Atlas of Battles

commander, 6 engagements

Battles of Alfred the Great

Battles of Alfred the Great

king of Wessex (r. 872–901), AD 849 to AD 899

Alfred the Great is recorded as a commander at 6 placed engagements in the atlas between AD 871 and AD 878: 6 battles, all in present-day United Kingdom. Taken in date order, the sites lie 626 km apart end to end, 125 km between engagements on average.

Battle of ChippenhamBattle of ReadingBattle of AshdownBattle of BasingBattle of MartonBattle of EdingtonBattle of ReadingBattle of AshdownBattle of BasingBattle of MartonBattle of EdingtonBirminghamManchesterLiverpoolNottinghamStokeKingston upon HullBlackpoolLutonNorwichYork100 km52.552N, 1.688W
6 placed engagements, coloured by era. Present-day coastlines; ringed marks are the most widely documented.

Engagements by year

AD 871: 4 engagements4 in AD 871AD 877: 1 engagementsAD 878: 1 engagementsAD 871AD 878
6 dated engagements, one bar per year, coloured by era.

In time order

Battle of Reading, AD 871Battle of Ashdown, AD 871Battle of Basing, AD 871Battle of Marton, AD 871Battle of Chippenham, AD 877Battle of Edington, AD 878AD 871AD 878
One tick per dated engagement; each tick is a link.

Engagements by date

DateEngagementPlaceFrom the lastResult
8 January AD 871Battle of ReadingReading, United KingdomViking victory
8 January AD 871Battle of AshdownBerkshire, United Kingdom20 km NWWest Saxon Victory; • Multiple Norse earls slain
22 January AD 871Battle of BasingOld Basing, United Kingdom32 km SEViking victory
AD 871Battle of MartonUnited Kingdom300 km NViking victory
December AD 877Battle of ChippenhamChippenham, United Kingdom265 km SViking victory
April AD 878Battle of EdingtonEdington, United Kingdom9 km WSaxon victory; Treaty of Wedmore

Sources and method

Commanders come from the commander fields of the English Wikipedia infoboxes of these engagements (CC BY-SA 4.0), resolved to one article each; portrait, dates and description from Wikidata (CC0) and Wikimedia Commons, CNG - Classical Numismatic Group, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. Distances are great-circle distances between recorded sites, not marches.