The Battle of Hastings

 

We all know the story of William The Conqueror. Invaded England, defeated Harold II and became king. But his path to glory was slightly more complex than that. Not without military genius, William also had to rely on no little luck. This is a brief look at the Battle of Hastings. When Edward The Confessor died in early 1066, Harold II nipped in and took the throne. As i've mentioned in previous works, i believe Edward's preferred choice to succeed him would have been Harold. Harold's family had given Edward no little trouble but Harold himself was unquestionably made of the stuff required to be king. On more than one occasion, he had snuffed out trouble for the old king. It's hard to see any logical reason why Edward would have made William Duke of Normandy his heir apparent.

And even if what William said was true, that he had been declared heir in the mid 1050s, then it would be perfectly understandable for Edward to change his mind. He would have known very little about the Norman Duke despite having known William when he was a young boy in the early 1030s when Edward was exiled in Normandy; a lot of water had passed under the bridge since then. Perhaps he had been charmed on a visit by William to his kingdom but Edward would have had genuine first hand experience of seeing Harold in action. Harold was also English which was distinctly preferable to the nobility. Harold therefore taking the throne would have been natural and William's invasion is really an act of opportunism and would have dire consequences. Harold II didn't just have to worry about William though. Harald III of Norway also had his eyes set on the throne. He claimed the English throne on the somewhat shaky ground of an agreement that had been made by Danish king of England Harthacnut. He was the first to invade, aided by Harold II's horrible brother Tostig, defeating one English army before succumbing at Stamford Bridge to Harold's men.

Although Stamford Bridge was three weeks before Hastings, it certainly aided William's eventual successful conquest. Harold lost around 5,000 men, a significant number. But when news arrived of William's landing at Pevensay, Harold marched to meet him. The English king would have been much better served biding his time. With his forces physically and mentally drained, his numbers depleted and with William needing a quick battle, as he only had finite men and resources too and , unlike Harold, was in a foreign land. Too much pillaging and plundering could have been disastrous for William's expedition as it would have alienated the people he hoped to rule over. But Harold didn't follow this logic and the two armies met at Hastings on 14th October 1066. Before the battle commenced, William gave his men a rousing speech. So effective was his rhetoric, that the Normans were said to be "boiling with rage". As pent up they might be, the English held the higher ground and were formidably set up defensively to repel wave after wave of Norman attacks. After so many failed assaults, William and his commanders may have been getting disheartened and not a little desperate.

Were the Normans desperate enough to retreat? As they withdrew, some of William's knights and their horses came crashing down into a ditch that had been dug as a trap. Men and horses were trampled alike. This encouraged a number of the English soldiers to follow in order to wreak further havoc on the Normans. This doesn't necessarily mean the retreat wasn't planned however and i think it's more likely that it was in fact William having one roll of the dice to win the day. What provides stronger evidence for William planning a feigned withdrawal is the fact that the bulk of his army was finally making inroads in the English defensive line. The Englishmen that had followed the withdrawal now doubled back to help their ailing comrades. They too came unstuck at the well hidden ditch and the tide of Hastings was now turning in William's favour. Sensing his advantage, William now used his archers to further hinder the English. He ordered them to change the direction of their aim. Rather than firing straight at Harold's forces, but instead  rain the arrows down from a great height. Tremendous damage was caused by this particular tactic and it's possible that Harold himself was one of the many victims of William's change of strategy. The story goes he was struck in the eye. If that were true, then what i've described here is how it would have happened. And so Harold fell. His army was in disarray. Some of his men had broken away from the main line, only to double back and be killed. That undoubtedly is one of the main contributing factors to William's success as it allowed the main part of the Norman army to penetrate the English defensive line that for so long it had failed to do so. William now held the battlefield.