A schiltron is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx. The term is most often associated with Scottish pike formations during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The rectilinear formation was the most commonly employed formation, and was capable of both defensive and offensive action. The offensive use of the schiltron is a tactical development credited to Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn. He had drilled his troops in the offensive use of the pike and he was able to fight the English forces on flat, firm ground suitable for their large force of cavalry. Bruce's new tactic was a response to a crushing defeat for the Scots at Falkirk when the first recorded use of the schiltron by a Scottish army failed in the face of a combination of conscripted Welsh longbowmen, English archers and English cavalry.