1066 "Pocket Sized" Hastings Wargame 

As a englishman im glad you made this series keep up the good work

Without a clear victory, it's unlikely the Saxon nobles go over to William, and the French king may look at this as a chance to bring his Duke to heel. I suspect William has to flee back to France, but I imagine future generations of French kings might try to go over the channel in the future - a reversed 100 Years' War?

I think it's pretty interesting to note just how huge the swift death of Harold Godwinson on the battlefield of Hastings changed history. If he had even lived past that day, the Normans likely wouldn't have been able to sustain their invasion, and Harold Godwinson may have echoed Alfred the Great in how he handled the negotiations with William.

Great game. Tony was really on his game to spring that ambush on turn 1. Odo and his boys took that bait hook, line and sinker. This was a battle about time management. There will be no Bayeaux Tapestry in this world. Loved the series. Kelly does a collaborative podcast called Bow and Blade where they discuss various medieval battles. It's worth a listen and they do have an episode on Hastings.

WHOOOOOOO! The momment I have been waiting for. The most famous battle for me when I was a young child.

Great battle and Tony never fails to impress. His flank ambush is what achieved victory. Siphoned off troops and the loss of Odo caused the Norman attack to shift leaders and neutralized many troops. Well played

"This is pretty cool." Lord Tony Marano, King of England. Dec. 6 2022.

With not much left of the Saxon army in the end, it's very much looking like a Saxon defeat. Maybe Harold can flee to London and rally a new army. But his best men are killed in that game while William still has a substantial force. Congratulations to Tony nevertheless.

fantastic, love the small scale kitchen table size. thanks

This is the best channel on RU-vid, and the comment section is the most enlightening and interesting!

That was just fantastic. A friend and I had walked the field the August before last.We had climbed the steps to the roof of the abbey where my usual fear of heights had led me to flee earthwards only to catch my head on the last medieval door before exit. When my more composed friend had rejoined me I said " Well we have done Battle" and he had replied " Well Nick, rather like Harold, Battle has appeared to have done you". Thank you gentlemen, you epitomise the spirit and fun of wargaming.

My boy, Godwinson, for the win! Awesome scenarios, guys!

Not sure cowed in a swamp surrounded by knights is much of a victory in the longer term sense but...well played Tony/Harold. Great game, great campaign. Loved the larger scale battles with these rules.

Fantastic the way you've based the minis, and they look so good on that 'pocket sized' custom board. Seemed to accommodate your game nicely. Going to have to build one myself for my feudal Japan project :) Great to see the 6mm scale being represented and appreciated.

You did it! you posted yet another awesome video! please don't stop.

Excellent. The buildup to the battle explained from the historian's perspective, the battle itself played out in 6mm, and then a neat post-battle analysis. This is how it's done when it's done well.

Another great episode. Love the mix of playing the game with the historical context discussion.

The forced march to Hastings after defeating Hardrada and Tostig's invading Viking army at Stamford Bridge was a monumental feat of arms. Especially considering the fact England possessed a minimal standing army and relied heavily upon yeoman farmers and militia to fill it's ranks. Harold faced a severe depletion of his force as manpower dwindled throughout the return journey, necessitating recruitment of fresh troops as they headed South from York. Harvest was due and many of his experienced men began to drift off having more than fulfilled their original pledge of service while waiting seven months on the Isle of Wight for the Norman invasion fleet. Crops needed harvesting and farms readying for the coming winter. This potentially waning chance of replenishing his losses (From previous battle and desertion) meant Hastings could prove Harold's last ditch chance of stopping William's Norman force from gaining much more of a foothold inland and reaching London. Hastings (Battle) was to become an all or nothing battle for Harold and his many untried men. Harold's army was defeated, with William ultimately winning the crown and - eventually - the country, once his feudal lords took charge, displacing the vast majority of the remaining Anglo Saxon nobility from their lands and subduing the North during the years that followed.

Cliffhanger ending - totally awesome! More Saxon troops would have arrived that night and the next day keeping the Saxon cause alive against a weakened invader. Well done chaps, you nailed it.

This has been a great series. Thank you very much.... outstanding games all. :)

Ok so a few ideas for the next big series that you guys could do. The War of the Roses, The 100 Years war, Napoleon's conquest of Europe.

