Bruce totally out maneuvered, out thought and out fought his opponent. When you look at the difference is military strength between the two sides he had to. The Scottish army was made up of no more than six thousand men. They were mostly lightly armed and could call on only 500 light horse and a small company of Ettrick archers for support. By comparison Bruce's adversary, Edward II, had amassed the largest army that any English monarch had ever commanded.
Some reports claim that it was made up of almost twenty four thousand men.
It comprised of 2500 heavy cavalry. Each rider was clad in chain mail and was armed with battle axes and swords. Each of them also carried a 12-foot long lance. Also on the English side of the battlefield were 3000 Welsh archers. This much-feared group of men were experts in the use of the longbow and could fire their arrows with such speed that each archer could have as many as five arrows in the air at the one time.