Arrives in London Harold departed York early on 1 October 1066.

Taking all of his Housecarls who could ride, and a few mounted volunteers, he rode back to London as quickly as possible and, in another burst of marathon energy, arrived in London on 5 October. Other mounted and foot troops, traveling at a slower pace, would arrive daily, bringing what volunteers they could as they traveled south. Harold called out the fyrd in Wessex and the other southern earldoms that belonged to his brothers and other loyal supporters. Daily, troops poured into London. Harold formulated a plan to take his Housecarls and whatever other troops he could quickly muster, quickly march them down to the Hastings Peninsula, and occupy the ridge at Caldbec Hill. This would seal off the peninsula and contain William and his army. A good number of the captured Viking fleet and earl Morcar's small fleet were headed south and could be used to contain William's fleet. Finally, with the arrival of sufficient troops, Harold would be strong enough to attack and defeat William. Harold Marches on William On Tuesday, 10 October, Harold felt he had sufficient troops to occupy the ridge at Caldbec Hill and contain William. Leaving London, probably on Wednesday, 11 October, with every Housecarl and other soldier for whom a mount could be found, he set out for the Hastings Peninsula. The foot soldiers would follow as quickly as possible. Harold probably arrived at "the Hoar Apple Tree," a well-known landmark on Caldbec Hill late in the afternoon of Friday, 13 October, with 4,000-4,500 men; 1,500-2,000 of these being Housecarls and 2,500 fyrdmen. There he was met by about 3,500 more fyrdmen, swelling his ranks to 7,500-8,000 men. Immediately upon arriving at Caldbec Hill, Harold began deploying his army along Sentlach Ridge on the southern side of the hill. This ridge was approximately 1,000 yards long and was flanked on both sides by marshes, and the only road that led in or out of the Hastings Peninsula crossed this ridge. William's only exit from the peninsula to the mainland was now blocked. While Harold was busy positioning his troops, William's army was still dispersed throughout the peninsula. Harold continued deploying his army until 9 a.m. the next morning, Saturday, 14 October. Presumably, this is because they were continually arriving throughout the night and early morning. William Musters His Army and Moves to Telham Hill Harold's sudden appearance at Caldbec Hill with his army caught William completely by surprise. His men were out scavenging for food, and pillaging and ravaging throughout the peninsula when Harold's army arrived and he had to quickly gather them together to meet the English, while they were at their weakest, tired from the long and hard forced march, and not yet dug in. William decided to attack Harold as soon as possible the next day, since the sooner he could force battle the more advantageous it would be for him. News was quickly brought to Harold that William was gathering his army. Now it was Harold's turn to be surprised, for he had not expected this. Rather, he thought William would be reluctant to accept battle so soon and would linger at the seaward end of the peninsula. Shortly after dawn, which occurred at 5:30 a.m. on 14 October 1066, William began moving his army the six miles to Telham Hill. Riding hard, William and a small bodyguard reached Blackhorse Hill; the highest point on Telham Hill, ahead of the main body. At this point, William was a mile away from the meadow of Sentlach, which was

out of sight. (After the battle, Sentlach came to be known as Sanguelac, which means "Lake of Blood" in French, and this was later modified by the English to Senlac, the name by which it is known today. Therefore, for the remainder of this narrative, the meadow will be referred to as Senlac.) By about 8 a.m., the entire army had marched past William's position and he moved forward to a point approximately 200 yards from where Harold had deployed his army. By 9 a.m., his preparations were complete. The Battlefield and the Armies As previously mentioned, the ridge that the English army occupied was approximately 1000 yards long; although it has been variously claimed to be anywhere from 800 to 1,100 yards. The following map graphically illustrates the battlefield and the disposition of the two armies when the battle began between 9 and 10 a.m., after William's archer's had advanced to within 100 yards of the English. Click here to see a variation of the above map with associated photographs. Using his Housecarls, Harold formed a shield-wall from one end of Senlac Ridge to the other. The front rank was composed of groups of Housecarls and thegns (nobles) who were placed between the inexperienced and ill-armed fyrdmen. All troops in this first rank held a large kite-shaped shield, and formed the shield-wall. There were six or seven ranks of troops of varying ability behind the first. (The two ranks of English shown above on the map represent these seven or eight ranks.) The Housecarls and thegns were predominantly armed with heavy, two-handed axes and were well armored, just like their Norman counterparts. The fyrdmen, on the other hand, were armed with home-made swords, maces, spears, javelins, daggers, and probably farm tools and clubs. Their armor usually consisted of straw stuffed under their shirts. The worst armed fyrdmen would be in the last ranks of Harold's defense. Both flanks of Senlac Ridge fell off steeply and were cut by deep ravines. Beyond this, numerous deep streams and marshy ground made it impossible for infantry and cavalry to maneuver. Harold, therefore, did not have to worry about an attack on his flanks; all attacks must come from the front. The top of Senlac Ridge was approximately 100 feet above the bottom of Senlac Meadow, where William's army was formed. The distance between Harold's shield-wall and William's archers was about 300 feet. Therefore, the slope that William's army had to climb to reach the English was comparatively gentle. An irony concerning these two armies was their use of horses before and during this battle. The English Housecarls and other mounted troops rode their small ponies from London to Caldbec Hill, then dismounted to fight on foot, as was their custom. William's knights, on the other hand, walked the six miles to Senlac Meadow, leading their chargers, on which their armor and weapons were carried across their saddles. Upon arriving at Senlac, they donned their armor and weapons, then mounted their chargers for the coming battle. Another irony concerned the archers. Whereas William had a strong contingent of archers, Harold had none; or so few that they made no difference whatsoever. In Continental armies, archers were a standard arm. As archers fired upon each other's armies, they would pick up the spent arrows that the enemy archers had fired into their

