The Battle of Reading was fought on 4 January 871 during the Viking invasions of England. A West Saxon attack on the Viking army at Reading, Berkshire was repelled, but, just four days later, the West Saxons defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Ashdown.
Background[]
In 871, the Viking ruler of Jorvik Halfdan Whiteshirt and the warlord Bagsecg led half of the powerful Great Heathen Army in an invasion of Wessex, bypassing Mercia entirely and raging deep into Wessex. They were joined by Earl Ragnar the Fearless, whose army joined the assembling Danish forces at London. The Viking army reached the town of Reading, which they fortified as their base of operations; they were defended by the Thames and Kennet rivers on two sides, and by a rampart on the western side. Following the Battle of Englefield, the Danes were driven back to Reading, where King Aethelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred sought to finish them off. The Saxons assembled 3,000 troops, but Ragnar believed that only 300 of them were professional warriors. The Danes built a long, straggling earth wall at Reading, preparing to defend against a Saxon assault. When no West Saxon army attacked the next morning, the Danes built their wall higher, protecting the abandoned town.
Battle[]
The West Saxons had been just as crafty as the Danes, as they had sent spies to London and had discovered the Danes' plans to attack them in mid-winter while their guard was down. The West Saxons assembled a large Anglo-Saxon army which included both West Saxons, the men of Berkshire (led by Ealdorman Aethelwulf of Berkshire), and the men of southern Mercia, where Danish rule was lightest. The whole Anglo-Saxon army arched on Reading, attacking a gateway through Reading's ramparts. Band after band of West Saxon infantry emerged from the woods to attack the Danish fortifications. The West Saxon horsemen massacred the Danish foragers outside of the city, causing the Danes to be surprised. The Danes marched out of their defensive fortifications rather than be besieged, with Ragnar gathering men at the northern gate as Halfdan did the same at the southern end. Ragnar ordered the gate opened and led his men through while the Saxons were 200 paces from the central bridges, and the Vikings swarmed from their two gates to attack the Saxons from the north and south in shield walls. Ragnar was infuriated at the Saxons for massacring his raiding party, and the Danes gave a great war shout before surging with him. The rearmost Danes threw three to four spears, one after the other, past their shield wall and at the West Saxons, occasionally throwing Saxon spears back at them. The two shield walls collided, and the West Saxons lacked the courage to charge home. The Danish spear wall pushed forwards, and Aethelred and Alfred spurred away on horses as their men began to collapse. The young Uhtred of Bebbanburg accidentally killed his uncle Aethelwulf, who had been making the sign of the cross; Ragnar identified the dead man as Aethelwulf, and Uhtred realized that he had slain his own family. The Anglo-Saxon army was forced to retreat, allowing the Danes to recover on the bloody field before continuing their advance into Wessex. Just four days later, the Danes were defeated at the Battle of Ashdown, forcing them to withdraw from Wessex for almost a decade.