Why Did William Win?
Disposition of forces and tactics
Harold…
Current historians believe Harold’s forces positioned themselves in a small, dense shaping around the top of Caldbec Hill because their flanks were protected by the woods and in front of them lay ‘mooshy’ ground. One of Harold’s colleagues (Lawson) pointed out that the English line was long enough for them to anchor it to one of the streams nearby. They formed a wall built by shields à when soldiers at the front lines put their shields close or even overlap them with each others shields. Unlike William… Harold had very little archers.
Harold’s gravest mistake was that he dismissed many of his soldiers. His bulk forces were his militia… they needed to harvest his crops. So, on September 8th Harold sent all his militia home. Then came the Battle of Stamford bridge. Harold won but with a great cost… his army was hurt badly and they were in a grave state. Ripe for the picking for William.
William…
A lot more is know about William’s/ The Normans deployment. Historians believe that Duke William had spilt his army into three sections. These sections could be labelled as “battles”à These pretty much correspond to their origins. The left unit was the Bretons, the Anjou, the Poitou and the Maine. It was led by Alan the red… a relative of the Breton count. The centre was the Normans à Led by William himself… the right unit was mainly the French, along with some people from Picardy, Boulogne and Flanders. William Fits-Osbern and Count Eustace II of Boulogne commanded the right. The front line was full of archers the line after that was were foot soldiers armed with spears. Historians think that there may had been some crossbow men and slingers mixed in with the archers… yet they still need to produce solid evidence for this to become fact or common knowledge. Calvary was held in reserve… this was Williams joker card and he wanted to keep it for as long as possible. Behind the fighters servants and clergymen waited at the base of Telham Hill à The were expected not to take part in the battle.
Thegns, the local elites, fought either with the royal housecarls or connected with the forces of an earl (nobleman) or other magnate (Baron). The fyrd (fyrd/militia military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency.) and housecarls both attacked on foot. The only main difference between the too was the housecarls superior armour.
Harold’s preparation’s…
The English army was organised along regional lines, with the fyrd, or local levy, serving under a local magnate – whether an earl or bishop. The fyrd was composed of men who owned their own land, and were equipped by their community to fulfill the king's demands for military forces. For every five hides, or units of land nominally capable of supporting one household, one man was supposed to serve. It appears that the hundred was the main organising unit for the fyrd. As a whole, England could furnish about 14,000 men for the fyrd, when it was called out. The fyrd usually served for two months, except in emergencies. It was rare for the whole national fyrd to be called out; between 1046 and 1065 it was only done three times, in 1051, 1052, and 1065. The king also had a group of personal armsmen, known as housecarls, who formed the backbone of the royal forces. Some earls also had their own forces of housecarls. Thegns, the local landowning elites, fought either with the royal housecarls or attached themselves to the forces of an earl or other magnate. The fyrd and the housecarls both fought on foot, with the major difference between them being the housecarl's superior armour. The English army does not appear to have had a significant number of archers.
Harold had spent mid-1066 on the south coast with a large army and fleet waiting for William to invade. The bulk of his forces were militia who needed to harvest their crops, so on 8 September Harold dismissed the militia and the fleet. Learning of the Norwegian invasion he rushed north, gathering forces as he went, and took the Norwegians by surprise, defeating them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. Harald of Norway and Tostig were killed, and the Norwegians suffered such great losses that only 24 of the original 300 ships were required to carry away the survivors. The English victory came at great cost, as Harold's army was left in a battered and weakened state.
William’s perpetration’s…
William congregated a colossal invasion fleet and an army mustered from Normandy and the rest of France, including large section from Brittany and Flanders. He spent almost nine months on his assembling, as he had to construct a fleet from nothing. He also secured diplomatic support, still, the accuracy of the reports has been a matter of historical argument. The most famous claim is that Pope Alexander II gave a papal banner as a token of support. In April 1066 Halley’s comet materialized in the sky and was widely reported within Europe. The majority believed the comet's appearance with the succession crisis in England.
William mustered his forces at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, and was ready to cross the English Channel by about 12 August. But the crossing was delayed, either because of unfavourable weather or to avoid being intercepted by the powerful English fleet. The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians, following the dispersal of Harold's naval force, and landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September. A few ships were blown off course and landed at Romney, where the Normans fought the local fyrd. After landing, William's forces built a wooden castle at Hastings, from which they raided the surrounding area. More fortifications were erected at Pevensey.