Historically,Scotland has a longmilitary tradition that predates theAct of Union with England in 1707. Its soldiers today form part of thearmed forces of the United Kingdom, more usually referred to domestically within the UK as theBritish Armed Forces.
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There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings includingWilliam the Lion[1] andAlexander II. The latter took personal command of a large naval force which sailed from the Firth of Clyde and anchored off the island of Kerrera in 1249, intended to transport his army in a campaign against theKingdom of the Isles, but he died before the campaign could begin.[2][3] Viking naval power was disrupted by conflicts between the Scandinavian kingdoms, but entered a period of resurgence in the thirteenth century when Norwegian kings began to build some of the largest ships seen in Northern European waters. These included kingHakon Hakonsson'sKristsúðin, built at Bergen from 1262 to 1263, which was 260 feet (79 m) long, of 37 rooms.[4] In 1263 Hakon responded toAlexander III's designs on the Hebrides by personally leading a major fleet of forty vessels, including theKristsúðin, to the islands, where they were swelled by local allies to as many as 200 ships.[5] Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built atAyr, but he avoided a sea battle.[1] Defeat on land at theBattle of Largs and winter storms forced the Norwegian fleet to return home, leaving the Scottish crown as the major power in the region and leading to the ceding of the Western Isles to Alexander in 1266.[6]
English naval power was vital toEdward I's successful campaigns in Scotland from 1296, using largely merchant ships from England, Ireland and his allies in the Islands to transport and supply his armies.[7] Part of the reason for Robert I's success was his ability to call on naval forces from the Islands. As a result of the expulsion of the Flemings from England in 1303, he gained the support of a major naval power in the North Sea.[7] The development of naval power allowed Robert to successfully defeat English attempts to capture him in the Highlands and Islands and to blockade major English controlled fortresses at Perth and Stirling, the last forcingEdward II to attempt the relief that resulted at English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314.[7] Scottish naval forces allowed invasions of the Isle of Man in 1313 and 1317 and Ireland in 1315. They were also crucial in the blockade of Berwick, which led to its fall in 1318.[7]
After the establishment of Scottish independence, Robert I turned his attention to building up a Scottish naval capacity. This was largely focused on the west coast, with the Exchequer Rolls of 1326 recording the feudal duties of his vassals in that region to aid him with their vessels and crews. Towards the end of his reign he supervised the building of at least one royalman-of-war near his palace atCardross on theRiver Clyde. In the late fourteenth century naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers.[8] James I took a greater interest in naval power. After his return to Scotland in 1424, he established a shipbuilding yard atLeith, a house for marine stores, and a workshop. King's ships were built and equipped there to be used for trade as well as war, one of which accompanied him on his expedition to the Islands in 1429. The office ofLord High Admiral was probably founded in this period. In his struggles with his nobles in 1488 James III received assistance from his two warships theFlower and theKing's Carvel also known as theYellow Carvel.[8]
There were various attempts to create royal naval forces in the fifteenth century. James IV put the enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour atNewhaven and a dockyard at the Pools ofAirth.[9] He acquired a total of 38 ships including theGreat Michael,[10] at that time, the largest ship in Europe.[10][11] Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king on his expeditions in the islands and intervened in conflicts Scandinavia and the Baltic,[8] but were sold after the Flodden campaign and after 1516 and Scottish naval efforts would rely on privateering captains and hired merchantmen.[8] James V did not share his father's interest in developing a navy and shipbuilding fell behind the Low Countries.[12] Despite truces between England and Scotland there were periodic outbreaks of aguerre de course.[13] James V built a new harbour atBurntisland in 1542.[14] The chief use of naval power in his reign was a series of expeditions to the Isles and France.[15] After theUnion of Crowns in 1603 conflict between Scotland and England ended, but Scotland found itself involved in England's foreign policy, opening up Scottish shipping to attack. In 1626 a squadron of three ships were bought and equipped.[11] There were also severalmarque fleets of privateers.[16] In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and accompanying contingents of burgh privateers participated in themajor expedition to Biscay.[17] The Scots also returned to West Indies[18] and in 1629 took part in the capture ofQuebec.[19]
