On the fourteenth day of the month, the two great armies met at Senlac Hill. After sending a few volleys of arrows, the Normans advanced towards the hill and attempted to break the English formation. But the shieldwall stood firm and the first three Norman assaults were repelled with ease.
The Normans were pushed back and morale was low in their ranks but the sight of the duke, riding on a white horse, rallied the troops. Under his banner, they walked again towards Harold’s army for a fourth assault. A group of Norman knights successfully crashed into the side of the English shieldwall, causing havoc and offering an opening for the foot soldiers. Twice the exhausted English formation broke and suffered heavy casualties. Harold was now exposed to the Norman attacks who suddenly had the upper hand.
Yet, in a turn of fate, when all seemed lost for king Harold, the Englishmen rallied and, with renewed strength, pushed the Normans back down the hill. In the chaos, many a baron fell and rumour was spreading that the duke had been killed. Panic spread and the Norman troops fled back to Hastings in disarray.
Harold had secured both his crown and his kingdom with this decisive victory. But before any celebrations could take place, the English king had to make sure that the pretender had been killed and the threat of invasion completely dealt with.
Harold and his men chased the remaining Norman soldiers to Hastings, where they had entrenched themselves in the wooden fort built days earlier. In a last effort, the Normans tried to held the English back but soon the gates were destroyed and the king’s huscarls flooded in, armed with great two handed axes. Many Norman leaders were killed in the melee and only a handful men were allowed to sail back to their homeland. Harold was victorious, having defeated two invading forces. He had showed to all that his crown was not for the taking.
— Odo de Baieus
_______________________________________________________
Thank you to all who fought in today's event. Thanks to all the clan leaders as well for helping making the moderation and preparation of the event much easier for me. Special thanks to Marko for helping with the organisation, Baptiste for making the wonderful maps and to the Cintra clan for lending us their game server. Thanks to Þorkell for helping promoting the event on steam and bringing back old veterans to the game. Thanks to the devs for making this wonderful mod, that is still enjoyable as ever. Do not hesitate to give us feedbacks, post your screenshots or recordings of the event.