Chapter 454: Scotland

Fred in the trench was idly looking through a telescope at the British army digging trenches in the distance.

The British army, which had been unable to capture the enemy for a long time, seemed to have come up with the idea of ​​"We can't get in, and you can't get out either", and dug trenches outside Bumare, trying to trap them to death here.

However, it is impossible to trap them to death. The food supplies transported in these days are enough for their paratrooper division to consume until the end of next spring. And unless the British regain air superiority, it is impossible to carry out large-scale bombing or artillery bombardment on Bumare.

And when their tanks arrive, they can rush out and kill them without leaving a single piece of armor.

Of course, Germany does not have large aircraft that can carry jackal tanks, so they can only dismantle the tanks into parts and transport them in batches. For this reason, they are building a tank repair shop in the town of Mabre, and all the equipment is also transported by air.

Fred couldn't help but mutter that if they stayed here for a year or two, could they build this place into a German city.

Just as he was full of wild thoughts, footsteps came from the side. "Hey, Fred."

Fred turned his head and saw that it was Balk. "Hey, Balk." Balk was also one of the "rebels" in the Mabrey training camp. They had been getting along well these days and had become friends. However, every time Fred saw these big and strong men wearing skirts, he couldn't help laughing.

The most eye-catching custom in Scotland should be that men wear skirts, and they don't wear underwear.

To be precise, this is not a skirt. In English, the Scottish skirt is called "kilt", which comes from the Old Norse language and means clothes that are folded and wrapped around the body.

It is said that the origin of the Scottish skirt can be traced back to the 16th century. At first, it was the clothing of the Scottish Highlanders. Its original form was a piece of uncut cloth more than 5 meters wide and 6 meters long, folded and wrapped around the body, and fixed with a belt at the waist. In order to deal with the rainy and cold climate, there is also a practice of soaking the cloth in goose oil to achieve a waterproof effect. This outfit is very suitable for the climate and terrain of the Highlands. The lower body looks similar to the current Scottish kilt, which is more comfortable than pants and allows for free movement; the upper body can be used as a cloak to keep warm, and the belt can be opened to become a blanket.

The Scottish Highlands and the English Plains have been in constant conflict throughout history. In fact, they are not only at loggerheads in military affairs, but also have many cultural conflicts.

The most typical Scottish kilt is naturally the first to be affected.

In 1707, Scotland and England merged into Great Britain, but the two sides still disliked each other. British rulers tried to prevent the wearing of Scottish kilts during Scottish celebrations, but the proud Highlanders defended their right to wear skirts to the death, and many people paid the price of blood for it.

In 1746, King George II of England issued a ban on skirts in order to suppress Highland culture, but it was ineffective.

In 1764, after suppressing the Jacobite uprising that wanted to return to the Stuart dynasty, the King of England issued the most severe skirt ban in history: "The punishment for the Scots who participated in the riot was that they were not allowed to wear kilts for 36 years, and they were not allowed to wear clothes with Scottish patterns. Those who disobeyed would be exiled overseas for 7 years." The Scots were not intimidated. In addition to defending the traditions and dignity of the nation with their lives, some rebellious Scots also wrapped blue, red and green strips of cloth around their waists (the colors of traditional Scottish skirts) during the skirt ban, or sewed the middle of the skirt to make it into pants and continued to wear it.

For a skirt, Scotland and England fought for 30 years. In 1782, the English royal family broke their promise and announced the abolition of the "skirt ban". In this way, the right of Scottish men to wear short skirts was re-established, and they have been wearing them for more than 200 years.

There is also an allusion to the fact that short skirts are not covered with underwear. It is said that 300 years ago, during the defense of the Scottish Highlands, an officer suddenly ordered the soldiers to take off their kilts and underwear and attack the other side wearing only shirts. This crazy move frightened the enemy. They had never seen such a scene before, so they turned around and fled.

However, Fred did not laugh. First, he respected their national customs. Second, these Scottish people were also a brave and warlike nation, and warriors should not be laughed at.

How brave the Scottish people are can be seen from the history of Scotland.

In the past, a group of Celts came to the north of the British Isles. They were good at fighting and named their territory Scotland after their tribe.

Around the 5th century AD, the Anglo-Saxons, the ancestors of the English, also migrated from the European continent and drove the Celts to the remote mountainous areas of the British Isles. This group of newcomers called their territory England.

In 843, the Kingdom of Scotland completed its unification and formed an independent country. Its territory included the northern part of the British Isles and several surrounding islands, which is the scope of the Scottish region of the United Kingdom today. In 1272, Edward I, nicknamed "Scottish Hammer" or "Edward the Cruel", inherited the throne of England. Compared with previous English kings, Edward I had stronger ambitions and desires for Scotland.

In 1296, Edward I finally began to invade Scotland, which he had long coveted, and a large-scale brutal war broke out between England and Scotland. In this war, a national hero emerged in Scotland, and he was William Wallace. The reason why Wallace's story is widely known today is largely due to the Hollywood blockbuster "Brave Heart" produced in 1995.

In 1298, King Edward I of England led his army to fight in person, and he went on expeditions to Scotland several times in 1300, 1301, 1303, and 1305.

In 1305, Wallace was arrested for being betrayed by his subordinates and executed for treason.

In 1307, Edward I went on his last expedition to Scotland while ill. Unfortunately, he passed away when he could see Scotland, and left his last wish: the English army would carry his ashes to fight Scotland until the last Scotsman surrendered.

In 1314, the Scottish and English armies fought a decisive battle at Bannockburn. This battle became a major turning point in the Scottish independence movement. Although the two sides still fought each other, Scotland had already gained de facto independence.

In 1328, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland signed the "Edinburgh-Northampton Agreement".

The treaty ended the state of war between the two countries since England invaded Scotland in 1296 (the First War of Independence), and England recognized Scotland's status as an independent country.

In 1603, the famous Queen Elizabeth I of England passed away, and her nephew, King James VI of Scotland, succeeded to become King James I of England. The two countries of England and Scotland share the same monarch, but their governments operate independently. The long-time hostile countries of England and Scotland suddenly became a common federation.

In 1707, Scotland and England jointly signed and passed the "Act of Union", and the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament merged into the Parliament of Great Britain, renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Scotland, which had existed for more than 800 years, disappeared from then on. But the voice of Scotland's independence has never stopped.

The British, who once conquered a quarter of the planet, failed to conquer Scotland, which lived on the same island as them, was far more backward and poor than them, and had a population of less than one-tenth of theirs, for seven centuries. Even after entering the epoch-making Industrial Revolution, the British eventually had to call the Scots in as allies in a gentle and cooperative way, and respect their independence and freedom. If the Scottish population was not so pitifully small, I'm afraid that Scottish Gaelic would be popular in the world today instead of English.