History Shorts: The Battle of Stirling (1297)

William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeated a large English force at Stirling Bridge on September 11, 1297. The English outnumbered the Scots at least 4-to-1. However, Wallace managed to funnel the English soldiers onto a bridge and cut them to pieces. The victory led to Wallace's punitive expeditions into England itself. Wallace would eventually be captured and executed by the English. Robert Bruce led the Scots to independence in 1314. The battle was immortalized in Mel Gibson's Braveheart. However, his version did not come close to accuracy as the film's budget limited his ability to convey the battle.

Braveheart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2XXXIf97sg



However, it did include one of film's greatest speeches:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEOOZDbMrgE

Greatest Movie Battles

Now for something different...here are my top 10 movie battles...

1. Omaha Beach (Saving Private Ryan): Actual Omaha Beach Vets claimed it was too real.

2. Battle of Stirling (Braveheart): Completely inaccurate; but Mel gives a great speech.

3. Pearl Harbor (Tora Tora Tora): The defining moment in perhaps the defining World War II film.

4. Little Round Top (Gettysburg): Out of Ammo? Affix bayonets and charge! The Rebs won't know what hit them!

5. The Death Star (Star Wars): No one had ever seen anything like this before. Now, the ending might be considered cliche.

6. Germania (Gladiator): Does a great job showing the Roman Tortoise and Roman Discipline; Shows how they could conquer.

7. Ft. Wagner (Glory): As the dead are buried, they are all shoeless...symbolic of the whole film.

8. Helicopter Raid (Apocalypse Now): Flight of the Valkyries, Robert Duval, Napalm, Surfing; an allegory for the entire Vietnam War.

9. Helms Deep (LOR: The Two Towers): The greatest land battle in fantasy/sci fi movie history

10. Battle of the News Crews (Ron Burgundy): Brick killed a man with a trident!