Battle of Ashdown

Part of the Viking invasions of England

Date	8 January 871
Location	Berkshire
Result	West Saxon Victory

Belligerents

Wessex

Vikings

Commanders and leaders

Alfred

Bagsecg †
Halfdan
Five Earls

Strength

800-1000

slightly weaker

Casualties and losses

heavy

The Battle of Ashdown, in Berkshire (possibly the part now in Oxfordshire), took place on 8 January 871. Alfred the Great, then a prince of only 21, led the army of his brother, King Ethelred of Wessex, in a victorious battle against the invading Danes.

Accounts of the battle are based to a large extent on Asser's Life of Alfred, however there is some dispute about whether this is an authentic account.

The Danes, full of confidence after success at Reading, marched west to attack the Saxons who had retreated up onto the Berkshire Downs to reassemble their armies. Alfred had to act quickly to avoid defeat. The King’s troops had to be quickly mustered from the surrounding countryside. Alfred reputedly took his favourite white mare and rode up onto Blowingstone Hill (near Kingston Lisle), where stood an ancient perforated sarsen stone, called the "Blowing Stone". Anyone with the appropriate skill could generate a booming sound from this stone, by blowing into one of its holes. Alfred took a deep breath and was able to sound the alarm across the downs. All over the surrounding country, men were woken and gathered to defend their homes.

By the year 871 AD, most of England was no longer ruled by the English (that is Anglo-Saxons), and for years, Danish Viking invaders had poured into the country, sweeping aside all resistance and taking control of the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In 871, only the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex still offered resistance, but there had been a price to pay for holding the line. King Ethelred I (not to be confused with King Ethelred the Unready who would rule nearly a century later) had seen his three older brothers all die leading armies against the Danes. Now, only he and his younger brother Alfred were left.

In late 870, King Ethelred led the army of Wessex against the Danes in their stronghold at Reading. The attack failed, and the Anglo-Saxons were forced to retreat while the Danes pursued. The Danish armies caught up with the Anglo-Saxons on the field of Ashdown, located somewhere near the border of Oxfordshire and Berkshire (the precise location is unknown). It was January 8, 871. The weather was cold and damp, and the Berkshire Downs were soaked and boggy. King Ethelred divided his army in two, positioning the halves on either side of a ridgeway. Ethelred commanded one side, Alfred the other. As the Danes approached, they also split their army.

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