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TOURS-A.D.
732
tide upon the northern coasts of the
isles. The tattered ships that
escaped disaster limped home to
Spain. Many were so badly bat–
tered by the severe storms that they
were unfit for further service.
In commemoration of the Span–
ish defeat , Queen Elizabeth 1-
aware of the real source of the vic–
tory-ordered the striking of a si l–
ver commemorative meda!, bearing
the inscription: "God blew, and
they were scattered." Also, in a
song of thanksgivirig composed
shortly after the Armada's defeat,
Elizabetb declared, "He made the
wynds and waters rise. To scatter
all mynp enemies...."
• The Battle of Tours, fought in
central France in October, A.D.
732, was described by 19th-century
German historian Leopold von
Ranke as "one of the most impor–
tant epochs in the history of the
world." The great victory of
Charles Marte! and the Franks over
the invading Saracens halted forev–
er Moslem expansion into Europe.
The turning point in the fierce
day-long battle carne when a false
rumor of unknown origin spread
through the Moslem ranks just as
the Moslem cavalry was finally
beginning to break through the
close-knit ranks of Frankish infan–
try.
The unfounded rumor was that
sorne of the Franks were p lunder–
ing the Moslem camp, where much
spoil was stored in the tents. Fear–
ful of losing their valuable booty,
severa) squadrons of Moslem horse–
men galloped off to protect it.
Their fellow Moslems, however,
thought the horsemen were fteeing
from the Franks, and the whole
Januar y 1982
HASTINGS - 1066
Moslem host fell into confusion. As
Abd-er-Rahman, the Saracen Jead–
er, strove to lead his men back into
battle, the Franks succeeded in sur–
rounding and spearing him to
death. Leaderless, the Moslem host
Aed in defeat.
The future of Europe hung on
that day. Had an unknown Moslem
warrior not been struck by a false
and unfounded notion, tbe future
of aJJ Eu rope would have taken a
radically different path.
• The crucial battle of Hastings
on October 14, 1066-· in which the
English succumbed to the Norman
William the Conqueror-has been
described as "one of those battles
whicb at rare intervals , have
decided the fate of nations."
1n the late afternoon Harold–
last of the Anglo-Saxon kings and
commander of the English army–
was killed in battle shortly after
being struck in tbe right eye by a
Norman arrow shot into the air at
random. As evening neared, the
news of his death spread through–
out the English ranks. Leaderless
and demoralized, the English were
unable to rally and reform, and
they fted the field of battle. The
Norman conquest of England was
assured, laying the foundation for
the emergence of a united England
as a majar wor ld power.
• N apoleon's dramatic victory
over the combined armies of Russia
a nd Austria at Austerlitz on
December 2, 1805, established bis
dominance over the European con–
tinent. But his victory cannot be
attributed solely to bis tactical bril–
liance.
December 2 began with thick
fog and mist. The Russians and
Austrians could have wished for
i
nothing better. Under its cover,
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they hoped, the Austro-Russian }
armies would be able to complete
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tbeir mane uvers without the
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French seeing what they were
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doing.
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"But suddenly," as one historian "'
describes it, "the sun with uncom–
mon brightness carne through the
mist, the sun of Austerlitz. It was
in this blazing sun that Napoleon at
once sent a huge cavalry force
under Marshal Soult into the gap
left between the center and the left
of the Austro-Russian battlefield. "
This was the break N apoleon
needed. His victory was sealed.
Napoleon became the master of
Europe, sweeping away the dec–
adent and largely ce r emonial
medieval Holy Roman Empire and
establishing in its place a "revived"
version-a short-lived Roman–
European civilization dominated by
France.
• Napoleon's attempted come–
back from exile was foiled at
Waterloo in 1815 by a combined
British-Prussian army under the
Duke of Wellington and General
Gebhard von Blücher. Napoleon's
defeat, however, was due in part to
a timely pouring rain.
M.A. Arnault and C.L.F. Panc–
koucke, in their
Lije and Cam–
paigns of NapoleQn Bonaparte,
observe: "The night of the 17th [of
J une 1815] was dreadful , and
seemeq to presage the calamities of
the day. The violent and incessant
rain did not allow a moment's rest
to the [French] army. The bad
state of the roads hindered the arri–
val of provisions, and most of the
soldiers were without food."
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