The Battle of Hastings, 14th October 1066 (Edexcel GCSE History)

Some historians believe that Harold's leadership and tactics caused the English defeat at the Battle of Hastings. Harold used the strategy of the shield wall. At this point in history, shield walls were a traditional warfare method. The Normans were highly skilled and well-prepared for a shield wall. William developed new and innovative methods of warfare. If Harold and the Witan had been prepared for the Normans' style of warfare, this may have made the difference at Hastings.

Harold also showed poor decision-making. He did not wait for the rest of the fyrd to arrive before he started the battle. The fyrd that he did have were ill-disciplined. They chased the retreating Normans, breaking the Anglo-Saxon shield wall. Their motivation may have been to steal weapons, armour and horses. This showed that the Anglo-Saxon army was not as well-trained as the Norman army. Fundamentally, Harold was wrong to launch an open battle with William. He had the choice to wait in the fortified town of London for William to attack. Harold was over-confident and made the wrong military decision.

Other historians argue that the Anglo-Saxon defeat was not Harold's fault. The shield wall had worked against Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. It was also effective at the beginning of the Battle of Hastings. The Norman archers and cavalry were unable to break the shield wall until sections of the fyrd weakened the wall. William and Harold's armies were very evenly matched. Both were strong military leaders. Harold merely experienced more bad luck than William.

Knights

Foot soldiers

Amount available to William

Around 800

Around 4,000-6,000

Weapons

A lance, a javelin, a sword and a mace

Some soldiers would have used javelins or swords. Others were archers and crossbowmen

Armour

Chain mail, a conical helmet and a kite-shaped shield

Chain mail, padded jackets called gambesons, shields

Tactics

Fought on horseback. Knights used stirrups to stand in the saddle to perform a lance-thrust. Knights held a gonfanon to direct other soldiers

Some soldiers had used a tactic called 'feigned retreat' against the French army. They pretended to flee in the hope that the enemy would chase them, breaking their formation

Skills

Highly-trained soldiers that could fight on horseback. In-depth knowledge of military tactics and manoeuvres

A mixture of trained Norman soldiers and mercenaries from Europe. They could fight but did not have much coordination with the knights

Advantages

The ability to charge at and flank the enemy

Striking an enemy from above using the height advantage of fighting on horseback

A combination of different types of soldiers could give William an advantage, for example, archers were best at long-range attacks

Disadvantages

The enemy could target the knight on horseback due to their visibility

Horses struggle in certain terrain. They are slow when moving uphill

A lack of training overall. They also did not train together as an army with the knights. This meant that not all soldiers knew what to do in the battle

Housecarls

Fyrdmen

Amount available to Harold

Unknown

Roughly 6,000-7,000 men overall

Weapons

A javelin, a long axe, a sword

The select fyrd would have swords. The general fyrd may only have had agricultural equipment like pitchforks and stakes to fight with

Armour

Chain mail or metal plates on leather armour. Circular shields covered in hide and metal

The select fyrd could have had chain mail, gambesons and leather or metal helmets. Some members of the general fyrd may only have had a wooden shield

Tactics

Housecarls were trained in performing shield walls. The shield wall parted to allow the housecarl to swing an axe before reshaping

The select fyrd had good training and could perform the shield wall. Most of the fyrd were untrained peasants

Skills

Housecarls were highly disciplined. They had good stamina and could fight for hours. They had strong loyalty to their king

Most of the fyrd came from the local area. They would know the landscape of the battlefield. This allowed Harold to know where the best location was for his forces

Advantages

Housecarls could form an impenetrable shield wall

Heavy axes could take down horses

Harold had raised a significant amount of men to fight for his cause

The fyrd were loyal to Harold

Disadvantages

If the shield wall broke, housecarls lost an important advantage. It would allow the enemy to charge through them and fight them in open battle

Harold did not wait for all of the fyrd to arrive in Hastings before the battle. Harold's army lacked archers

William's tactics

Why did this cause victory for William at Hastings?

William's use of archers

While William's archers had little impact at the start of the battle, they were very effective after the shield wall collapsed. The archers stood closer to Harold's army. This gave the archer a better angle to fire up the hill. This ensured they could hit as many of Harold's soldiers as possible

William's cavalry

William used his cavalry to charge at the shield wall. This was not very effective as the horses had to go uphill. When the shield wall weakened, the cavalry became very effective in destroying the whole shield wall 

Norman expertise in horses

The Normans trained and bred horses especially for conflict. They also focused on military tactics to maximise the impact of the cavalry. For example, the Normans 'couched' the lance. This was a technique for holding the lance in a way that allowed for maximum force. The Anglo-Saxons did not fight on horseback

'Feigned retreat'

Pretending to flee caused sections of Harold's general fyrd to lose their discipline. It was a risky tactic. The Battle of Hastings were extraordinarily long for a medieval battle. William's soldiers were tired and witnessed a lot of casualties. As a result, a feigned retreat could haved caused his men to genuinely flee. However, if William did deploy this tactic, it was very effective

William's leadership

Why did this cause victory for William at Hastings?

William waited a long time to cross the English Channel

Harold expected William to invade in the summer of 1066. He called up the southern fyrd in preparation. William knew that Harold would have to disband the fyrd. As soon as William heard the fyrd was no longer on the south coast, he set sail for England

William effectively managed his army 

William's army assembled at Dives in August. The long wait could have caused soldiers to become bored and disobey William's orders. William enforced his command on the army. For example, he insisted that the army could not steal food from civilians around them

William crossed the English Channel in winter

The crossing of the English Channel was dangerous. No other leader had attempted to transport horses across the sea. The Normans needed their horses as they were specifically trained for combat. The Normans built flat-bottomed boats designed for their horses. William was also able to navigate through a storm that destroyed Harold's fleet

A detailed plan for the Normans' arrival

William's army landed in Pevensey Bay. This was the ideal location for an invasion force to use. William made the army march along the coast to Hastings. William knew that there was an Iron-Age fort. They constructed a castle there from sections created in Normandy. This sped up the process of castle-building and gave them protection

Allowing his men to steal and pillage in England

William believed that the Normans' brutality would force Harold to confront him in open battle. However, some historians state that the Normans were infamous for being savage barbarians. They would destroy any area that they occupied in battle

William's good luck

Why did this cause a victory for William at Hastings?

The Battle of Gate Fulford

Harald Hardrada launched his attack in September, the same time that Harold disbanded the southern fyrd. This drew Harold away from the south coast, allowing William to invade. The Battle of Gate Fulford was very hard-fought. The battle exhausted Harold's housecarls as well as the rapid march south to meet William. This weakened Harold's army when they fought William's at Hastings

William's fleet was not destroyed in the crossing

William took a massive risk to attempt to cross the English Channel in winter. William's army could have died in the storm

The two sides were evenly matched

William and Harold's troops were very similar. Many of the issues that Harold faced in the battle could have affected William. For example, Odo of Bayeux (William's half-brother) had to persuade young Norman knights not to flee the battle

The death of Harold

Sources, like the Bayeux Tapestry, showed Harold being killed by an arrow to the eye. Without Harold's leadership, the Anglo-Saxon forces collapsed. If William had died in the battle instead, this could have changed the outcome at Hastings