| 870 | | Crowland Abbey destroyed |
| | | Danes attack Crowland Abbey and burn it down. |
| Dec | The Danes attack Wessex |
| | | The Danes moved south into the Wessex area and captured Reading. |
| 871 | Qtr 1 | Battle of Ashdown |
| | | Athelred and Alfred defeated the Danes at Ashdown. |
| Qtr 2 | More Danes arrive in Britain |
| | | Another army of Danes landed in London and were joined by those at Reading. The army defeated Alfred at Wilton and so the king decided to pay the Danes some money to keep the peace. |
| 872 | | Ivar the Boneless dies |
| | | Ivar 'the Boneless', the king of Dublin died. He was succeeded by his brother Halfdan. |
| 875 | | Danes move against the north. |
| | | Led by Halfdan the Danes moved north to attack the Picts and the area of Strathclyde. The Danes divided Northumbria taking York for themselves and creating the area known as Danelaw. A second Danish King called Guthrum took his army back south to Cambridge where he prepared plans to attack Wessex. |
| 876 | | Danes defeated in the south |
| | | Led by Guthrum, an army of Danes moved to Wareham in Dorset where they were met by a new army from the sea who landed at Poole. Alfred trapped the army and demanded hostages in return for a peaceful settlement. The Danes divided, half fleeing to Exeter where they besieged the town while the other half escaped in their ships but were drowned in heavy seas. Those at Exeter were forced to surrender and were moved up to Gloucester. |
| 878 | Jan | The Danes take the advantage |
| | | After Exeter. Alfred was hoping that trouble with the Danes was over, but again led by Guthrum, an army headed for Alfred at his Chippenham residence. Alfred fled under overwelming odds leaving Chippenham in the hands of the Danes. |
| Spring | Alfred burns the cakes |
| | | During the winter and spring period Alfred was in hiding. He ran a guerrilla warfare style war against the Danes and set up his headquarters on the Isle of Athelney in Somerset. It was on one of his scouting missions (the story goes) that he took refuge and not being recognised as the King was asked to watch the cakes which he burnt. |
| Apr | Battle of Edington |
| | | Alfred called for his men to form an army and attack the Danes. He ordered the army to meet at a location known as Egbert's Stone and seven weeks after Easter an army was formed. Once formed the army quickly moved towards Guthrum and the Danes and the two armies met at Edington. The battle at Edington was won by Alfred and the Danes retreated to Chippenham. The Danes were surrounded and surrendered. Guthrum along with several other high ranking members of the Danish army were converted to Chistianity under Alfred's sponsorship. Guthrum and Alfred agreed on peace terms and the Danes returned to their holdings in East Anglia known as the Danelaw. |
| 879 | | New Viking Invasion |
| | | A new Viking fleet sailed up the Thames and and built a camp at Fulham. For Alfred this was a worrying situation as he was unsure if this new Viking army would move to join Guthrum. Alfred did not have to worry as the army soon broke camp and headed for France. |
| | Start of reoganisation |
| | | After the success at Edington Alfred decided to construct of a series of fortified villages or burhs to help protect Wessex. He set up a system that provided Wessex with both a standing army and defence at a local level. |
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