![]() After six months of guerrilla warfare, he decided to attack the Danes’ main camp. His people fortified earthen ramparts and a palisade island, and then began conducting surprise sorties against the Danes. Meanwhile, a small detachment gathered around Alfred. Alfred himself became less arrogant and wiser. Alfred left his soldiers and his people and fled to save his life. For Alfred and his troops, this was a complete surprise. His considerable military forces invaded Wessex from several directions, seized London and camped near the River Avon to spend the winter. Taking advantage of the fact that Alfred had dissolved his army, in 878 they renewed the full-scale war. Having settled at Gloucester, they waited for reinforcements. They left to the north, but, as it turned out, not that far. A peace was concluded in which the Danes released hostages, paid a ransom and swore not to attack the possessions of King Alfred. Hunger and desperation made the Danes enter into negotiations and capitulate. The Danes from Wergegm tried to break through the blockade, but a violent storm swept in and destroyed most of the Viking fleet. In the early spring of 877, Wessex’s army encircled and blocked the Danes and deprived them of reinforcements. ![]() War with VikingsĪlfred was preparing the army and navy for war with the Danes. By the end of the king’s life, about thirty fortresses were restored or built. Alfred began to restore the old, and build new fortresses capable of repulsing attacks of a small detachment or to withstand a siege before reinforcement from the main forces of the kingdom. In addition, some of the soldiers were now serving in towns and villages. Service in the army remained the responsibility of every free man, but now he could spend part of his time in his household. Each city also provided a certain number of soldiers. Military ReformĪlfred divided the country into military districts, in which every five farms supported one warrior, supplying him with all his physical needs. Alfred continued to build his fleet and achieved such success that the shores of his kingdom were no longer subject to Vikings’ raids. By 875, he had a considerable fleet, which managed to inflict damaging defeats on the Danes. Alfred secretly began the construction of a large number of ships on the rivers. The Danes had actively used their fleet for unexpected attacks from the sea and evaded open battles. King Alfred used five years of truce to create his own naval fleet. Danes seized and plundered London in 871. The concluding truce saved Kent and Wessex from raids from the Danes for a time, but the rest of England was left defenseless and was conquered by the Vikings. The gradual alienation between the king and his people led to several military defeats from the Danes, to which Alfred had to pay tribute. He desired absolute power, and the legislative innovations in his rule were resisted by the elders. By the age of 20, he had received the crown, and was considered an experienced and courageous warrior. ![]() As a child, he, at the behest of his father, made a trip to Rome in 853, where Pope Leo IV anointed him as the future King of Wessex. Thanks to his education, Alfred learned ancient languages and works of the great writers of his time and his history. Alfred the Great was king of Wessex from 871 to 899.
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