William had been in Hastings for two weeks and his food supplies were running short so he had to act quickly. He could either wait for Harold to come to him or he could go out and attack. He chose to attack so he had surprise on his side. Some Historians claim that William may have had his ships burned to stop his soldiers from deserting. Throughout the preparation for battle, William made it known to his men that this battle was going to be do or die. This way his army was motivated to do well or else they would be killed.
Harold had problems with his fleet. A few weeks before the invasion he had sent his ships to block William but they failed and became demoralised. Many of the men wanted to go back home and gather in the harvest. Harold also lost many ships in the same storm that William would have been stuck in if he had not gone into the Somme estuary.
Harold’s biggest problem was the condition of his army. They were exhausted from travelling north to fight at Stamford Bridge, a battle in which a number of the army had been killed so reducing its size. It was straight after the Battle of Stamford bridge that Harold’s army had to quickly march all the way back south without even getting a chance to rest. Harold did not get the help he needed when going into battle with William’s army. He had asked the Earl of Mercia and the Earl of Northumberland but even though they began riding south to support him, they changed their minds halfway and returned back.
William’s tactics and strategy were partly based on the types of weapons he had and the methods of fighting his men knew. Of all Harold’s men only the housecarls and the thegns were actually trained soldiers and had their own armour. The others, the fyrdmen, were unskilled, poorly armed and inexperienced. William’s troops had a major advantage over Harolds in that they were supported by the cover of archers. Archers were very important in this battle because they could attack from quite a distance away. They could injure and kill parts of Harold’s army and were far away enough to not suffer themselves. The cavalry of both sides played a part in winning and losing the battle. Harold’s army fought in the traditional English way. That is they rode on horseback to the location of the battle and then got off and fought on foot. William’s men did the complete opposite; they walked to the location of battle and then mounted their horses for battle. The Norman’s idea was much more effective as their soldiers could move quickly on the battlefield whilst on horseback and save their energy as the horse did all the running. It is also easier to fight on horseback, as your opponent is lower than you and therefore much easier to strike.
A big difference between the two opposing armies was mobility. Harold’s men were closely packed together and so had little room to move. This meant they were crowded in one spot and were easy to attack, especially with arrows. Another disadvantage with being in one large group was they had difficulty moving through the narrow battlefield. William’s army however were the complete opposite. They were made up of three main armies, one commanded by himself, the Bretons and the Flemish army. William chose to strike early and caught Harold by surprise. His army was quickly organised and headed straight for Harold’s stronghold on Caldbec Hill. A major tactical advantage was Williams’s decision to attack from three different sides. He ordered the Bretons to attack from the left, the Flemish form the right and his Norman army attacked through the centre. Each of these armies was divided into three rows - the archers, the infantry and the cavalry. William's plan was to use the archers first to send their arrows into the English ranks, followed by the infantry in hand-to-hand combat and to finally attack with the cavalry who had the height and power of being on horseback. The effect on the English would be a strong attack from three different directions over a short period of time. This would wipe out large parts of the English army and leave those who were left totally demoralised.
“The vigorous courage of a few men armed in a just cause and specially protected from Heaven must prevail against a host of men unskilled in combat. Only be bold so that nothing shall make you yield, and victory will gladden your hearts”
(A report of William’s words found in English Historical Documents)
William always seemed to be luckier than Harold in that events and conditions seemed to favour him. The weather affected the battle and it was Harold who was most disadvantaged by it. On the day of battle there was a light drizzle of rain but had it been heavier the outcome of the battle would have been different. Heavy rain would have made the ground slippery and William’s cavalry would never have been able to get anywhere near to Harold’s army at the top of the steep hill. The archers who proved to be very important could not have shot their arrows straight in the rain. Scientists have studied weather patterns for the time of the battle and have discovered that the weather was much milder around 1066 compared with the years before and after.
“Weather emphasizes an important fundamental in military history. This is that the timing, course and outcome of many a battle have been dictated by it.”
