the rush to mobilise, many of the pikes were mounted on green poles which when faced with billhooks were easily destroyed.

[@jeffreygao3956]

Or maybe it's just that counters to pike formations can succeed or fail.

[@fye537]

Lmaooo i saw “King James”and intuitively asked “what,s Lebron doing here?”

[@Gravelgratious]

Glad you are well

[@jamessapp4989]

Question, for your upcoming trip to the UK, will you be visiting the Bovington tank museum (which includes I think the only running Tiger I tank in the world)? If you are, you need to start watching Potential History's "country" tank meme series as they are very useful in understanding why each country's military pushed out the designs that they did. Plus as an extra, his video on the Ferdinand Tank Destroyer. It's a lol.

[@saulestrada9156]

You look great with your mustache :)

[@HankHill11]

I have missed the BazBattles, one of my favorite channels, please do more

[@paulwhitelaw1755]

You had said you would go to Bannockburn. Just to let you know that some of the tech is broken to you can replay the battle. If you are there at meal time I would recommend the 1314 pub it is really good.

[@abisversion]

thank you for making this!

[@Rhbrehaut]

Hope you are back to 100% soon. Glad you are good enough to work again. Cheers mate!

[@rightmunted7538]

Y'know this might not be a good idea but I thought it could be interesting to look into the "history" of some fictional worlds like A song of Ice and fire for example since alot of the story is based on the war of the roses.

[@Crytica.]

It's good that you got sick now and not when you are going to the UK!

[@alanlaw1050]

Great channel to react to! Baz Battles is great. Was it perhaps my recommendation from a little while back?

[@murmor6890]

Julius Cesar would have had an impromptu fort on the hill waiting for the English.

[@marypetrie930]

The English were still in Denmark and Germany then!

[@delouzed]

Dude I love your shit please keep making this

[@justindemski9999]

I love the BazBattles channel. Too bad they do not upload much anymore.

[@catherinewilkins2760]

Have you watched any videos by Kevin Hicks of the Historysquad?, he specialises in the military equipment and the finer details of war. Very good with the long bow.

[@robertdawson4502]

I am a direct relative of Robert The Bruce he is my 19th great grandfather. Marjorie his daughter is my 18th great-grandmother who died sometime around 1316-1317. There are several rumors about how she died. One is that she died during childbirth of my 17th great-grandfather Robert II. The other rumor is that she died due to a horse accident a year later. Of course, this means that I am related to many other royal families including Queen Elizabeth who is my 6th cousin. My mother and I spent countless hours in libraries and doing online research for years to pinpoint who, where and how we are related to thousands of individuals. I also found out that we are related to William Bradford who was part of the Mayflower voyage and became governor of Plymouth for many years. Neat stuff you can learn from doing research.

[@marypetrie930]

So is everybody else!!

[@robertdawson4502]

@@marypetrie930 I have documented proof that I am a direct descendant of Robert The Bruce. I know that not everyone has the same proof. My former wife who is Thai has no concrete proof she is related in any direct way to Robert The Bruce. I find it very unlikely that she could spend years researching and come up with proof that she is directly related to him. So your deduction in this matter is highly unlikely. Yes, maybe if she were able to trace back to when humans appeared on this planet, she might find proof. But I don't think the stone-aged people kept those kinds of records just in case someone someday wanted to trace their family tree.

[@Hess512]

Given the population of Scotland at the time, and that a disproportionate number of the muster were drawn up from Lowlander and Borderer populations. This was a catastrophe. I can’t remember which village it was, but there is a story of a single survivor returning from the battle carrying the standard of the regiment razed from that village. Flodden could have crippled Scotland’s demographic growth. However in less than a century Scotland’s population climbed from around 600k to 1.5 million. Lucky for us. Such a shame James IV went the way he did, probably the greatest King we ever had. But he may have single handedly popularised whisky in Scotland, our most lucrative export. Even from beyond the grave James the IV is still bringing prosperity to Scotland.

[@neildiamondo6445]

All the Scots nobility wanted war apart from Elphinstone Bishop of Aberdeen. Niall Barr book Flodden is excellent

[@CristinaMarshal]

It's nice to hear that Norfolk had some influence in the far past, not only this, but where the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln was birthed and moved away to that ye new land of New England. Also, wonderful to muster yourself off that couch and getting back into work!

