The Battle of Hastings was fought on Saturday 14th October 1066. It was a pivotal battle which changed the course of history dramatically, and rightly deserves to be remembered as such. The opposing armies were led by King Harold of England and Duke William of Normandy.
This battle was anything but a foregone conclusion. It was fought on a knife-edge, and could have gone either way. To begin with, William landed at Pevensey on the 28th of September, just three days after the Saxons and the Norwegians had been slaughtering each other at Stamford Bridge. This was anything but a planned move - William had been waiting weeks for a favourable wind to set sail for England.
Another point of note is that both Harold's enemies landed when the 'official' campaigning season was over. Harold had been expecting William sometime in the summer. William was able to make an unopposed landing because Harold had been forced to recall the general muster of men after keeping them on alert for two months - but now the harvest had to be gathered.
Immediately after landing, William set about securing a base at Hastings and setting the surrounding countryside to fire and sword. His plan was to draw Harold into a quick battle before he could muster a large enough army. Time was on Harold's side, yet he rushed south to London from Stamford Bridge. He probably hoped to catch William by surprise, as he had done with the Norwegians. Harold moved out of London after only 6 days. He still hadn't built his army up to its full potential. Apparently troops were still flocking to his standard when he set up his army on Caldbec Hill.
On the morning of the battle, William stole the march and advanced on Harold's position on Senlac Hill. The armies on both sides numbered around 6000 men. The differences are that William had many mounted knights (around 2000) while the Saxons all fought on foot. William had Norman, Flemish and Breton troops and had quite a contingent of archers, as demonstrated at one point in the Bayeux tapestry. The Tapestry depicts only one single Saxon archer! Otherwise both sides had similar equipment, with hauberks, shields and longswords for many troops. The Saxons also made use of the battle axe and spear.
The battle took place in 3 distinct phases, with the Saxons aligned in their formidable shield wall along the crest of the hill, while the Normans attempted to storm their position. Here it is worth noting that the weather was lovely and without a hint of rain. Rain and mud would have considerably hampered cavalry forces attempting to march uphill.
The first phase opened with an assault by the Norman archers, which seems to have had little effect. Following this the infantry advanced up the hill, followed by the cavalry. William's troops consisted of 3 columns - the Bretons on the left, the Flemish on the right, and William with his Norman troops in the centre. The English troops hailed missiles down upon the advancing enemy, and once at close quarters, dealt vicious blows with sword and axe, hewing into men and horse alike. Apparently the Bretons were the first to reach the Saxon phalanx and start taking heavy punishment, ahead of the rest of William's forces. Finding themselves isolated and hard-pressed, they lost heart and retreated.
At this point a contingent of Saxons broke off from the main body to pursue the fleeing Bretons. There was much confusion amongst William's ranks, and some historians deem that had Harold let rip with all his forces he may have seized the day. However William, who was an outstanding general, rallied his troops and with his cavalry cut the errant Saxons from retreat, following which they were overwhelmed and butchered. So ended the first round.
After a brief respite, William again advanced in similar fashion to previously. After heavy fighting, it was the Flemish who broke and fled. Again they were followed by a band of British troops, who were soon surrounded and cut down. Some have suggested that William employed feigning tactics at Hastings - pretending retreat to draw his enemy out. However this seems unlikely - feigning techniques worked best on level ground. They lost some of their effectiveness when one had to march uphill and then relinquish that ground. Whether feigned or not, the result was that again what could have been turned into a disaster for William, was actually converted to his advantage.
The day was now wearing on. The Saxon shield-wall had been thinned, but stood still. At this stage William knew that he had to seize victory before nightfall. Time was not on his side. A draw for Harold was as good as a victory at this stage, since he could expect a constant stream of reinforcements. For William only outright victory counted.
With this in mind, he called his troops forth for a third charge.
William urged an all-out assault. As his cavalry and infantry charged up the hill, his archers let fly with their salvos, apparently even when the men were engaged (depicted clearly in the Tapestry). Both sides were tired, but William's men pressed on, urged on by the mace-wielding Bishop Odo of Bayeux (as a cleric it would be most embarassing for him to shed blood, so he would have to content himself with braining his enemies).
And now comes the turning point - the death of Harold. It is unsure whether Harold was slain by mounted knights who broke through the protective phalanx, or by an arrow that struck him in the eye. In the Tapestry there are two injured people depicted beneath the words 'HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST' (Here King Harold is killed). One is clutching an arrow that seems to be stuck in his eye, and another is being hewed down by a horseman. Historians have held varying opinions about which figure represents Harold - some have also claimed that both are Harold. Medieval armies were woven around their leader - knock him down, and the army retreats in dismay. It is very reasonable to imagine that, in the gathering twilight, Harold may have received a fatal blow from a chance arrow. This would have caused the evaporation of Saxon resistance, which collapsed like a house of cards. The Norman knights could have then charged through and completed Harold's demise and mutilation.
It is also unsure whether Harold's younger brothers, Leofwine and Gyrth, died at Harold's side (in the Tapestry their death is depicted much earlier in the battle, but then the Tapestry does not always portray events in their chronological order).
It is also chronicled that William lost 3 horses under him during the battle. Following the death of Harold and the retreat of the Anglo-Saxons, there was a rearguard action at a place later known as the Malfosse, where some Normans were ambushed (though this had little effect on the events of the day).
In summary, William took the field and the glory. He was a great man. But Harold was no less. If William had not been attended by the Goddess of Fortune, maybe things would have gone differently. Suffice to say that Harold did all that he could - but he was up against a great man, and luck was definitely not on his side. Had it been, he would have been remembered as one of the greatest kings of England, perhaps akin to Alfred.