Reasons Behind William's Victory In The Battle Of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings made a major difference in England’s history and took place in 1066. It all started in January, when Edward the Confessor died and had no sons to become heir therefore, there was no one to become King. Soon after his death, Harold Godwinson was crowned King, as he was Earl of Wessex. This resulted in a battle for the throne between three men: Harold Godwinson (the King at the time), Harald Hardraada (King of Norway) and William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy). In the following piece of writing, I will explain why William Duke of Normandy won the Battle of Hastings and how he managed to become King of England. One of the first major reasons behind William’s victory in the Battle of Hastings was because he was much better
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prepared. William and his Norman army had plenty of time to train and plan their game ahead. In addition, while Harold Godwinson was fighting Harald Hardraada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, William had enough time to spare to feed his army well and to prepare them to withstand any foreseen problems. Due to being well fed, they had enough energy to last for hours of battle and to fight and defend with focus and sincere dedication. However, the Anglo-Saxon army were extremely tired and unprepared. Another weak point for Harold’s army was that they had lost some of their best men at battle against Harald Hardraada as well as some of their well-structured weapons and defence shields. The second point that I would like to expand on is regarding the Norman and Anglo-Saxon armies at the time of the battle. William’s army had many good qualities that Harold’s army either did not have at all or did not reach the same standard. The Norman army’s weapons were a lot stronger than the Anglo-Saxons’ and they also had many more. Another good addition that William’s army had was well-trained cavalry and horses that were under control at all times. This really helped as, generally, horses travel a lot quicker than people and they were quite a lot higher up, meaning they were harder to attack. On the other hand, most of Harold’s men were not trained at all, giving the fact that some of them were just ordinary farmers. A further bad argument for Harold is that he’s army didn’t have any weapons and shields at all, even the very few that they had were not durable. Which, as a result, didn’t last long in battle. The next justification that I would like to explain about is William the Conqueror’s well-revised tactics. As previously stated, William had a lot of time spare prior to the Battle of Hastings; therefore, he had plenty of time to organise his army and to think about a path to victory. William had an extremely good control and discipline on his army meaning that it was easier for him to teach them how to do things. An example of one of their thorough tactics was to retreat so that the Saxons could break their own defensive shield. This made it a lot easier for the Normans to attack, remaining in their positions at all times. Another strategy that they used was for the archers to aim high, this resulted in the arrows hitting the unarmed fyrd-men and one arrow hit Harold Godwineson in the eye, which was the Norman’s winning streak. The Normans had decided to start scaring Harold before the battle, so William and his army vandalised and terrorised the local areas and villages. This forced Harold’s army to leave their safe spot, on top of Senlac Hill, and defend their citizens. However, them retreating worked out better for the Normans than it did for themselves. William was also much luckier than Harold Godwineson, and his luckiness played a major part in William Duke of Normandy’s victory in becoming King of England.
Before the Battle of Hastings took place, Harold faced many fateful events. One example of such an event is when the Anglo-Saxon army had to march up north to fight Harald Hardraada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, after waiting for William on the south coast all summer. William and the Norman army were extremely fortunate as the winds at the channel changed at the right time for their ship sails. Therefore, by the time they reached the south coast of England, Harold was still at the Battle of Stamford Bridge; this meant that they had plenty of time to get prepared for battle. On the contrary, Harold’s bad luck meant that Harald Hardraada had come prepared for the battle, this resulted in the Norwegian army managing to kill some of the Saxon army’s best men. Moreover, it was William’s pure luck that his army managed to gain such well-trained and professional archers. Also on of their shots, coincidentally, hit Harold Godwineson in the eye, gaining victory. To conclude, William Duke of Normandy was extremely lucky to have won the Battle of Hastings however, as historians have proven, there are also a few reasons behind his victory. The main ones being the topics covered above: being better prepared; having a stronger army; using well-revised tactics and most importantly, Harold’s exceptional bad
luck.
prepared. William and his Norman army had plenty of time to train and plan their game ahead. In addition, while Harold Godwinson was fighting Harald Hardraada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, William had enough time to spare to feed his army well and to prepare them to withstand any foreseen problems. Due to being well fed, they had enough energy to last for hours of battle and to fight and defend with focus and sincere dedication. However, the Anglo-Saxon army were extremely tired and unprepared. Another weak point for Harold’s army was that they had lost some of their best men at battle against Harald Hardraada as well as some of their well-structured weapons and defence shields. The second point that I would like to expand on is regarding the Norman and Anglo-Saxon armies at the time of the battle. William’s army had many good qualities that Harold’s army either did not have at all or did not reach the same standard. The Norman army’s weapons were a lot stronger than the Anglo-Saxons’ and they also had many more. Another good addition that William’s army had was well-trained cavalry and horses that were under control at all times. This really helped as, generally, horses travel a lot quicker than people and they were quite a lot higher up, meaning they were harder to attack. On the other hand, most of Harold’s men were not trained at all, giving the fact that some of them were just ordinary farmers. A further bad argument for Harold is that he’s army didn’t have any weapons and shields at all, even the very few that they had were not durable. Which, as a result, didn’t last long in battle. The next justification that I would like to explain about is William the Conqueror’s well-revised tactics. As previously stated, William had a lot of time spare prior to the Battle of Hastings; therefore, he had plenty of time to organise his army and to think about a path to victory. William had an extremely good control and discipline on his army meaning that it was easier for him to teach them how to do things. An example of one of their thorough tactics was to retreat so that the Saxons could break their own defensive shield. This made it a lot easier for the Normans to attack, remaining in their positions at all times. Another strategy that they used was for the archers to aim high, this resulted in the arrows hitting the unarmed fyrd-men and one arrow hit Harold Godwineson in the eye, which was the Norman’s winning streak. The Normans had decided to start scaring Harold before the battle, so William and his army vandalised and terrorised the local areas and villages. This forced Harold’s army to leave their safe spot, on top of Senlac Hill, and defend their citizens. However, them retreating worked out better for the Normans than it did for themselves. William was also much luckier than Harold Godwineson, and his luckiness played a major part in William Duke of Normandy’s victory in becoming King of England.
Before the Battle of Hastings took place, Harold faced many fateful events. One example of such an event is when the Anglo-Saxon army had to march up north to fight Harald Hardraada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, after waiting for William on the south coast all summer. William and the Norman army were extremely fortunate as the winds at the channel changed at the right time for their ship sails. Therefore, by the time they reached the south coast of England, Harold was still at the Battle of Stamford Bridge; this meant that they had plenty of time to get prepared for battle. On the contrary, Harold’s bad luck meant that Harald Hardraada had come prepared for the battle, this resulted in the Norwegian army managing to kill some of the Saxon army’s best men. Moreover, it was William’s pure luck that his army managed to gain such well-trained and professional archers. Also on of their shots, coincidentally, hit Harold Godwineson in the eye, gaining victory. To conclude, William Duke of Normandy was extremely lucky to have won the Battle of Hastings however, as historians have proven, there are also a few reasons behind his victory. The main ones being the topics covered above: being better prepared; having a stronger army; using well-revised tactics and most importantly, Harold’s exceptional bad
luck.