[@CheckYourLeaderTV]

James would have been better served if he retired his army slightly to avoid the English Bombardment and arrow storm. That said, retiring in the face of the enemy can go badly.

[@Toumahitoedits]

Like Nevilles Cross, this battle solidified English Superiority against Scotland. That will change under James VI's Ascenscion as the Ruler of England and Scotland. Thus, the Act of Union is still a thing this day.

[@johnhammonds5143]

James had spent a lot on the best armaments that money could buy. Huge, new cannons. Longer, "better" pikes from Europe. He'd had massive gun emplacements built on the top of the hill facing south. Surry scouted those, and knew an assault on that position would be su1cide. So he skirted around their position, out of sight on the east, and came up behind them. James had to turn his guns around, and the emplacements were useless. Early cannon exchange told James all he needed to know. The big guns from the high ground just made large holes in the mud. The smaller English guns skipped their shot going uphill, causing terrible damage to the Scottish ranks. Their only choice was to charge downhill. The left flank went first, and had good ground at the bottom. They blew through the English right without a problem. The middle had issues, however. The ground was slippery. It takes an incredible amount of coordination and training to make a moving schiltron work. They had poor footing and longer pikes that they weren't familiar with. If you get a split in the pike row, the English bill-men can slip inside the row of pike points. Making the pikes useless. Drop your pike and pull your sword. But now the 8 foot bill has reach advantage on the 3 foot sword. It was a disaster. Check out the Two Men and a Trench video on Flodden with Neil Oliver. The do archeological work on the gun emplacements and also on the battlefield itself. Very cool video.

[@timhare9867]

Ahhh...one of my favourite battles. Got the Osprey military publishing book about this one on my shelf. Really interesting confrontation. One of the first uses of cannons on the battlefield in Britain unless I’m mistaken.

[@wxixlxsxoxn7321]

Glad you're feeling better

[@Master-vv4gn]

I'm a descendant of the Stanley family, more specifically James Stanley, esq. son of George Stanley, 9th Baron Strange

[@whiteink225]

Extra history just started their new series on the ethiopian empire and it's really cool so you know...

[@Hootix]

Man, am I the only one that just feels bad for James?

[@jackhardy606]

Any plans for future videos with Mr Beat again Chris?

[@neilgreene91]

We're all the descendants of Kings haha! I love yanks. You're pretty much right about stuff and I'm not picking 😀

[@grahamtravers4522]

The Stewarts have to be the worst dynasty in British History. Mary was kicked out of Scotland, Charles I was beheaded by his parliament, and James II (of England) was thrown out as well ...

[@neildiamondo6445]

Auld Alliance actually benefited France more. After Agincourt 30,000 Scots went to France under Earls of Marr and Buchan. Scots became Constables and Marshalls of France. Guarde Ecossais etc formed.

[@windblade2595]

You should try reacting to Epic History’s latest videos on the Decemberists. Really good to watch.

[@Bigrago1]

23:50 likely some English foot soldiers(I don't know the title low ranking English soldiers were given) took off the armour before any English noble came looking. That English soldier or soldiers definitely made a fortune when they returned home.

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

Apparently he was in fact identified on the battlefield, embalmed, and taken to London. He couldn't initially be buried because he was excommunicated for violating the treaty. Eventually his head was severed from his body, and both have since been lost

[@jsandalls2]

Just a small note on UK geography. 'Great Britain' is simply the name of the largest island of the British Isles (think Gran Canaria). The geographical names are so muddied with the political ones but Ireland is very much a British Isle along with all of the dinky ones. There are lots of people in the UK who think we need to go 'back' to being 'Great Britain' without understanding what the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales being the countries on the largest island) and Northern Ireland (the smaller country on the island of Ireland) actually means.

[@connorlee9007]

Also you should try the Useful Charts video "is everyone descended from royalty?" The answer is yes and almost every European for example is a direct descendant of Charlemagne

[@caydyn5]

Love your videos

[@andrewsmith8815]

This channel has ignited a fascination with history I never knew I had

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

An AWFUL lot of my ancestors were killed at this battle including James (hello cousin😉) . I'm Scottish and live a few miles from the Battlefield, when researching my family tree, it is appalling how often I come across the 9th September 1513 as a date for death. Last count 42 ancestors died on that day. 41 of them fighting for James, also my ancestor.

