Battle of Hastings (Godwinson's England)

The Battle of Hastings was fought on 31 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William II, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold II, beginning the Anglo-Norman Wars. It took place approximately 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive English victory.

The background to the battle was the death of the childless English King Edward the Confessor (Edward III of England) in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death, but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066, and were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold's only serious opponent. While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September 1066 and established a beachhead for his planned conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went.

The exact numbers present at the battle are unknown; modern estimates are around 10,000 for William and about 20,000 for Harold. The composition of the forces is clearer. Harold appears to have surprise William, when some of his scouts were slaughtered by the Saxons. The battle lasted from around 9 am to dusk. Early efforts of the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect; therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. This tactic, however, failed and the most of the Normans were slaughtered. William surrendered to Harold, were he (Harold) allowed William and his men to return to Normandy but on the promise that they never return to England. Accepting the terms, William returned to Normandy in utter humiliation.

William's sons and successors refused to honor the terms and fought England in the brutal Anglo-Norman War at the beginning of the next century.