The Highland charge is a feature of early modern warfare in Scotland and ireland. Often it is viewed through the lens of courage of the men involvd, but the historian David Stevesen argues that it is much more sophisticated. That one of Scotland’s most famous warriors, Alisdaie MacColla, developed a specific tactic, designed with the conditions and weapons available at the time in mind. And that is why it was so successful – and why, as weapons improved, the tactic failed at Culloden in 1745.
You can read Stevensens here in History Today below