During the Bishop's Wars the king attempted to blockade Scotland and planned amphibious assaults from England on the East coast and from Ireland to the West.[20] Scottish privateers took a number of English prizes.[21] After the Covenanters allied with the English Parliament they established two patrol squadrons for the Atlantic and North Sea coasts, known collectively as the "Scotch Guard".[22] The Scottish navy was unable to withstand the English fleet that accompanied the army led by Cromwell that conquered Scotland in 1649–51 and the Scottish ships and crews were split up among the Commonwealth fleet.[23] Scottish seamen received protection against arbitrary impressment by English men of war, but a fixed quota of conscripts for the Royal Navy was levied from the sea-coastburghs during the second half of the seventeenth century.[24] Royal Navy patrols were now found in Scottish waters even in peacetime.[25] In theSecond (1665–67) andThird Anglo-Dutch Wars (1672–74) between 80 and 120 captains, took Scottish letters of marque and privateers played a major part in the naval conflict.[26] In the 1690s a small fleet of five ships was established by merchants for theDarien Scheme,[27] and a professional navy was established for the protection of commerce in home waters during the Nine Years' War, with three purpose-built warships bought from English shipbuilders in 1696. After theAct of Union in 1707, these vessels were transferred to theRoyal Navy.[28]
Before theWars of the Three Kingdoms in 1644, there was nostanding army in theKingdom of Scotland. In theEarly Middle Ages war in Scotland was characterised by the use of small war-bands of household troops often engaging in raids and low level warfare.[29] By theHigh Middle Ages, thekings of Scotland could command forces of tens of thousands of men for short periods as part of the "common army", mainly of poorly armoured spear and bowmen. After the "Davidian Revolution" of the 12th century, which introduced elements of feudalism to Scotland, these forces were augmented by small numbers of mounted and heavily armoured knights. These armies rarely managed to stand up to the usually larger and more professional armies produced by England, but they were used to good effect byRobert I of Scotland atBattle of Bannockburn in 1314 to secure Scottish independence.[30] After theWars of Scottish Independence, theAuld Alliance between Scotland and France played a large part in the country's military activities, especially during theHundred Years' War. In theLate Middle Ages under theStewart kings forces were further augmented by specialist troops, particularlymen-at-arms andarchers, hired by bonds ofmanrent, similar to Englishindentures of the same period.[31] Scottish warfare in this period was mostly raids and ambushes performed by Scottish nobles and men at arms who would fight on foot during pitched battles or on horse when skirmishing or carrying out raids. Contemporary depictions show nobles and their retinues in fine plate armor that is highly protective and well-suited for foot combat, with many wearing fine great bascinets late into the 15th century, possibly due to the need for extra protection from English bows and bills. They were accompanied by their retinues, usually mounted longbowmen or spearmen who would fight with the same flexibility, also preferring to fight on foot in pitched battle. Archers became much sought after as mercenaries in French armies of the 15th century in order to help counter the English superiority in this arm, becoming a major element of the French royal guards as theGarde Écossaise.[32] Scotland played a major role in the Hundred Years' War, with many Scots present from Bauge all the way to the end of the Loire Valley Campaign and the Battle of Patay "The Scots Men-at-Arms and Life-Guards in France, From Their Formation Until Their Final Dissolution, A.D. MCCCCXVIII-MDCCCXXX (Volume I)".The Stewarts also adopted major innovations in continental warfare, such as longer pikes and the extensive use of artillery. However, in the early 16th century one of the best armed and largest Scottish armies ever assembled still met with defeat at the hands of an English army at theBattle of Flodden in 1513, which saw the destruction of a large number of ordinary troops, a large section of the nobility and the kingJames IV.[33]
