The ‘Auld Alliance’ treaty was signed between John Balliol, King of Scots, and Philippe IV of France. It provided for mutual military help against the English and was renewed by Robert The Bruce in 1326.  It was a military and diplomatic alliance but for most it brought benefits such as pay as mercenaries in France’s forces and trade which brought French wine to Scotland.  Scots served with the French Army up to and after the Union of Parliaments in 1707.  Scots soldiers served with Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) and her banner was given to her by a Scots merchant.  They constituted part of the King’s bodyguard, as the “Compagnie écossaise de la Garde du Corps du Roi”.   The tragedy of Flodden was as a result of the Alliance, requiring Scotland to make a token invasion of England in response to Henry VIII’s invasion of France. France supported the Jacobite risings  from 1689 to 1746 as a strategic extension of the Auld Alliance, and ironically at Culloden in 1746 The Royal Scots (then St Clair’s Regiment) were opposed by their regular French Army counterpart, the Royal Écossais (Royal Scots).  When the Scots Regiments were required to take up arms against the French in the continental wars of the 18th and 19th Centuries, there was a degree of reluctance to take up arms with the old enemy against the old ally.
In 1940 Scots found themselves fighting once more alongside their Auld Allies.  The 51st Division were under French Command as Saar Force in the French IX Corps.  The unexpected German drive through the Ardennes drove a wedge between the French Army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the 51st fought on with the French Army for just over a week after the Dunkirk Operation ended.  General Charles de Gaulle said in a speech in Edinburgh on 23rd June 1942 “For my part, I can say that the comradeship of arms, sealed on the battlefield of Abbeville… between the French armoured division, which I had the honour to command, and the gallant 51st Scottish Division under General Fortune, played its part in the decision which I made to continue the fight”.    

Auld Alliance Le Lien Franco-Ecossais Association Loi 1901 

Institut Francais Ecosse: “The Aftermath of the Auld Alliance: Franco-Scottish attitudes from the Union of the Crowns to the age of romanticism.” on the 730th Anniversary of the Auld Alliance

The Auld Alliance Cup

The Auld Alliance Pub, Paris