(The Enigma of Hastings- Edwin Tetlow)
Harold chose to have the battle on Caldbec Hill for a number of reasons: the area was well known, it had good all round visibility as it was high and it was easy to reach. By nightfall 7500 of his men should have arrived ready to fight, but they did not and Harold did not have as many as he had hoped. Then he made a huge mistake. Instead of waiting a day or two more, by which time his full force would have arrived, he chose to attack William early. This is typical of Harold as a person, acting too quickly without thinking and being quite impatient. By attacking early his army was not at it’s strongest. It could be that he acted quickly because he had heard about the Normans robbing and terrorising parts of Sussex. People knew of William’s reputation as a “bastard” for a couple of reasons. Not only did he destroy and burn down the cities he attacked, but he also punished people who didn’t obey or respect him. It appeared that William was always one step ahead of Harold, always changing situations to his advantage. Harold by contrast seemed too impulsive and never really thought through his tactics or moves on the battlefield. William seemed to control things that were happening, whereas Harold just let things happen.
“William sent out raiding parties to terrorize the countryside. His main purpose for doing this was to entice Harold into battle while his army was still in a weakened condition from the recent battle at Stamford Bridge, and further to entice Harold to fight on a battleground of William's choosing.” (About.com- Battle of Hastings)
William was a great leader of his men and this is best seen when a rumour spread about his death in battle. To prove he was alive he removed his helmet so that his men could see his face.
“Waving his sword, he shouted: “I am still living and, by Gods help, shall yet have victory!” He probably also reminded them there was no where to run to; only the sea lay behind them.” (William the Conqueror- Philip Ardagh)
Harold lacked the leadership qualities of William and it is puzzling to many historians why he never retreated during parts of the battle when he was not doing well.
“One suggestion is that Harold felt doomed from the start and wanted to make this a final stand for himself and the proud families of England. Another is that there were simply too many soldiers to receive his orders.” (William the Conqueror- Philip Ardagh)
The knowledge William gained from Harold’s battle with Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge proved to be very valuable as he figured out what Harold’s moves would be. Harald Hardrada was caught by Harold’s surprise attack and William made sure the same thing would not happen to him. Luck again played an important part at the beginning of the battle. The Bretons on the left side of William’s army advanced faster than the other two sides and when they realised they were alone, they panicked and began to retreat. This made part of Harold’s army separate from the main body of soldiers and chase after them. It showed how inexperienced they were as they became trapped by William’s central section and were slaughtered. Throughout the battle the Norman army seemed much more disciplined than the English and knew how to follow orders. So the Bretons mistake actually turned out to William’s advantage. William being a clever leader realised that he could fake this situation again and told his knights to pretend to retreat once more. When they did this some of Harold’s army chased after them, as the others had done before, and like those others were trapped and killed.
After each stage of battle William would always retreat and regroup. This allowed him to assess the situation and his army to have a short rest. The English were partly successful in stopping the arrows from the Norman archers by standing behind a wall of shields. However, William thought of a brilliant strategy that involved firing the arrows high into the air so they passed over the shields and knocked out many of the rear ranks of the English army. This lead to huge casualties and the eventual fall of the shield wall. During the final stage of the battle tiredness also led to the English shield-wall losing it’s solid shape. The Normans would attack using different sets of infantrymen and mounted knights so one group could rest while another attacked. The English were not so lucky as they had to stand close, next to each other or the wall would not be effective. They would tire standing in one spot trying to hold the Normans back but the Normans would have fresh men ready to attack.
As the battle went on William realised that time was running out for his side and that Harold would have reinforcements the next day. He then made the vital decision that would lead to a Norman victory. Instead of attacking using three different stages: archers, infantry and cavalry he ordered that everyone attack at the same time.
“William now used all three arms simultaneously, whereas in the morning they had been used successively.” (1066 Year of Destiny- Terence Wise)
The Normans finally got to the top of the hill and could now fight the English on flat ground. It was not long before the cavalry broke the wall into smaller sections. They dealt with these sections one by one until the battle was over. William’s infantry and cavalry then got through and killed Harold. His army was so shattered by the death of their leader that their morale went down and they could no longer fight. The fact that the entire battle only took ten hours showed the ruthlessness of the Normans and made any Saxon retaliation impossible.
Books/Websites
1066 Year of Destiny- Terence Wise
William the Conqueror- Philip Ardagh
The Enigma of Hastings- Edwin Tetlow (English Historical Documents)
About.com- Battle of Hastings
1066.com
Britannica 2001 CD ROM