October 14, 1066...Senlac Hill near Hastings, England...Saxon's led by the current king of England Harold II with about 6,300 soldiers met the Norman force of about 6,000 commanded by William Duke of Normandy. Both armies were riding a wave of high morale: the Saxons due to their recent victory over the Vikings and other allied invaders at Stamford Bridge, and because they were motivated to defend their homeland from foreign invasion. The Norman's morale was high because of the prospect for loot and other wealth.
Harold's Saxon's were positioned at the crest of Senlac Hill in a phalanx, or shield wall, and were reinforced by a line of sharpened stakes to their front. Their experienced heavy infantry was positioned at the center. William also placed his heaviest and most experienced infantry in the front, and was forced to attack up the hill of about 150 yards with a 50 ft gain in elevation. At about 9am, the Normans showered the Saxons with an archery barrage, then charged the Saxon line with their infantry. The archery barrage had little effect due to the fact that they were shooting uphill, and because of the tight shield wall provided good protection. However, they defended their position from the onrushing Normans with javelins, spears, and axes, and stymied the charge. The Normans began to fall back. Some of the Saxons, eager for a route, broke from the shield wall to give chase (something you just didn't do... this broke the integrity of the wall and made it far more vulnerable). William waited for the these charging infantry to break far enough away from the shield wall so that they could not be supported by their formation...then ordered his cavalry to charge them. They were annihilated. He then began to re-group his men at the bottom of the hill for another attack. This time it was more deliberate, and would be initiated by cavalry instead of foot soldiers, and would be supported with archers.
The trip uphill was much slower and harder due to the fact that it was now churned to mud and was littered with weapons and the bodies of dead and dying men. Wave after wave charged the shield wall for the next two hours with neither side gaining a decided advantage. Around 1 pm, William, who was now on foot after being unhorsed heard shouting above the din of battle that "William is dead!" Immediately he noticed his many of his soldiers running back down the hill in disarray. William snatched a horse from Eustace of Boulogne a field commander, peeled his helmet off, and galloped down the hill bareheaded and shouting to his men that he was alive, and to rally. They did. After regrouping once again at the bottom of the hill, William decided to attack as one mass of infantry. Many of his cavalrymen's horses were dead at this point, and those that had been unhorsed would fight as foot solders during the final assault. At around 3 pm, the third attack began. It started slowly with the archers being ordered to "shoot high", and with the infantry crowding behind them, inching up the hill. The cavalry waited in the rear. This archery barrage seemed to be much more effective than the first, and when the Norman infantry and dismounted cavalry hit the Saxon shield wall this time... it began to give way. Soon a hole opened in the line and the Norman cavalry surged in. The fighting, which had been savage all day, grew even more fierce as the armies mingled into a maelstrom of death. A large group crowded around Harold, defending him, but soon he was killed. Some think he was shot by an archer, while others say he was killed in hand to hand fighting at the very end of the battle. Either way, no one soldier seems to take credit for killing him, but all agreed he fell that afternoon. Darkness began to fall and surviving groups of Saxons began to melt away into the countryside. Each side lost over 2,000 men during the battle, but William emerged victorious and was soon crowned king of England.
References:
"History of English Speaking Peoples" by Winston Churchill
"Great Battles: Decisive Conflicts that have Shaped History" Edited by Christer Jorgenson
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