A crestfallen nobleman bearing a blood-soaked flag delivers news of the Scottish defeat at Flodden to a group of elders. The English victory eliminated Scotland as a military threat for years afterward, and solidified Henry VIII’s hold on England.

War of the League of Cambrai

Turning the Flank at Flodden

By Robert Swain

Flanking movements were long known to English military commanders, but traditionally they were limited to maneuvers by one wing around an enemy’s line—not by the entire army itself, which would have been considered highly unorthodox and far too risky. Read more