Why Did William Win the Battle of Hastings?
Why did William win the battle of Hastings?
Luck and timing were central to William’s success at Hastings. Firstly, in advance of the campaign, two of William’s rivals had died; Henry, king of France and Count Fulk of Anjou. This was very significant to the campaign because it enabled William to leave Normandy feeling safe because his two main adversaries were dead, and permitted him to get to Hastings without agonizing over an invasion and to dedicate his full thought to the campaign which lay ahead. When he did embark on the campaign, the weather was in the favour of the Normans. Initially, William had intended to embark in July but owing to adverse winds, the invasion was delayed from the end of July to September; first at the River Dives and then at St. Valery on the Somme. Additionally the Navy were no longer at seas as only remained on the Seas until the 8th September. With the amalgamation of clear seas and good weather on the 28th September, the day of crossing, The Saxons crossed the channel in just over 24 hours. Moreover, unbeknownst to William, this also was an extremely auspicious time for him because if he had arrived at his intended time of crossing in July, Harold and the Saxon army would have been waiting for him. However, it was a time of unease for Harold that year, as it was apparent that England was going to be invaded by either a Norman or a Scandinavian Force, and so Harold was nervous throughout the entirety of his nine month rain. Harold, thinking that he could be ubiquitous, had troops both at the North and at the South, waiting in vain for these invasions; however this only tired out his troops and stretched his resources. The Scandinavians arrived first, and so Harold made the southern fyrd march north to fight the Vikings. The battles of Gate Fulford, led by Edwin and Morcar, and the Battle of Stanford Bridge, were both won by the Saxons, boosting their morale but nonetheless they suffered great losses and the troops were tired where
Luck and timing were central to William’s success at Hastings. Firstly, in advance of the campaign, two of William’s rivals had died; Henry, king of France and Count Fulk of Anjou. This was very significant to the campaign because it enabled William to leave Normandy feeling safe because his two main adversaries were dead, and permitted him to get to Hastings without agonizing over an invasion and to dedicate his full thought to the campaign which lay ahead. When he did embark on the campaign, the weather was in the favour of the Normans. Initially, William had intended to embark in July but owing to adverse winds, the invasion was delayed from the end of July to September; first at the River Dives and then at St. Valery on the Somme. Additionally the Navy were no longer at seas as only remained on the Seas until the 8th September. With the amalgamation of clear seas and good weather on the 28th September, the day of crossing, The Saxons crossed the channel in just over 24 hours. Moreover, unbeknownst to William, this also was an extremely auspicious time for him because if he had arrived at his intended time of crossing in July, Harold and the Saxon army would have been waiting for him. However, it was a time of unease for Harold that year, as it was apparent that England was going to be invaded by either a Norman or a Scandinavian Force, and so Harold was nervous throughout the entirety of his nine month rain. Harold, thinking that he could be ubiquitous, had troops both at the North and at the South, waiting in vain for these invasions; however this only tired out his troops and stretched his resources. The Scandinavians arrived first, and so Harold made the southern fyrd march north to fight the Vikings. The battles of Gate Fulford, led by Edwin and Morcar, and the Battle of Stanford Bridge, were both won by the Saxons, boosting their morale but nonetheless they suffered great losses and the troops were tired where