Why did Harold and the Saxons lose the battle of hastings?

Answer 1

The battle all came down to which side was the most disciplined. The Saxon army was made up of mainly farmer/warriors who joined up at the request of the king (Harold). A large number of Williams forces were full time cavalry troops with the bulk of the army made up from the ranks of the populous, which came from a warrior ancestry (the Vikings). At the battle the Saxons occupied the high ground at Hastings and formed a impenetrable defensive wall, providing the Saxon warriors did not leave the line. The Norman cavalry tried time and time again to brake through but failed. It looked like the Saxons had won but a section in the line spotted William, who was in amongst his cavalry trying to raise moral. This section of the Saxon line went chasing after him ( this is where discipline comes in) leaving a vulnerable opening in the Saxon line which the Normans exploited and broke down the Saxon army.

Answer 2

William lost The Battle of Hastings, purely because he wasnt a stupid coon

Alternatively:Whoever wrote the above clearly doesn't know what he/she was talking about: That sentence says that William lost the battle of Hastings: He didn't. It also says that the victor of the battle would have be a "stupid coon", because William apparently "lost" because he wasn't one.

There really aren't any long-term reasons as to why Harold lost the Battle of Hastings, because Harold could have won the Battle if things hadnt happened all at once.

There are lots of reasons that i know of one of them being that William won because Harold had just had to march down from the battle of stamford bridge.

Answer 3

There are many reasons. One is that the Normans gained support from the pope because Harold Godwinsson was crowned by Archbishop Stigand who was not approved by the pope, and therefore this gave a psychological boost to the soldiers who where consequently guaranteed a place in heaven if they died making them more fierce in battle. This was known as "Papal support." So Normans believed they where fighting a holy war alongside the papal banner.

Another reason is that Viking invaded in the North directly before the invasion by William. Harold marched his troops across the whole of the country to defeat the Viking invaders in the battle of Stamford bridge and Gate Fulford near York. Then the Normans invaded and they marched all the way back again (58 miles in 3 days) so the English troops where very fatigued.

A very effective military tactic the Normans deployed was to fire arrows high up and the English troops raised there shields to block the arrows. Meanwhile Norman cross-bowmen fired straight, into the unprotected English troops.

Despite Englishmen having talented axeman front-line called housecarls, if they missed a swing of their giant axes, Norman cavalry easily where able to take them out.

The Normans struggled at first however, fighting uphill against battle hardened troops. So what they did to break the powerful shield wall was to pretend to retreat and the unorganized troops would scatter chasing them and then get hacked down separately; This was called feigned retreat.

The king dying during battle would of definitely affected the English troops. The story goes Harold was hit in the eye with an arrow, but others believe that the Bayeux Tapestry shows Harold struck down from his horse.

Lastly William was VERY lucky. The wind that prevented him from crossing the channel changed at the right moment for him and the Viking invasion. Also if Harold waited the Normans would of had to retreat back to Normandy because they burned land so they where unable to grow crops and would eventually had to head home.

Answer 4

because the Saxons were down the hill

Another answer:The reasons usually considered for the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons at Hastings was;

• The Anglo-Saxon army had marched all the way from York over the days and weeks previously and were tired and badly provisioned.
• Not all of the available Anglo-Saxon forces were present at the battle.
• The Anglo-Saxon forces were less disciplined than the Normans.
• King Harold II fought, as was the tradition in England, amongst his men on foot in the shield wall. This made him vulnerable and also stopped him from being able to properly command his army. Duke William was on a horse at the back able to command his forces more effectively.
• Part of the Anglo-Saxon army decided to chase retreating Norman soldiers down Senlac Hill (where the battle was). They were then killed by the Norman cavalry which then flanked the rest of the Anglo-Saxon army.
• King Harold II was killed or seriously wounded during the battle which created panic and fear amongst his men - many of whom then fled. Harold was hacked to pieces at the end of the battle by the Norman soldiers.

Answer 5

They were unlucky because they had bad diareah and pooped lots and lots so they couldn't stand the smell and it was very dirty so they got disease and stuggled to fight.