After the death of the king of Scotland, Robert Bruce, in 1329, the heir to the throne was David II, who was still just a child. Edward Balliol used this to his advantage – he attacked Scotland and won the Battle of Dupplin Moor, fighting with the royal army. After this battle, many nobles and barons of Scotland have joined his side and he became the king in 1332. However, his time of ruling could not be called peaceful. Archibald Douglas, regent of Scotland with little David II, was victorious over Balliol in the Battle of Annan on 17 December 1332 and has then ousted him from Scotland. After losing his army and wealth, Edward Balliol asked for help from king of England Edward III.
Edward III has not lost any time to regain Scotland back for the English Crown, and in the Spring of 1333, English army, commanded by King Edward III himself, invaded Scotland and besieged Berwick Upon Tweed – the most important Scottish border citadel and the largest sea port of the country.
Archibald Douglas was forced to free Berwick and on 19 July 1333 Scottish troops met with English army. Scottish army had a significant advantage in the amount of troops present – 14 thousand warriors versus 9 thousand from the English side, but that did not help the course of battle. Scottish warriors had to march uphill, after passing swamp-like terrain, which Edward III immediately used to his advantage, strategically positioning his archers. The outcome of this battle was catastrophic for the Scottish – they have lost more than 4500 men, together with Archibald Douglas, while the English lost only 14 men.
Edward Balliol once again became the king of Scotland, while the southern part of the country became occupied by English troops. An important outcome of this campaign was that the English seized control over Berwick and kept it for over 100 years, which became a base for English army and navy, in turn allowing them to control the southern regions of Scotland. The control over Berwick became a symbol of a struggle for English to rule Scotland.
