The Battle of Stamford Bridge 1066

The events of 1066 are perhaps the most famous in early British History and really need little introduction. As my Dark age collection has grown over the last few years I have been looking to present our version of the battles and after some last minute painting we were able to give them our best shot.

So first up Stamford Bridge 25 September 1066. Harold having waited on the south coast has marched North catching the Viking army under Harold Hardrada and his traitorous brother Tostig unprepared. (Anybody who doesn’t know the history I can recommend a BBC three part documentary available on iPlayer). Those with a keen memory will know we visited the battlefield earlier this year in the summer. This stone sits on the edge of the area known as Battle Flats and is likely the line of the Saxon army the Vikings a few hundred yard over the modern hedge.

There are a number of key elements of the battle we wanted to incorporate although I think many of these can be taken with some licence as the documentation for all these battles is limited

The initial setup for the battle, the Vikings have been caught off guard but have hastily formed a defensive position, Harold the true King of England has crossed the river and potentially a ford which is mentioned in some histories. Wether or not a single Viking held up the Saxon army it is too good an opportunity to miss. The Vikings receive reinforcements later in the battle under Eystein Orre who had been with the boats to the west, they arrived fully armoured but tired. We managed to build all these elements into the battle.

The initial part of the battle then sees the Saxon army held up to represent the lone defence of the bridge,  after the full army was set up across the river a unit had to take on a single Viking on the bridge. Luckily there are rules for this individual in Kings of war so we played him straight from the book. Units which he was able to defeat would be removed from the battle and for each turn he survived we would randomly select a Saxon unit which would then be replaced back over the bridge. This seemed to work really well.

The first unit was destroyed and 3 further units pushed back over the bridge.

But eventually the inevitable happens and the lone Viking is killed allowing the rest of the battle to begin

The two armies are equal in size although Hardrada and Tostig are waiting for the reinforcements, to balance the odds. Grabbing the initiative Harold throws his army forward into the attack

Those units caught on the wrong side of the bridge must move fast to get into the action.

The clash of the two lines

The pack of soldiers and men means not everybody can get into combat immediately, if there was enough space we allowed the Saxon archers to fire over the mass of men onto the rear ranks.

Wounds begin to build up on both sides

as units push forward and backward

Then holes begin to appear in both the Viking and Saxon line

Tostig leads the way forward in a counter attack, whilst in the distance Harold Godwinson throws down a challenge to the Viking King

Just as things are looking bleak for the Northmen Orre arrives from Ricall with extra men, this might tip the scales

Tostig is wounded but somehow survives 😢

Worn down by combat the main Saxon army has been able to wipe out the bulk of the Viking army but they are now assailed from their flank

Armoured Vikings and berserkers charge in from the right.

The battlefield has now broken down into two battles

The Saxons holding the central area but the fresh Norsemen are pushing forward

The berserkers make short work, of the fatigued Saxons on the right

Finally Harold is able to get into combat with Hardrada and with the help of his men

The great Viking king is killed

Harold is unable to catch his brother who manages to escape again !

At this point we called the battle overall a draw. With barely two infantry blocks apiece the two armies have fought each other to a standstill. Hardrada is dead so the immediate threat to the crown and invasion has gone. Many have died on both sides but Harold Godwinson is declared the victor of the day. Least that is what the history books will say.

A splendid battle, we managed a balanced scenario which felt close and ended very close. Only the death of Hardrada really separating the armies. The rules  (Kings of War Historical) work well for the Dark ages where there isn’t much subtlety but they represent blocks of men crashing shield walls and the push back and forward of this type of combat. My only regret was The escape of Tostig who as a traitorous dog should have lost his head (which he did historically on the battlefield)

Rather than three weeks Harold now had barely 12 hours to regroup, rebuild his army and March them south to fight the Normans.

😀