Battle of Hastings

Battle of Hastings, one of the most fateful military engagements in English history, fought on October 14, 1066, between a national army led by Harold II, Saxon king of England, and an invasion force led by William, Duke of Normandy, afterwards William I (the Conqueror). William was a claimant to the English throne, which he maintained had been promised to him previously by his cousin, King Edward the Confessor. William challenged the election of Harold as king on Edward's death and, with the blessing of Pope Alexander II (reigned 1061-1073), prepared to invade England. His seaborne forces, which included infantry armed with crossbows and contingents of heavily armed cavalry, landed on the English coast near Hastings on September 28, 1066. After a forced march from Yorkshire, where Harold had just defeated and slain his rebellious brother, Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the English army, numbering about 7,000 men, occupied a height (later called Senlac Hill) on the Hastings-London highway about 10.5 km (6.5 mi) north-west of Hastings. The royal force was composed exclusively of infantry, armed with spears, swords, and battleaxes.

The initial Norman attack, launched at 9:00 a.m. on October 14, failed to dislodge the English, who met the barrage of enemy arrows with interlocked shields. The English axemen turned back a Norman cavalry charge, whereupon a section of the Norman infantry turned and fled. At this point several units of the English army broke ranks, contrary to Harold's orders, and pursued the retreating Normans. Other Norman troops quickly surrounded and annihilated these units. Taking advantage of the lack of discipline among the English soldiers, William ordered a feigned retreat. The stratagem led to the entrapment of another large body of English troops. Severely weakened by these reverses and demoralized by the mortal wounding of Harold with an arrow, the English were forced to abandon their strategic position on the crest of Senlac Hill. Only small groups of the defending army survived the subsequent onslaughts of the Norman cavalry. William's victory at Hastings paved the way for Norman subjugation of all England.