Feigned retreat

Accounts credit the Normans with repeating this through feigned retreats: pretending to flee so that English soldiers would follow. However, historians debate how far the withdrawals were deliberately planned and how far the Normans exploited genuine retreats. The important military mechanism is clear: pursuit drew defenders out of their strong position and made them more vulnerable.

William reportedly used feigned retreats to repeat this opportunity deliberately. Soldiers pretended to flee, encouraged the English to chase them, then turned and counterattacked. Accounts leave uncertainty about the exact sequence and how many retreats were planned, so the initial retreat should not automatically be treated as a deliberate trick.

The Normans then used feigned retreats—pretending to flee in order to encourage another pursuit. Accounts describe two further retreats of this kind. Each time English soldiers followed, the Normans turned and attacked them.