The Battle of Cambridge occurred in the winter of 880 AD amid the Viking invasions of England. King Alfred the Great of Wessex defeated the Danish army of King Osbeorn of Ledeborg in a large battle fought slightly west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. King Osbeorn and the vast majority of his soldiers were slain, allowing for King Alfred to remove a major Viking threat to his northern border.
Background[]
In 879 AD, King Alfred the Great of Wessex took advantage of infighting among the Danish principalities of the "Five Burghs" (Ledeborg, Djurby, Hylrborg, Hellirborg, and Steinnborg) to invade the Midlands. He captured Buckingham from the Danes of Bedeborg without any resistance, and he went on to take Northampton by storm in 880 AD and destroy the army of Heimiliborg at the Battle of Kelmarsh. Alfred's victories persuaded Ledeborg to back out of the Danish alliance and make peace with Alfred, whose battle-hardened and powerful army was now in a position to conquer all of the Five Burghs. Alfred was thus able to move on to take Bedeborg without resistance, depriving Bedeborg of all of its lands.
However, Alfred's gains would not be secure unless he could confront King Copsig of Bedeborg and destroy Bedeborg once and for all. Copsig had withdrawn into Ledeborg's lands, taking Bedeborg's last remaining army with him. Alfred had already foreseen that the peace with Ledeborg would be tenuous, at best, as Ledeborg would likely leap at the opportunity to seize Northampton and Buckingham if Alfred were to leave the cities unprotected. Alfred also resolved to destroy Bedeborg's army, even if it was on Ledeborg's territory.
In the winter of 880 AD, Alfred was compelled to act after receiving reports that King Osbeorn of Ledeborg was leading a sizeable army north through Cambridgeshire to return to its base of Huntingdon in Huntingdonshire. Alfred feared that, if unimpeded, Osbeorn and his army could join forces with Copsig and pose a great threat to Wessex's new lands. Alfred set out from Bedford with his army and confronted Osbeorn's army outside of Cambridge, restarting a war with Ledeborg despite a recent peace treaty.
Battle[]
The rout at Cambridge
The Saxons arrayed their army in a strategic attack position: the main body of Alfred's army, consisting of infantry, drew up on ground level with that of the Danish army, while the Saxon cavalry took up positions on a steep hill on the Saxon left flank. The main Saxon army charged into battle with the Danish army, leading to a massive melee battle erupting. The West Saxons arrayed their army so that the Danish rear would be vulnerablle to a downhill Saxon cavalry charge, and the Saxon cavalry galloped down the hill and surged into the Danish rear, enveloping their army and slaughtering them from behind. After a great slaughter, the Danes were routed, and the Saxons ruthlessly pursued them and cut down dozens more of them.
Aftermath[]
The Danish dead
The battle was a disaster for the Danes of Ledeborg, who lost their king and their only major field army. The 148-strong remnant of the Danish army, led by Hereward the Captain, did not escape for long before Alfred and the rest of his army cut them to pieces with just 10 losses of their own. The 27 surviving Danes were incorporated into Alfred's army, which went on to peacefully occupy Elig (Ely) and Huntandon (Huntingdon). Soon, Alfred faced threats on three fronts: King Aemund and a fleet of Vikings from Nordmann appeared to the south of the Isle of Wight, the Welsh state of Gliwissig initiated a rebellion against King Alfred's rule, and Copsig sacked Bedford. King Alfred, content with his two new conquests, made peace with King Guttron of Ledeborg in order to focus on dealing with these new threats, allowing for Ledeborg to temporarily recover from Alfred's assault.