Hastings is possible one of the most important battle in English history and as a result has generated much discussion as to why William was able to win. The answer is not simple as not all the facts were true but also because you must take on a whole different range of factors to find out just why and how William won the battle. There are many reasons for William’s victory but major reasons were William’s skill as a military leader and his ability to be well prepared for the battle. William persuaded many powerful French nobles to join him by promising them land in England, this helped by letting William gain men for his army and the nobles would give him good financial aid.
When William landed …show more content…
This gave him time to prepare for the battle. Along with William being able to prepare more, it caught Harold unaware and unprepared. Harold was unlucky because he had to fight Harold Hardrada and then try and defeat William of Normandy. William was again very lucky because unprepared this caught Harold at a disadvantage, because after fighting in the battle of Stamford Bridge he is unable to rest and gain energy.
It made Harold leave part of his army in the north, therefore making his army smaller. Harold also had to force march his army down which made them weary; he then refused to rest at London and instead carried on down to Hastings to again fight. Harold’s army would be exhausted after marching and fighting and being an untrained army would put them at such an extreme disadvantage that they had already practically lost the battle.
The reasons for Norman victory were many and varied; however many elements were that William’s skill and training as a leader made him deadly and the precision of his battle plans made him an excellent commander. Luck also made it possible for William’s victory and the fact that Harold’s mistakes were forced on him by luck made it possible. Although Harold was a talented opponent, luck was not on Harold’s side therefore making it unlikely he would