In the sixteenth century the crown took an increasing role in the supply of military equipment.[34] The pike began to replace the spear and the Scots began to convert from the bow to gunpowder firearms.[35] The feudal heavy cavalry had begun to disappear from Scottish armies and the Scots fielded relatively large numbers of light horse, often drawn from the borders.[36] James IV brought in experts from France, Germany and the Netherlands and established a gun foundry in 1511.[15] A clan leader likeJohn Grant of Freuchie in 1596 could muster from his kin, friends, and servants 500 men able to fight forKing James and the Sheriff of Moray. Of these 40 hadhabergeons, two handled swords, and helmets, and another 40 were armed "according to the Highland custom" with bows, helmets, swords, andtarges.[37]
In the early seventeenth century relatively large numbers of Scots took service in foreign armies involved in theThirty Years' War.[38] As armed conflict with Charles I in the Bishop's Wars became likely, hundreds of Scots mercenaries returned home from foreign service, including experienced leaders like Alexander and David Leslie and these veterans played an important role in training recruits.[20] These systems would form the basis of the Covenanter armies that intervened in the Civil Wars in England and Ireland.[39] Scottish infantry were generally armed, as was almost universal in Western Europe, with a combination of pike and shot. Scottish armies may also have had individuals with a variety of weapons including bows,Lochaber axes, and halberds.[40] Most cavalry were probably equipped with pistols and swords, although there is some evidence that they included lancers.[41] Royalist armies, like those led byJames Graham, Marquis of Montrose (1643–44) and inGlencairn's rising (1653–54), were mainly composed of conventionally armed infantry with pike and shot.[42] Montrose's forces were short of heavy artillery suitable for siege warfare and had only a small force of cavalry.[43]
At the Restoration the Privy Council established a force of several infantry regiments and a few troops of horse and there were attempts to found a national militia on the English model. The standing army was mainly employed in the suppression of Covenanter rebellions and the guerrilla war undertaken by theCameronians in the East.[44] Pikemen became less important in the late seventeenth century and after the introduction of thesocket bayonet disappeared altogether, while matchlock muskets were replaced by the more reliableflintlock.[44] On the eve of the Glorious Revolution the standing army in Scotland was about 3,000 men in various regiments and another 268 veterans in the major garrison towns.[45] After the Glorious Revolution the Scots were drawn intoKing William II's continental wars, beginning with theNine Years' War in Flanders (1689–97).[46] By the time of theAct of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland had astanding army of seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop ofHorse Guards, besides varying levels of fortress artillery in the garrison castles of Edinburgh,Dumbarton, and Stirling.[47]
Castles arrived in Scotland with the introduction offeudalism in the twelfth century.[48] Initially these were woodenmotte-and-bailey constructions,[49] but many were replaced by stone castles with a high curtain wall.[50] During theWars of Independence,Robert the Bruce pursued a policy of castleslighting.[51] In the late Middle Ages new castles were built, some on a grander scale as "livery and maintenance" castles that could support a large garrison.[50] Gunpowder weaponry led to the use of gun ports, platforms to mount guns and walls adapted to resist bombardment.[52]
Many of the late Medieval castles built in the borders were in the form oftower houses, smallerpele towers or simplerbastle houses.[53] From the fifteenth century there was a phase ofRenaissance palace building, which restructured them as castle-type palaces, beginning atLinlithgow.[54] Elements of Medieval castles, royal palaces and tower houses were used in the construction ofScots baronialestate houses, which were built largely for comfort, but with a castle-like appearance.[55][56] In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the military significance of castles declined,[57][58] but they increasingly became tourist attractions.[59] Elements of the Scots Baronial style would be revived from the late eighteenth century[60] and the trend would be confirmed in popularity by the rebuilding ofBalmoral Castle in the nineteenth century and its adoption as a retreat byQueen Victoria.[61] In the twentieth century there were only isolated examples of new castle-influenced houses.[62][63]
