Why did William win the battle of Hastings?
Why Did William Win The Battle Of Hastings?
The battle of Hastings was between King Harold and William, Duke of Normandy. It was the 14th of October 1066 and the battle lasted nearly one day. Although William had been stuck in Normandy due to the wind direction, Harold couldn’t have had a worst time to fight. Because of this William won. A few of the other main reasons that William won this battle were his preparation, his unbelievable luck and his clever thinking.
Preparation
William had gathered an army of knights, soldiers, archers (many more than Harold’s) and hundreds of ships to transport them across the English Channel. William’s army were ready on the coast for weeks so, finally, when the wind direction changed he could set off as soon as he heard. This meant that the English wouldn’t expect anything. This gave them a great advantage, even though they didn’t know it, because Harold was still in the north fighting Hardrada. He also had the finest weaponry in France. This meant that the English couldn’t defend/attack as well as the Normans, because the quality of the metal wasn’t as good.
Clever Thinking
William thought of a very cunning and clever plan towards the end of the battle. After trying his archers to weaken the English’s shield wall, then his foot-soldiers and his Cavalry, he took his whole army up the hill to Harold’s army. Next he pretended to retreat. Harold felt so proud because he thought he won; he, and his army, ran straight down the hill to kill them. This meant that the Normans could then surrounded the English and kill most of them. This then gave them a bigger advantage of having a lot more soldiers than the English.
Luck
This was probably the biggest reason for the Norman victory. As said in the first and second paragraph, the wind changed direction to William’s benefit. Whilst fighting Hardrada, Harold had lost some of his best soldiers and weapons. This meant the Normans had a better chance of winning because
The battle of Hastings was between King Harold and William, Duke of Normandy. It was the 14th of October 1066 and the battle lasted nearly one day. Although William had been stuck in Normandy due to the wind direction, Harold couldn’t have had a worst time to fight. Because of this William won. A few of the other main reasons that William won this battle were his preparation, his unbelievable luck and his clever thinking.
Preparation
William had gathered an army of knights, soldiers, archers (many more than Harold’s) and hundreds of ships to transport them across the English Channel. William’s army were ready on the coast for weeks so, finally, when the wind direction changed he could set off as soon as he heard. This meant that the English wouldn’t expect anything. This gave them a great advantage, even though they didn’t know it, because Harold was still in the north fighting Hardrada. He also had the finest weaponry in France. This meant that the English couldn’t defend/attack as well as the Normans, because the quality of the metal wasn’t as good.
Clever Thinking
William thought of a very cunning and clever plan towards the end of the battle. After trying his archers to weaken the English’s shield wall, then his foot-soldiers and his Cavalry, he took his whole army up the hill to Harold’s army. Next he pretended to retreat. Harold felt so proud because he thought he won; he, and his army, ran straight down the hill to kill them. This meant that the Normans could then surrounded the English and kill most of them. This then gave them a bigger advantage of having a lot more soldiers than the English.
Luck
This was probably the biggest reason for the Norman victory. As said in the first and second paragraph, the wind changed direction to William’s benefit. Whilst fighting Hardrada, Harold had lost some of his best soldiers and weapons. This meant the Normans had a better chance of winning because