Battle of Hastings

Almost immediately after the viking invaders of 1066 left in defeat at the hands of King Harold, the Duke of Normandy landed on the southern shores of England with his army unified underneath a papal banner which showed the pope's consent for invasion. A new contender for the crown had appeared and seeing this, Harold marched all the way down south with his beaten and exhausted army for one last fight against a foreign invader. In 1051, it is believed that William was given the right to rule in the case of Edward the Confessors's death but that plan was discarded on Edward's deathbed when he gave the right to Harold Godwinson. The battle lasted an entire day and went back and forth between the upper hand. Throughout the whole battle though, the English had less of an advantage due to their lack of rest and lack of supplies. They had gone to the point where they had to wait for a volley of enemy arrows just so they could launch them right back. At some point in the battle, the Normans had made a light charge against the English on top of a hill but couldn't break through so they retreated and the English tried to route them but fell right into what was meant to be a trap. With the English men charging and trying to route the retreating enemy, Norman armored cavalry placed behind the main army came around and confronted the English that were chasing the Normans. The entire English charge was put down almost instantly. The retreat had been a clever ruse. After this, the battle went downhill for the English, Harold was hit by an arrow much later in the battle and fell to his death. Without a leader, what remained of his army fled north to their respective homes except for his personal guard which rallied around his corpse and valiantly fought to defend the body until their deaths. After winning at Hastings, William got London to surrender and on Christmas day, he was crowned the first Norman high king of England. England was in Norman hands.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-hastings
http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/battle-of-hastings
http://www.britishbattles.com/norman-conquest/battle-hastings.htm