At the end of December 1044, shortly after William's army had left, a raiding fleet of 35 Viking longships carrying 1,400 Viking soldiers raided Southampton, Wessex.

The purpose of this Viking army was to attract the attention of the Normans by harassing the coastal counties of Wessex, and to relieve the pressure on the Godwins side of the city of London.

However, what the Vikings did not expect was that by the time they arrived at the once-rich city of Southampton, it had been burned to the ground, and the once prosperous city was a thing of the past.

In desperation, the Vikings had no choice but to abandon the place for the time being, and instead attack Winchester Castle.

Winchester Castle, as William's capital and seat in the Wessex counties, is naturally extremely important, so William invested heavily in the original Winchester Castle on the foundation of Normandy stone reinforcement.

What the Vikings were now facing was no longer the old castle of earth and masonry, but a fortress made of stone walls guarded by Norman knights and civilians.

The Vikings came in longships, and they did not carry any siege equipment when they came, and they relied on the mobility of the Viking longships to launch surprise attacks, and many castles and cities without any preparation would be easily breached by the Vikings.

However, they miscalculated, and the commander stationed here was the famous Norman general Earl Andrew, who also commanded a large number of Norman knights and civilian troops, and he had not been touched and allowed the Vikings to wreak havoc in Wessex in order to attract the Vikings to the hinterland.

Far from the Viking longships, on which the Vikings relied on them, they lost their proud ability to maneuver, and 1,400 Viking soldiers fell apart under the iron cavalry led by Count Andrew, almost all of the Viking warriors were wiped out by the Normans, and few Vikings escaped from the area.

Due to a miscalculation of the battlefield situation, in the battle with Earl Andrew and the Norman knights stationed in Winchester's stronghold, the Viking leader Ivar was killed along with 1,400 of his soldiers, and only a few survived, and the Normans were victorious.

This war was only the beginning of the Viking raid on England, and in the decades that followed, countless Viking pilots and Viking longships formed fleets to launch adventures and plunders against the counties of Wessex.

......

Outside London, the Godwin family's army once again dared not retreat from the walls of the city of London, this was the third attack in these days, and this time it was the closest they came to success, with two hundred Viking warriors successfully climbing the walls of the city of London, only one step away from opening the gap in the city's defenses.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of connection between the Vikings and other armies, after they occupied a section of the city wall, the follow-up troops and allies followed in time to consolidate the stronghold of the city wall, and as a result, more than 200 Vikings were defeated by 100 Norman knights and 100 Norman professional soldiers who rushed in, and then were driven off the city wall.

"The last chance has been lost, it's time for us to leave, father, brother." With a sigh, the whole army commanded Tostig. Godwinson confronted his father, Earl. Godwin and older brother Swain. Godwinson persuaded.

"We still have a chance, if only we can compel His Majesty King Edward in the city of London to pardon our Godwins, conclude a peace treaty with us, and return to us the territories we have previously recovered. Only in this way will my Godwin family have a foothold in the Kingdom of England, and not be driven out by the Normans as they are now

This is our only hope, and only by seizing this opportunity can my Godwin family have a future. "The head of the Godwin family, Earl. Godwin shook his head in refusal.

"Father, don't you know that William's Norman army is not far from the other side of the Thames? It will only take a day at most, and the Norman army will arrive under London tomorrow at the earliest, when it will be too late for whatever we decide to do. Tostig said bitterly.

"If you still consider me to be your father, listen to me and attack the city of London again today, as far as I know His Majesty King Edward, he is not as strong as the Normans, as long as we work harder, King Edward will agree to our terms, and then my Godwin family will be able to stand on the stage of England again."

"Big brother, you also persuade your father." Tostig sword El Godwyn stubbornly had to turn to his big brother Swain. Godwinson asked for help.

"Since my father insisted, why not give it a try? Besides, with the Viking longship at hand, we can calmly cross the Thames and the North Sea, so that we are invincible, and even if we are defeated by William's Norman army, we can calmly withdraw. "Sven. Godwinson said with a smile and shook his head.

"Alright, father, big brother, let's fight the city of London again, but if we don't succeed, we'll have to evacuate England early tomorrow morning on a Viking longship." Tostig. Godwinson sighed helplessly and said.

Tostig seized the time to lead his army to attack the city, and he pressed almost all the troops in his hands, and nearly 10,000 people attacked at the same time, which put great pressure on the more than 2,600 defenders stationed in the city of London.

Just as the city of London was about to fall to itself, the sound of horses' hooves rumbling from the rear of Godwin's army rang out, and the smoke and dust raised by the galloping horses obscured the sky.

It turned out that William had abandoned the infantry, civilian army, and baggage troops that were marching slowly, and led two thousand guards cavalry, two thousand Norman knights, and some mounted infantry to take the lead, and galloped through the night with one man and three horses, and finally waded across the Thames this afternoon, and suddenly appeared behind the Godwin family regiment without anyone noticing.

Although William and his cavalry were tired, the pre-battle excitement was enough to take the exhaustion away, and they excitedly clenched the reins and launched a surprise attack on the back of the Godwin army.

Since the Godwin legion had already been wounded by this time, and there was not much reserve behind them to defend the flank, the thousands of Norman cavalry galloping forward were like sharp blades cutting into butter, splitting the enemy in half.

After a successful Norman cavalry raid in the first battle, William had several main forces to destroy the Godwin's main line and crush the enemy on all fronts.

Throughout the day, Norman cavalry pursued the enemy, slashing the outlaws from behind with sharpened swords. The Normans fought hard against anyone who sailed the waves with Godwin, and they were doomed to defeat.

Including Tostig. Godwin and Swain. Five members of the Godwin family, including Godwin, died on that battlefield, they died by the sword, and they followed Earl. Godwin's seven Viking chieftains, as well as countless sailors, Vikings, and Scots, were killed.

The head of the Godwin family, Earl. Godwin was forced to flee, and he fled to the bow of his ship with a small group of men, and the ship broke and sailed, and Earl, Godwin, escaped with his life on the hazel rushing water.