Once again, and excellent video and outstanding game! Tony's ambush was a master stroke, but I am surprised that he did not refuse the right flank of the shield wall once the Norman horse began to outflank it. I really like Professor DeVries commentary, especially the 'hey dude, this is big' comment. I have purchased a copy of Raven Feast, and intend to put together my own armies in 15mm. Thanks again, Little Wars TV!

Great series Gents enjoyed all of it!! & You gotta love playing on a 2 by 2

Excellent trilogy of videos. Inspiring

A great battle and a great narrative with some interesting history. As always on this channel.

Awesome, I've been waiting for this!

This is a amazing video please keep on doing stuff like this

Huzzah! Great series, its why I watch and am inspired by Little Wars TV!

More WWII battles please!! Love the content!

Fantastic as always. Definitely thinking about making a pocket sized battlefield

Great video, good background and a great game, cracking stuff.

We haven't seen Zack in ages. Good to have him back.What the music played at the end of the video?

Bloody brilliant Tony 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

guys i can’t watch this right now or else i’ll get too addicted to the minis……..tooo late

That was great I know I enjoyed this trilogy. Well fought.

I'd swear Tony is a clone of my brother, his look and expressions and even tone of voice are uncanny. Great fight and close finish, well played by both.

I love smaller scale feel more boardgamey perfect fit for a englishmans home or castle, the in location history is cool

Great series! Glory to Godwinson!

And finally the good guys win lol! Wonderful series wonderful game

Here's hoping Harry Arrow-eye wins

The Auto-generated closed captioning for this video seems to have trouble with the word "Huscarls" and it was hilarious reading that Godwinson was missing "Two stands of mounted horse girls" for the battle. :D

Another great game with a great twist using the ambush. That ambush hands down changed the entire game combined with all those initial saving throws.

If Harold would have stayed a week longer in Londen he would have received at least 1500 extra troops, enough to sustain thé shieldwall and win thé day

Just waiting for a 6mm Leipzig 1813 wargame...... 1:1 scale👀

Excellent play-balance. Well done.

Really dig the narrative nature of these battle reports.

excellent final

Phenomenal series

You weren't lying with the "pocket sized" bit

Some historians rank the Battle of Hastings as one of the most decisive battles in human history in terms of it's far reaching implications. Think how different English, and by extension world history would have panned out if there was a different outcome that day?

A fantastic series of videos really enjoyed. Is there a tutorial on doing the boards ? Really enjoy watching your videos.👍👌

Considering the situation at the end of the battle. The saxons low on strength and spending the night in the swamps. I would still call that a Norman victory, if only a minor one.

It was nice to see the Malfosse included in the battle. A rear guard action surprized the leading Normans here, so an ambush did occur, but not in the order of the game

Another great video! Do you all have plans to fight the battle of Germantown? The fog and visibility could be a great mechanic

everything looks awesome! yay for little figures, yay for little bases, yay for 2' by 2' boards. i knew you guys were secretly minimalists and in love with DBA! now please do some napoleonics on a little board. i want to see which rules you might use.

Well done.

I think it would be interesting and entertaining if we had a what if… battle after Hastings based on Harold Godwinson surviving his wound and able to keep the majority of his surviving army intact. Maybe he would attempt to thwart William from taking London or maybe he’d abandon it and gather what strength he could and lure the Normans to a battle of his choosing. Great series though and quite the pivotal moment in English History.

Being so used to Warhammer 40k where it only lasts 4 or 5 turns, this was awesome. I couldn't imagine going at it for 12 turns. That had to be rough on the strategy for both sides.

Let's get this thing done, Godwinson!

Well in medieval time being called bastard is a good thing. i.e. it is a formal acknowledgement that you are daddy's son and that he has set you up.

This was fought just up the road from me :-)

Is there interest at the club for wargaming the Persians during their various wars? Great video and campaign!

I wonder if you could play Agincourt with these rules?

I love how much historical war gamers appreciate history!

Another one of those moments that is such a crossroads in history - I sometimes wonder how different the world might look if William did in fact lose this battle and the Normans never took over the crown.