Since the Middle Ages, theScottish Highlands have produced a specific breed of soldier—men characterized by their hardiness and intrepid spirit. They were known for theHighland charge, an aggressive battlefield shock tactic. For centuries, Highlanders were a staple of European armies, serving as highly sought-after recruits across the continent. This military legacy was rooted in the ancient clan system. The social structure of the Highlands mandated military service from all able-bodied males. Even as inter-clan warfare began to decline in the 16th century, the cultural tradition of the "warrior-citizen" remained, providing a steady supply of raw military material. In the 17th century, continental wars drew Highlanders into foreign service, following a path their ancestors had walked for over four hundred years. While they fought in the British Civil Wars and joined the British Army after its 1660 reconstruction, they were not yet a distinct entity; in these early forces, they were not distinguished by their native Highland dress. A turning point came in the early 18th century. Independent companies were raised to police their own neighbors, famously wearing the native plaid and bonnet. In 1739, these companies were consolidated into a single regiment: theBlack Watch. This marked the official birth of the first Highland regiment in the British Army. Throughout the 18th century, various regiments were raised and disbanded, but their impact was permanent. Their reputation as redoubtable soldiers for the British Army was forged on global battlefields —from India, to the American colonies, and through theNapoleonic Wars of 1793-1815. In the 21st century the British Army continues to maintain Highland regiments, preserving their unique music and traditions. However, the demographic has shifted. While the legend was born in the desolate mountains, modern recruits are now primarily drawn from Scotland’s populous urban centers.[64][65][66][67]
After theAct of Union in 1707, the Scottish Army and Navy merged with those of England. The newBritish Army incorporated existing Scottish regiments, such as theScots Guards (Marquis of Argyll's Royal Regiment),The Royal Scots 1st of Foot (Royal Regiment of Foot),King's Own Scottish Borderers 25th of Foot (Leven's Regiment), The26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot (The Earl of Angus's Regiment),Scots Greys (Scots Dragoons) and theRoyal Scots Fusiliers 21st of Foot (Earl of Mar's Regiment of Foot). The three vessels of the small Royal Scottish Navy were transferred to theRoyal Navy (Royal William, a fifth-rate 32-gun frigate, became HMS Edinburgh; Royal Mary, a sixth-rate 24 gun frigate, became HMS Glasgow; Dumbarton Castle, a sixth-rate frigate, became HMS Dumbarton Castle). The new Armed Forces were controlled by theWar Office andAdmiralty from London. From the mid-eighteenth century the British Army began to recruit relatively large numbers of Highlanders. The first official Highland regiment to be raised for the British army was theBlack Watch in 1740, but the growth of Highland regiments was delayed by the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.[68] During this period, Scottish soldiers and sailors were instrumental in supporting the expansion of theBritish Empire and became involved in many international conflicts. These included theWar of the Spanish Succession (1702–13), theQuadruple Alliance (1718–20), theWar of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), theSeven Years' War (1756–63) and theAmerican Wars of Independence (1775–83).[44]
Scots had a notable influence in warfare during this period. Prominent sailors of the era included:
Field Marshal SirDouglas Haig led the British Army on the Western Front from 1915, and oversaw some of the largest and bloodiest episodes of the war. Battles included the Somme(1916) Ypres (1917) Cambrai (1917) Amiens (1918) and Arras (1918) Due to the kilts worn by the Scottish soldiers on the World War I battlefront, their German enemies called them the "ladies from hell".[69] Haig founded the Earl Haig Poppy Fund, for ex-servicemen in the aftermath.
According to the historianT C Smout, "It is still not known how many Scots died in the war. One well-argued estimate put the figure at 110,000, equivalent to about 10 percent of the Scottish male population aged between sixteen and fifty, and probably to about 15 per cent of total British war dead — the sacrifice was higher in proportionate terms than for any other country in the Empire."[70]
Scottish soldiers fought in many battles in World War II, in both the Pacific and European theatres.
