Customer Reviews

Hastings 1066: The Fall of Saxon England (Campaign)

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The Norman invasion of England has always fascinated me, as it has a great many English-speaking historians. Gravett is a military historian/wargamer, so his approach is very detailed. You can follow the invasion, from the geopolitical rationale behind it to its preparation and the landing at Pevensey, almost day by day, mile by mile. And the culminating battle -- a pretty close thing, actually -- minute by minute and yard by yard. The strategic and tactical maps are excellent and there are also a number of plates displaying typical arms and armor on both sides.

This book does a fairly good job at describing the battles that eventually led to Hastings and the actual battle itself but, unfortunately, if falls weak on providing a context of why the war itself occurred. Most Osprey Campaign series books provide a few pages providing a geopolitical context regarding, the causes of the campaign's the cover and the nations/forces involved. Unfortunatley this one does a poor job hence the reader does not really know (at least based on reading the book) as to why the campaign was fought and what the opposing side's goals were. In addition, although there is fairly decent discussion regarding the commanders on both sides, there is little discussion comparing the opposing sides armies. What was lower and middle officer quality like? What about troop quality? Were there differences in tactics? These, among other questions, are simply unanswered. These are gaps that should not have been left open.

This book is very helpful for anyone interested in this very significant event in the history of England. The author is a superb authority of this period of time.