Could you try to set up the Battle of Aachen or the Hürtgen Forest sometime? I'd love to see it

If you ever get the chance, go to Bayeux and see the tapestry. Its well worth the trip.

So, the Saxon king gets driven with his army back into the swamp and survives, but would they have had the strength to drive the Normans off or would they become an insurgent band forced to rely on hit and run tactics over years of continuous war until one or the other are dead or suffer a crushing defeat?

Hi, I have recently discovered your channel, and it's brilliant. You mentioned that in future video you would talk with professor Devries about medieval tactics. Was this video published? Because I can't find it :(

Well Done

Zoolander: "What is this, a wargame for ants? Those miniatures, should be at least three times as big."

The reason for Harold marching so far south is quite simple and is due to the different topography in1066. The Norman led army landed on a peninsula which no longer exists. The battlefield of Senlac-Hastings was at the neck of the peninsula, and thus blocked the exit route. Harold moves to prevent the Norman army from moving out and deeper into English land, and preventing them ravaging English estates. The English fyrd were on horseback and would have reached the field in reasonable shape. The exhaustion theory is really just an excuse to explain the defeat. Remember Harold had seen William's forces in action in Brittany in 1064. His choice of ground was a means of neutralising the power of William's knights. Just one further pont: the feigned flight is a myth. The Normans are never mentioned using it elsewhere, not even in Sicily later in the C11th. It is more likely that some of the English thegns reacted to the retreat of the conrois as they fell back to rest and rearm and were caught by fresh companies of knights riding forward.

Fabulous game guys, a close win for the usurper Harold…..

Maybe I miss something in the rules, but how do crossbows work. They seem to be worse bows, shorter range more point cost? And what’s their value for the point architecture. Thank you so much for the beautiful reports. Very inspiring series.

When Time Team dug Hastings they too concluded that the battle lines ran across the old Roman Road. BTW there is a very interesting 2-part docu-drama entitled "The Battle of Middle Earth" about the 1066 campaign. It can be found on RU-vid

Might you perhaps do a linked campaign, based on the anglo-saxons that left England after the 1066 conquest. They traveled through the Mediterranean. Along the way they fought moors in north africa, aided the byzantine emperor Menelaus in lifting a siege of Constantinople, and finally they founded a colony in what is now modern day crimea.

Why did Willam want England? Because he really was a bastard. Why did Harold fight at Hastings? He was Earl of Wessex, which William was harrying, or "denuding" of peasants. SO Harold had to fight, just to show he could protect his own. But in a sterile sense, bad call on Harolds' part. But, I've walked up that ridge in October, it's hard, even in modern combat boots. No way would I want to try it in leather medieval shoes with a bunch of angry Saxons, lobbing the kitchen sink down on me. GREAT GAME!

Very Nice video it would be interesting to play this in 54mm scale I will consider it for a future game.

There is an assumption here, even by the professor that Harold marched around with his army in tow, but that is not the case. Most of the army for the individual battles would be assembled from local levies and county housecarls. Very few nembers of the army who fought up north, would also have fought in the south. The location chosen by Harold was masterful. It was unfortunate for him that on the day, Norman cavalry carried the day, and the saxon wall fell to a successful diversion (retreat).

The Malfosse to the rescue! What a brilliant cliffhanger you've brought to this last battle! Harold may have kept his crown, but for how long? His army teeters on the brink of ruin, his brothers are dead, and while foiled by the Malfosse Duke William still holds a potent force- not to mention the blessings of the Pope and the threat of ex-communication implied by his Papal Banner. Sounds to me like a follow up at Southwark is in order!!! As contingents of Norman cavalry ravage the countryside, can Harold convince the powerful church that his pyrrhic victory and escape was an act of God? How will he reconcile the death of his brothers and that of Bishop Odo to Divine omen? Or will the Archbishop of Canterbury, horrified by the death of a Bishop and fearful of Papal wrath speak out against the King? Surely his words will weigh heavily on future resistance... The fyrd is a superstitious lot that cares little of Kings and Dukes. They fear the wrath of God. Hahaha you guys absolutely nailed this mini-campaign. We want more!!!