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2012) |
In the wake of theJacobite risings, several fortresses were built throughout the Highlands in the 18th century byGeneral Wade in order to pacify the region, includingFort George,Fort Augustus andFort William. TheOrdnance Survey was also commissioned to map the region. Later, due to theirtopography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments, some controversial. During World War II,Allied andBritish Commandos trained atAchnacarry in theHighlands and the island ofGruinard was used for an exercise inbiological warfare. Regular British Army Garrisons currently operational in Scotland are:Fort George near Inverness;Redford Barracks andDreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh; andGlencorse Barracks atPenicuik.
Between 1960 and 1991, theHoly Loch was a base for theUS Navy's fleet ofPolaris-armedGeorge Washington-classballistic missile submarines. Today,HM Naval Base Clyde, 25 miles (40 km) west ofGlasgow, is the base for the fourTrident-armedVanguard-class ballistic missile submarines which are armed with approximately 200 Tridentnuclear warheads.[71] Since the decommissioning offree-falling bombs in 1998, the TridentSLBM system isthe UK's only nuclear deterrent. HMSCaledonia atRosyth inFife is the support base for navy operations in Scotland and also serves as the Naval Regional Office (NRO Scotland andNorthern Ireland). The Royal Navy'sLR5 andSubmarine Rescue Service is based in Renfrew, near Glasgow. The Royal Navy'ssubmarine nuclear reactor development establishment, is at Vulcan NTRE, adjacent toDounreay, which was the site of the UK'sfast breedernuclear reactor programme.RM Condor atArbroath,Angus is home to45 Commando,Royal Marines, part of3 Commando Brigade. Also, theFleet Protection Group Royal Marines is based atHMNB Clyde.
Since 1999, theScottish Government has had devolved responsibility overfisheries protection duties in Scotland'sexclusive economic zone, carried out by theScottish Fisheries Protection Agency, which consists of a fleet of fouroffshore patrol vessels and twoCessna 406 maritime patrol aircraft.[72]
A single front-lineRoyal Air Force station is in Scotland.RAF Lossiemouth, inMoray, is theRAF's northern QRA(I) base, supported by four squadrons ofTyphoons.
The only open air livedepleted uranium weapons test range in the British Isles is nearDundrennan.[73] As a result, over 7000 weakly radioactive munitions lie on the seabed of theSolway Firth.[74] In 2007, theMoD land holdings in Scotland (owned, leased or with legal rights) was 1,153 km2 representing 31.5% of the MoD's British estate.[75] Prominent Training Areas includeGarelochhead,Cape Wrath,Barry Buddon, The Army Selection and Development Center in Penicuik, and Castlelaw in thePentland Hills.
Defence contractors and related companies employ around 30,000 people in Scotland and form an important part of theeconomy. The principal companies operating in the country include:BAE Systems,Rolls-Royce,Raytheon,Thales andBabcock.
Previously within theBritish Army, theScottish Infantry comprised a number of'county regiments', each recruiting from a local area. In 2006, the remaining regiments, known collectively as theScottish Division, were amalgamated to form theRoyal Regiment of Scotland. The amalgamation was vigorously opposed byveterans and supporters of the old regiments. Scottish soldiers serve nationally alongside soldiers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in allCombat Support Arms and Services (RA,RE,Signals,Intelligence,AAC,RLC,AGC,REME andAMS),Special Forces, theHousehold Cavalry and theParachute Regiment of theBritish Army, with the following current Formations and Units having specific Scottish connections:
List of active regiments in theAustralian Army:
List of former Scottish regiments in Australia:
List of former Scottish regiments in theAustralian colonial forces:
List of active regiments in theCanadian Forces:
Defunct Scottish regiments, many merged to former larger regiments:
Inactive regiments of theFrench Army:
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2020) |
There are three regiments in theSouth African Defence Force with Scottish roots:
