Edward II of England had kept up the wars against the Bruce and his followers. He was growing more and more angry with each victory of Robert the Bruce and his followers. Determined to put an end to Bruce once and for all he assembled a very large army. It consisted of mounted knights, archers, crossbow-men, and foot soldiers led by Edward himself. the exact size of his army is unknown, but it was several times larger than that of Robert the Bruce. King Robert chose the place for the upcoming battle at Bannockburn very carefully He chose a position with several natural defenses many of which prevented heavy cavalry or large mass formations to operate. He formed his army into four 'battles' or Battalions, three of which consisted of 'hedgehog' or schiltrons Just before the battle began king Robert knighted Sir James Douglas, his cousin Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and many others. James and Walter were joint leaders of the left battalion.