Just imagine how big of an English hero that Harold would've become. First, his historical forced march to Stanford Bridge. He decisively puts an end to the Viking invasions of England once and for all on top of dealing with his traitorous brother Tostig. Then, he races south with a depleted (and don't forget technologically inferior) force and meets the Normans in combat. He uses the terrain to his maximum benefit and through sheer will, his shield wall holds and wins the day. Harold would go down as greater than Alfred.

Final comment, my hunch is that support for Harald wasn't as strong as many think. My opinion is that Harald was worried, rightly or wrongly, about others joining William. His brother has recently joined the Norwegians, who else would betray him? Surprisingly, both Edwin and Morcar survived Fulford Gate and helped at Stamford Bridge, defending their lands, but didn't come down south. Harald needed to crush William quickly, not the other way round.

in reference to why did Harold rush south: William was committing atrocities that could feasibly be described as genocide or ethnic cleansing. Sussex was part of the power base of the House of Godwin, which had been forged as the Duchy of Wessex and its immediate surroundings. Harold not only had a moral/cultural obligation to defend his people, but also an economic incentive to prevent William from burning villages down. If you look at the Domesday Book, there's a word used to describe many areas in the south (among other regions): wasta. from the latin, it translates roughly as "laid to waste." this distinction is used to refer to settlements that had existed before the conquest but were so destroyed from the conflict that there was nothing left that was taxable.

Well that was a glorious victory... didn't exactly feel conclusive, though. Follow-up game?

I live in the area. It might be worth clarifying that Hastings the Town isn't actually the site of the battle. The Abbey William built at the site formed the town of Battle around the site. Hastings is about 20 minutes away by car.

Speaking of rebel lords, I was a little while ago reading about Hereward, who was a Saxon mercenary who returns to England on learning that his family's lands (in what is now Norfolk and Cambridgeshire) have been taken away and given to a Norman nobleman. Hereward and his men launch a surprise attack, massacring the Norman lord and his followers during a victory celebration. Hereward appeals to the local priest to knight him (which he does), apparently in order to give his rebellion some legitimacy. Norfolk and Cambridgeshire were much more marshy then than they are now, and when the Normans send retaliatory forces against him, the Saxons ambush them in the swamps, destroying them. In the end, William offers to recognise Hereward's claim to his family's lands in return for his fealty, which you could interpret as William being forced to the negotiating table, or Hereward being bought off, depending on your preference.

hi little wars. What are the base size for the minis you used? Thinking of doing something similar

Love you guys! Your linked campaign videos are fantastic. But friends, men on horses are CAValry, not CALvary. You have my subscription. You have my likes. You have my support on pronunciation..... CAValry. Thanks for sharing your passion for the hobby. Keep up the great work.

Is there a link to the history guy talking about the battle. I looked but didn’t see it or I overlooked it somewhere maybe

03:30 Javelin cavalry attack. What do l know but this seems a tactic that will bite back. Any thrown javelins must get past a shield wall held by men who are watching the throwers’ every move. Every one of those javelins will be getting hurled back and a man and his horse makes a better target. At some point the horsemen must turn their backs to the shield wall as they withdraw.

Have you folks considered Naseby in 1645 or perhaps some of the battles of the Thirty Years War?

Hey! I just stumbled across Ravenfeast and gave it a try as my first approach to historical wargaming. I bought the 6mm army sets from Baccus but I wonder how many mini minis to put on a 2.5 x 2.5 soze base?! Can someone help me please?

Great game! Where do I find the Crossbow rules? I looked around on the WSS website and throughout the Ravenfeast website, but I couldn't find them anywhere.

What's the population density in Normandy at that time? Maybe no longer enough farm land to go around?

I'm obviously being dense but where can I find how to base up all three Armies in these videos? Cheers

Why not try the battle across the suggested ground at Crowhurst, NOT at the Abbey, and see if the battle more exactly reflects the Bayeux Tapestry and the two extant accounts?

Anyone else unable to find the rules for Normans anywhere on the website? I sure can't, and I'm not subscribed to the WS&S magazine unfortunately.

Battle of Brunanburh 937AD please

Where did you purchase the miniatures used in this battle?

Strategically, William would still win the war because he was pressing the advantage.