Battle of Hastings Flashcards
what were Harold’s mistakes?
after battle of stamford bridge he could’ve waited for 20-30,000 extra troops from south west.
choose to fight on foot=hard to communicate +give orders
what helped Harold obtain success?
he had fought N in 1064 so knew their tactics
what were W’s mistakes?
some ppl say his feigned retreat was actually made up bc in reality they ran away
what helped W obtain success?
chose site for battle -> strageic road which led to London
had time to rest,train his army
was on horseback and used gonfanon to communicate
he used the Papel banner to persuade more ppl to fight bc it was now seen as a holy war
army was organised in divisions
chose to delay invasion, long time= demoralised H’s soldiers
what events occurred due to luck that helped W or that hepled H?
Hardrada and W launched invasions at same time= H split his army and had to fight with reduced army
double invasion occurred at harvest time= H lost his fyrds
weather delayed W’s invasion=H was given time to defeat Vikings
what type of army did H have and what were the specialist soldiers?
was this a strength/weakness?
7,000 fyrds
housecarls and thegns were specialist soldiers
weakness -> not professional they were peasants
what type of army did W have and what were the specialist soldiers?
was this a strength/weakness?
7000 trained mercenary soldiers
knights trained from age of 3
strength->well trained + experienced army
what type of weaponry did H’s army have?
strength or weakness?
fyrds: pitchforks + farming equipment
weakness->large proportion of the army not proper weaponry could’ve been easily killed
Housecarls+thegns: double-handed axes, pikes, circular shield, armour
what type of weaponry did W’s army have?
strength or weakness?
bows, large tear shaped shields, pikes ,armour
strength-> shields offered more coverage
most of the army was well equipped with
professional weaponry
what was the battle style of H’s men?
strength or weakness?
shield wall,
strength-> difficult to break
fought in foot
weakness-> difficult to communicate
what was the battle style of W’s men?
strength or weakness?
archers wore down enemy
strength-> they could attack at long ranges
gonfanon + W rode a horse
strength-> easily communicate
knights on horseback
strength-> higher up=hard to attack + better view of the
battle
what happended during the battle of hastings?
1- battle begins at 9:00am
N unable to break through shield wall, arrows flew over english and Cavalry charge proved useless
2-feigned retreat
sections of N army pretended to run away, a-s chased them= shield wall broken, trapped in marshy land and slaughtered by N
3-Midday
fighting paused= chance to removed dead/injured, W changed position of archers so arrows laneded on a-s causing chaos
4-Cavalry charge
a combnation of feignd retreats, constant arrow fire, full-scale cavalry charge= shield wall disintegrated
5-4pm
shield wall broken, N breaking through and iling a-s. H dead, fled
