THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION – FRANCE. See Reading in a new light. google_ad_slot = "4852765988";
google_ad_width = 160; If one accepted it, the two armies drew up in obligingly parallel lines. 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. Many hundreds of bodies covered the battlefield. Alfred had to act quickly to avoid disaster. Wimborne, Dorset. Paul It would be great if you could support this project by purchasing a copy. [2], There is also an account of a visit to the battlefield in Tom Brown's Schooldays:-, "And now we leave the camp, and descend towards the west, and are on the Ashdown. Alfred the Great, then a prince of only 22, 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. The morale of the army was high and Alfred reckoned that in order to keep it high it was essential to assume the offensive. In the Old English of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the location of the battle is called æscesdun. Having conquered East Anglia in 865, they sailed up the Thames and came ashore at Maidenhead.
The Battle of Ashdown was fought January 8, 871, and was part of the Viking-Saxon Wars. Though Ethelred called off the pursuit at nightfall, the Danes continued their flight. King Burgred of Mercia applied to Ethelred for help. The Danes held the camp and the slope where we are standing—the whole crown of the hill, in fact. http://www.bernardcornwell.net/books/the-last-kingdom-2/, Articles needing additional references from February 2014, All articles needing additional references, Royal Berkshire History: Alfred & Ashdown.
Some years after the Boer War, manoeuvres were held at Ashdown Park. Modern investigation suggests a site on the Ridgeway between Aldworth and the Astons.
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The King’s troops had to be mustered from the surrounding countryside without delay. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! They would correspond approximately with Napoleon’s Old Guard. While the casualties for the Battle of Ashdown are not known, the chronicles of the day report them as being heavy on both sides. The ensuing melee caused many injuries and was referred to as 'The Battle of Ashdown'. Falling back from Reading, the Saxon army escaped from their pursuers in the Whistley marshes and made camp across the Berkshire Downs.
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. The Battle of Ashdown can be dated because Bishop Heahmund of Sherborne died in the Battle of Meretun, and it is known that he died on 22 March 871. Some years after the Boer War, manoeuvres were held at Ashdown Park. I feel that it is important to point out that other writers have come to similar conclusions.
The weather was cold and damp, and the Berkshire Downs were soaked and boggy.
The Danes had meanwhile reached Uffington Castle, where they had made their camp. The battle is described in The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Alfred had to act quickly to avoid defeat. Of no great battle in English history is there so much dispute as to its site as of Alfred the Great’s first victory. With their losses mounting and one of their kings dead, the Danes fled the field and returned to Reading. Does he think nobody ever saw the 'single thorn-tree' but himself? Part 2."
Bless the old chronicler! Seeing that the Danish movement would cost him the advantage of high ground, Alfred decided to attack without help from his brother. It is not known exactly where the two armies met, though it was around a lone thorn tree. And up the heights came the Saxons, as they did at the Alma. The Danes had already deployed in an advantageous position, on the higher ground and to let them take the initiative would be to court disaster. Victorian theory states that Alfred’s men gathered at the valley-fort now called Alfred's Castle near Ashdown House at Ashbury. There stood also on that same spot a single thorn-tree, marvellous stumpy (which we ourselves with our very own eyes have seen).'
In terms of strategic situation, the battle had little meaning. The battle, however, was not decisive.
Moving inland, they swiftly captured the Royal Villa at Reading and began fortifying the site as their base.
However, I think it is still possible to speculate on which sites are perhaps more probable.