ranks. The two hosts of archers, therefore, resupplied one another and could do so indefinitely. With this constant swapping of arrows, the archers did not have to carry a large resupply of arrows with them. At the Battle of Hastings, William's archers quickly began to exhaust their arrows and were not resupplied because the English had no archers to perform that function. Therefore, William's 100% superiority in archers almost caused him to lose the battle. Had he not directed them to shoot plummeting fire late in the battle, it is very likely that they would have exhausted their arrows and become useless and a severe liability to him. William's army was about 8,000 strong and consisted of about 1,000 archers, 4,000 infantrymen, and 3,000 cavalry (knights). He formed the army into three divisions: * The division on the left was composed of about 2,500 Bretons and troops from Anjou and Maine. Alan Fergent, Count of Brittany, was in command. * The division on the right was composed of about 2,500 French and Flemish troops. It was commanded by Roger de Montgomerie. * The central division was composed of about 3,000 Normans and was under the personal command of William. However, since William also had to command the entire army, he gave nominal control of some of his best troops to his two half-brothers; Robert, Count of Mortain and Bishop Odo. Each division was composed of three ranks (actually three major elements, each consisting of several ranks). First were the archers, then the infantry and lastly the cavalry. The cavalry were armed with javelins, swords, axes and maces. The infantrymen were armed with spears and javelins and also swords. And, of course, the archers were armed with bows and each had a full quiver of arrows. Harold's and William's Battle Plans Harold's battle plan was simply to remain on the ridge, with his shield-wall holding firm against the assaults of the enemy. Eventually, as the day wore on and William's army began to tire and his losses began to mount appreciably from the constant uphill attacks against the impenetrable shield-wall, he expected an opportunity to counter-attack with his relatively fresh troops and rout and annihilate William's army. William planned a coordinated attack of hammer blows. He would begin with the archers sending a shower of arrows into the English. Then the infantry would pass through the ranks of the archers and enter into a short hand-to-hand combat with the English manning the shield-wall. They would then fall back behind the archers and the cavalry would dash forward to take their turn against the English. In addition, each of the three divisions would be attacking semi-independently and therefore could be in various stages of attack at the same moment in time. William reasoned that a series of such coordinated attacks, repeated in quick succession, would eventually demoralize the rout the English. Following is a speech that it is claimed William made to his army shortly before battle was joined. Although it is more likely that this speech was invented afterward by a Norman propagandist, it lays bare the true military situation that faced William's army

