Why did William win at the Battle of Hastings?

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Why did William win at the Battle of Hastings?

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 saw Harold the king of England defeated by William, Duke of Normandy. It was a great victory for William, he became King of England and was called ‘William the Conqueror.’ There were many reasons for William’s victory such as religious support, a well-prepared army, weather, more effective weapons and most importantly superior tactics. Another important factor, which occurs in most battles in history, is that of luck. Throughout the battle it seemed that William was more fortunate than Harold. As much as William earned victory, Harold made some bad judgments and serious tactical mistakes.

Good preparation is the foundation for battle victories and in 1066 it was William who was better prepared. He had spent months getting ready for invasion in the safety and shelter of Normandy. Harold was not so well prepared as he was busy sorting out his claim of kingship. Even though he was king he had to convince people that he was the true and lawful successor to Edward. He also had his armies already fighting at Stamford Bridge. William built up his army and support using a feudal system. This meant he offered land in England to Norman warriors who joined his army to fight. He also obtained permission from the Pope, which was a great blessing to have. It showed god was on his side and this helped to motivate his troops. To make things worse for Harold he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

“Pope Alexander II was a pupil of Lanfranc who was now a trusted adviser to William. It was this fact that his blessing was eventually given. William now had the papal banner on his side. This made it much easier to rally his men to arms. “    (1066.com)

Many of the knights William recruited had their own horses, men and equipment and were trained for months leading up to battle. This meant they were organized and knew what to do when the time came to set sail for England. Everything was perfect for William except for the strong winds from the north meant it was not possible for his fleet to cross the Channel. He and his men were so desperate that they even prayed for a south wind. God or luck was on their side as after a thunderstorm the winds changed to a more favourable southerly direction and they seized the opportunity and set sail. Whilst sailing to England William’s fleet got caught in a storm and they had to stop at the Somme estuary. This should have a disaster for William but luck was on his side, as this way the crossing to England was shorter and when he was finally able to cross, Harold was in the north of England.

William’s landing was well planned and helped by intelligence gathered in the previous months by Normans living in England. He had studied Caesar’s invasion in 55 BC and was not going to make the same mistakes that he did. For example Caesar did not take the weather over the Channel into consideration and beached his boats in the wrong place, getting them damaged. Williams’s decision to land at Pevensey, a lagoon west of Hastings with very few people there, was important. The lagoon provided shelter from the weather and when the tide was high the Norman boats could get close to land. William’s fleet was in a good position because it had a lagoon on one side and a river on the other, which gave it protection. There was no resistance from anyone to stop William coming ashore so he was able to bring 2500 horses and ready-made forts without any problem. For a military plan to work William needed a strong headquarters from where he could make his plans. Earlier invasions by the Romans had left a fort at Pevensey that was in a good position but was crumbling with old age. William had his men rebuild this old fort and this acted as the Normans base.

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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 ...

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