The Battle of Gate Fulford

• Gate Fulford

  The first of the key battles of 1066 to decide who would become the next king of England
• The Battle of Gate Fulford took place

  20th September 1066
• Saxon Deployment

  • Earl Morkar of Northumbria took up a defensive position on the northern side of the Germany Beck
  • Earl Edwin of Mercia took up a position on the other side of the Germany Beck
  • There was a small rise in the land which made communication difficult
  • Around 5,000 Saxon warriors in total
• Viking Deployment

  • Tostig led a force of lower quality Vikings
  • Hardrada's elite bodyguard took up positions opposite Edwin
  • A large Viking reserve was kept hidden behind the terrain
  • Around 10,000 Vikings in total including the reserve
• Opening Moves

  1. Both sides had to wait for the tide to go out

  2. Morkar's Northumbrians charged Tostig's section and pushed them back

  3. Hardrada's elite warriors then charged Edwin's Mercians, causing them to retreat

  4. Hardrada's men then charged and partially surrounded Morkar's exposed Northumbrians
• King Harold Godwinson had to abandon his southern defenses against William of Normandy to deal with the Viking threat
• Edwin and Morkar had shown their loyalty to King Harold by agreeing to fight the Vikings despite being outnumbered and outclassed