MTW Battle of Hastings 1066

Description

Medieval: Total War presents the climactic section of Hastings: the last assaults by the Normans on the previously impregnable Saxon/English army. With the death of the king of England, Edward the Confessor, in 1066 Duke William of Normandy (called 'William the Bastard' by his contemporaries) was convinced that the throne of England rightfully belonged to him. He had promises from Edward, and oaths taken by another potential candidate, Harold Godwinson, to back up his claim. Or so he thought...however, it was not to be. Godwinson took the throne for himself as Harold II of England and William was outraged by the effrontery of his rival. It didn't take him long to raise an invasion army, staffed with men eager to plunder England and take its land for themselves. William's forces crossed the English Channel in September, late in the year for any kind of large-scale naval operation, and landed at Pevensey in Sussex. In an attempt to provoke a battle he immediately lay waste the surrounding countryside and waited for a response. For the moment, though, Harold II was distracted by another problem. Harald Hardraade of Norway and his own brother Tostig had crossed the North Sea and landed in Yorkshire with 300 shiploads of Vikings. Harold II, by good generalship and luck, ambushed them at Stamford Bridge; the defeated Vikings had just enough men to crew six longships for the return journey. One threat defeated, Harold and the core of his army immediately rushed south to meet William's army, covering the distance between York and the south coast (on rough tracks rather than good roads) in a few days. Harold and William meet at Senlac Hill, north of Hastings, near what is now the small town of Battle. Harold had chosen his ground for the fight with a professional's eye: a defensible hilltop where his infantry would have the advantage against the Norman cavalry forces. All morning, the battle raged as the Normans threw attack after attack up the slope of Senlac Hill, but the Saxon/English line stood firm, even when the Normans pretended to run away. Then, after a scare that Duke William had been slain, there was yet another Norman attack... Hastings turned out to be one of the defining moments of Western history. England ceased to be a Saxon-, Viking- or Scandinavian-dominated land, and was drawn into the European world of feudalism and absolute Catholic primacy, ironically enough by conquest at the hands of a descendant of Vikings!

Win Conditions

• King William must survive
• Your army must not be defeated by the English
• You must defeat the English army
• You must kill King Harold
• If Harold escapes the battlefield you cannot claim victory.

Norman Army

• 40 Feudal Knights
• 100 Feudal Knights
• 100 Feudal Knights
• 100 Feudal Knights
• 100 Archers
• 110 Archers
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 50 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights
• 100 Feudal Foot Knights

English Army

• 200 Feudal Foot Knights
• 200 Feudal Foot Knights
• 200 Feudal Foot Knights
• 200 Feudal Foot Knights
• 200 Feudal Sergeants
• 200 Feudal Sergeants
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Spearmen
• 200 Peasants
• 200 Peasants
• 200 Peasants

Flemish Army

• 70 Feudal Knights
• 60 Feudal Knights
• 70 Archers
• 80 Archers
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights

Breton Army

• 70 Feudal Knights
• 70 Feudal Knights
• 70 Feudal Knights
• 60 Archers
• 70 Archers
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 40 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights
• 60 Feudal Foot Knights

Tactics

Need input for this section.

Credits

The Background descriptions and Win Conditions are taken straight from the game text files in "\Medieval - Total War\Loc\Eng\", HISTCAMPAIGNS.TXT, HISTORICAL.TXT and CHANGES.TXT.