that morning. "You fight not merely for victory but also for survival. If you bear yourselves valiantly you will obtain victory, honor and riches. If not, you will be ruthlessly butchered, or else led ignominiously captive into the hands of pitiless enemies. Further, you will incur abiding disgrace. There is no road for retreat. In front, your advance is blocked by an army and a hostile countryside; behind you, there is the sea where the enemy fleet bars your flight. The English have again and again fallen to the sword of an enemy; often, being vanquished, they have submitted to a foreign yoke; nor have they ever been famed as soldiers. The vigorous courage of a few men armed in a just cause and specially protected from Heaven must prevail against a host of men unskilled in combat. Only be bold so that nothing shall make you yield, and victory will gladden your hearts." The First Attack The battle began sometime after 9 a.m. on 14 October 1066, when the archers of all three divisions moved forward to about 100 yards of the English and fired their arrows directly at the shield-wall, causing a few casualties among the English. The archers then retired as the infantry moved forward to assault the shield-wall in hand-to-hand combat. As they got within range of the English missiles (spears, javelins and rocks), many were killed or wounded. Those who made it to the shield-wall found the Housecarls and fyrdmen to be more than a match and quickly retreated. Next, the cavalry came forward for its first attack of the day but fared no better than the infantrymen before them. This first attack almost ended in disaster for William. The unexpectedly high rate of casualties from this first onslaught coupled with the ensuing confusion and noise came close to causing a general panic throughout his army. The Bretons, being the left-hand division and on the most gently sloping ground, had reached the English well ahead of the center and right and were overwhelmed by the unexpected fierceness of their adversaries. The Breton cavalry was quickly beaten off and galloped back to their starting position to regroup. They were followed by a crowd of scared archers, infantrymen, unhorsed knights, and riderless horses. The Breton division had disintegrated into complete disorder. The sight of the Bretons fleeing in disorder caused a great number of Harold's less disciplined fyrdmen to burst through the shield-wall and pursue them down the hill. With this mass of English streaming down the hill, William's central and right divisions, which were now in the dangerous position of being attacked on their left flank, wisely stopped their forward advance and pulled back until they were on line with the Breton division. Restoring order within the Norman division, William quickly ordered those knights to attack the exposed flank of the fyrdmen and cut them to pieces. The knights quickly herded all but a few of the unfortunate fyrdmen onto a small hill and there slaughtered them. Those fyrdmen who were lucky enough to escape were among the last to leave the English shield-wall and therefore had the best chance of regaining its safety. There was now a pause in the battle.

During this lull in the battle, William set his attention to regrouping the Breton division. This division consisted of the least experienced of his troops, comparable in this regard to the fyrdmen, which explains why they panicked after their first meeting with the English. William admonished their commander to ensure that, during the next attacks, his division should stay on line with the central division during the advance; not to get ahead of it or behind it. This cohesion between the two divisions would serve to protect the Breton division. The archers refilled their quivers from the supply wagons in the rear. Harold utilized the lull to warn the fyrdmen against committing such a foolhardy act again. The English dead were moved to the rear of the shield-wall and the gaps that they left were filled by the best and most experiences troops that were left. The dead and wounded of William's army who were within the shield-wall were moved in front of it to provide an obstacle. The Second and Succeeding Attacks William commenced his second attack shortly before noon. It was a repeat of the first attack; first archers firing their arrows straight at the shield-wall, followed by the infantrymen slogging up the hill to fight hand-to-hand with the English, then the cavalry in an attempt to break through the shield-wall with their sheer weight and superior stance. This time, however, the Breton division did not recoil and the attack came off smoothly, as planned. William maintained this rhythm through the early afternoon. The repeated attacks were causing him a great number of casualties but he could clearly see that the English line was thinning and that it would only be a matter of time before he would finally breach it and win the battle. During this period, Harold's younger brothers, Leofwin and Gyrth, were killed by Norman knights who broke through the shield-wall and penetrated into the deepest English ranks. Also during this period, William joined his knights on a charge and was unhorsed when a Housecarl axed his horse. His knights protected him until he was again mounted. As the day progressed, all of the combatants were becoming exhausted. Harold's only hope now lay in the arrival of nightfall, at about 6 p.m., or William's inability to continue the battle due to the heavy losses he was taking. It was now shortly before 5 p.m. and the armies had been fighting for about seven hours. The Last Assault William had a brilliant idea that would prove decisive. Instead of his archers firing directly at the English shield-wall, which had been having little effect, he directed them to aim very high so that their arrows would arc over the shield-wall and plunge into the ranks behind them. All of a sudden, the protection that the shield-wall had afforded was gone and Harold began taking tremendous casualties, even among those at his command post. The shield-wall collapsed as casualties mounted and as men decided to try to save their lives rather than die on the spot. At about 5 p.m., with the shield-wall fast disintegrating, a band of Norman knights passed through it, penetrated to Harold's

command post, and killed him. One of these knights, Ivo of Ponthieu, went so far as to mutilate Harold's body by hacking off his limbs. As a reward, William sent him back to Ponthieu in disgrace. Harold's death signaled victory for William. The English Crumble Although Harold was dead, many of his men continued to fight in clumps. Assuredly, these were Housecarls and thegns, and they fought to the last man. The fyrdmen, on the other hand, took to flight. It was now after 5 p.m. and the sun was beginning to set and visibility was becoming poor. The Normans started in pursuit of the fleeing fyrdmen, who were heading down the northern slope of Caldbec Hill. The northern face of Caldbec Hill was a steep slope that the fyrdmen, who were on foot, could easily navigate but which the Normans, on horseback, could not. Many unfortunate knights unwitting plunged to their deaths in the failing light. Those who were still alive after reaching the bottom of the hill were mercilessly slaughtered by the fyrdmen, who took this opportunity to inflict some revenge on the Normans. Being warned that to pursue the English in the dark was suicide, William called off the pursuit, and returned to the ridge, where he remained for the night.