Comments by "Ray Purchase" (@raypurchase801) on "The Battle of Hastings Begins" video.

  1. I've been to the Hastings battle site. Something on my "What to do before I die" list. Fookin expensive to get in. Not much to see when you get there.
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  2. William the Bastard. Seriously, almost a thousand years have passed and I'm still angry about this.
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  3. I was in a plumbers merchants this morning. Inspired by this video, I chatted with the bloke behind the counter who does re-enactments. He's got the beard, the hair style, the Celtic tattoos, the lot. The bloke actually praised William the bastard for his innovative approach to training, and for bringing cavalry with him. Nice to get a wide range of views.
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  4. WHAT?
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  5.  @stumccabe  Excellent comment. Stu schooled Stacey.
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  6. Harold's mother and other advisors wanted him to delay for a day or two, so that extra English soldiers could arrive on site. Harold said no, William assumed Harold's army was still up north. Hitting William very quickly would carry an element of surprise. As it turned out, many English soldiers were still arriving in the days after the battle, gobsmacked that the conflict had already been decided.
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  7. I recall the historian Michael Wood's account of the battle. William's forces were repeatedly beaten off by the English shield wall, and it looked like Harold would win. William inspired his soldiers for one last attack. This too was beaten off, but a part of the English line broke and pursued the Normans down the hill. The Normans rallied. The English were cut off and couldn't return up the hill. Hundreds of English made a last stand at an apple tree and were hacked to pieces in full sight of the remaining English army. The Normans exploited the huge gap in the shield wall, and soon it was "game over". The entire history of England and the world was changed forever, because some over-enthusiastic amateur soldiers broke discipline.
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