[@slainteron4027]

Would love to see you do a video on The Rising

[@michaelly7163]

6:52 Correction, the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was annulled not divorced. There is a difference between a divorce and an annulment.

[@MarkVrem]

Today is actually the anniversary of Battle of Bannockburn. Robert The Bruce stuff.

[@georgie064]

You should react to more vids made by bazbattles, specifically the ones about Alexander the Great, they're amazing.

[@stephenparker6362]

Hi, Chris, very interesting. The Dukes of Norfolk, since 1672 have been Earl Marshall and, therefore, responsible for major state events such as weddings, funerals and the state opening of Parliament . Would love you to do a reaction to the Battle at Culloden, the last battle fought on British soil.

[@agnosticatheist7634]

About the 16th century. Can you react to Extra History s Suleiman the magnificent? I really like your important commentary.

[@homelessincanada4018]

Howdy cousin :) Found out through ancestry that I'm like a 17th great grandson of James IV. What a small world lol

[@johnwilliamson4055]

I hope that you enjoy your trip to the UK. If you are spending any time in Edinburgh you might want to visit the Old Calton Cemetery. It contains a large statue of Lincoln (erected 1893) and is, I believe, the only memorial to the US Civil War outside of America.

[@steveclarke6257]

Sorry, we have have a Statue of Mr Lincoln here in Manchester too- in recognition the deprivations that the US civil war caused the Cotton workers of Manchester. That is located in Lincoln Square, near Manchester Town Hall.

[@greatalexander3820]

@@steveclarke6257 There is an Abe Lincoln statue in London too.

[@Geographyandhistory2024]

here's a good video to react to entire history of the united states,i guess by krispykarim it's bill wurtz inspired

[@sronaimus3640]

Could you react to the history of the United States i guess

[@theveryworstluck1894]

Not trying to make it weird, but I'm digging the facial hair, bud.

[@TheMightyKent]

Flodden was where the last of my Scottish ancestors were chased out to Ireland. That is if they weren’t killed there.

[@grahamtravers4522]

Ummm ... If the last of your ancestors was killed at Flodden, you wouldn't be here ...

[@rhett1029]

Had two Direct Ancestors killed at the Battle of Flodden. John Cannady and Archibald Campbell

[@R34P3R06]

You should react to the hilarious battle of Karansebes it's pretty interesting :)

[@wilfredocapdeviellepaz4848]

Always have the high ground... For shure, something that Ewan McGregor learn... (Ewan is scotch.) I´m sorry, but always is a good time for a SW reference. Cheers from Mercedes, Uruguay.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Lord Home is pronounced Lord 'Hew-m'

[@JohnDoe-pf6kd]

I hope you and your family get well soon man, all the best 👍

[@alexschusch7906]

Can you react on a Video about the Battle of Ferhbellin. The battle against the Swedish right after the 30 years war that made Prussia a European superpower.

[@bertmustin]

This is the most English narrator voice ever.

[@el.blanco8961]

I'd love to see more historica civilis!

[@caydyn5]

I like the videos on South Africa, bc I'm from South Africa

[@connorlee9007]

Just an FYI, your English place names pronunciation is usually v good, but Norfolk isn't pronounced Nor-Folk with an o, it's ironically pronounced more like Nor-Fuk with the ol making more of an uh sound like in cUt

[@catherinewilkins2760]

Had thought that, as a resident of Norfolk, but resisted the urge to comment.

[@fogwar]

Good note on the use of artillery. Fun fact: the first battle considered to have been decisively impacted by the presence of field artillery was the Battle of Castillon in 1453 which ended the Hundred Years' War in France's favour.

[@timnewman7591]

I would say it would be one of the battles in the Hussite Wars, where war wagons mounting guns of various sizes were key to many victories over the men-at-arms sent against the Hussites. Some of the wagons were actually built around a bombard, making it easier to move large gunpowder weaponry for sieges.

