Timeline Sunday 4 January 871

Events on Sunday 4 January 871 1

• 871 Battle of Reading Viking army repels a West Saxon assault on their fortified camp On 4 January 871, King Aethelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred attacked the Viking-held town of Reading. The defenders sallied out and routed the West Saxon force, killing the ealdorman of Berkshire in the fighting. The defeat opened a hard winter campaign between Wessex and the Great Heathen Army.