[@archivesoffantasy5560]

Or Subutai battle of Mohi. Or likely even further back. Chinese generals probably figured it out the moment they invented gunpowder, just because it isn’t recorded until X doesn’t mean it didn’t happen before X

[@fogwar]

​@@archivesoffantasy5560 Unless it's recorded and/or proven/corroborated through archaeological findings, then we can't say it happened. That's not how the science of history works.

[@fogwar]

@@timnewman7591 To be clear: I'm not saying gunpowder weapons weren't employed _before_ this battle. But Castillon was the first battle to be _decisively_ decided through the use of field artillery - i.e., it was the presence and use of such weapons that won them the battle.

[@archivesoffantasy5560]

@@fogwar fair enough but do you really think nobody before 1453 won a battle where artillery was the key factor in the victory ?

[@catherinewilkins2760]

The last battle! We haven't stopped yet, mostly verbal these days. Shot was found at the site of the Battle of Bosworth, (the real site, not the one designated by the Battle field Trust).

[@charlesbalina6627]

React to historia civilis conference of Vienna

[@marypetrie930]

Narrator is a "Posh" Australian voice!

[@3113mac]

Scotland lost The King 5 members of the Clergy 10 Earls 11 Lords of Parliament and about 55 Chieftans/Nobles/Knights So could have gone better

[@charliemills6955]

Take a break so u can get better for ur trip

[@jeffery4085]

Watch the early muslim conquest

[@olsiontoska9520]

You can see and react to defence Politics asia and history legends for the war in Ukraine here on KZbin

[@TheLibermania]

6:47 "His wife was spanish" Which one? But seriously take some days off before you go to England that you are at 100 % there.

[@celston51]

Only one wife was Spanish, Catherine of Aragon.

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

The only one he had at the time.

[@danielbrown9368]

Normally when people claim to descend from a King I ignore it. But dang, you can actually see the resemblance. Based on the history of James II you may wanna stay away from cannons. Just sayin'.

[@BigAl2-u7e]

Technically speaking, me and every other person here are related to every single monarch across the world across history. Because after all, every human is technically related, though very distantly. But hey, it still counts!

[@corneliaaurelli1603]

@@BigAl2-u7e Related =/= Descendant

[@badcornflakes6374]

@@BigAl2-u7e I think you should brake a couple English courses

[@bananapanda9805]

Funny how after being humiliated and subjugated by the English over and over, the Scotch have the last laugh.

[@prinz5816]

They havent though, still in a union.

[@archivesoffantasy5560]

The two nations merged together in 1707, before that the last conflict would have been during the civil war where Cromwell defeated them

[@MrZiffos]

Too many interruptions

[@noah9656]

My Ancestor!? Wait how's that?

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

Plenty of people are descended from royalty. Nothing unique about it really. I’m descended from James IV through one of his illegitimate daughters.

[@noah9656]

@@VloggingThroughHistory didn't know that that's quite cool to be honest

[@andrewshaw1571]

@@noah9656 Im technically related to eleanor of aquitaine and her husband, cant remember which king, probs henry II as i cant remember the line being in france. Take their daughters and follow through their daughters and eventually one of them ends up in a small noble family which eventually involves a daughter of said family marrying a commoner, resulting in my mothers side of the family. Not that my family is acknowledged by the actual noble line, apparently the last time any of us saw them was my grandmother at one of her aunt's funerals. That tends to be the a way to end up in royalty, if one of your grandfathers of some description marrys a runaway from a small, noble family. Nobles are pretty much all related in someway and you will likely find your way to the royal line, since noble familys record their ancestry. The smaller and more insignificant the family, the longer it will probably take before its splinter reaches the original tree. In my case 1200's.

[@noah9656]

@@andrewshaw1571 well, I'm Part german part african so maybe even there's something wild going on then who knows👀👑

[@andrewshaw1571]

@@noah9656 from personal experience, catholic families tend to record their family history more carefully than protestants but that's more of an Anglican thing not a Lutheran thing. Assuming your german ancestors were lutherans. Dont know how well the german peasants record things, assuming like me you are mainly descended from peasants but good luck to you, I imagine the African side would be nearly impossible to trace through Africa.

[@RexOlafusVidulusMagnus]

First

[@ReallyGoodandKind]

First!