Edington, Battle of (A.D. 878), was the decisive battle in King Alfred the Great’s campaign against the Danes invading Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in southern England. In 871, the Danes had overrun most of Wessex. Alfred reorganized his forces from his stronghold in the marshes of Athelney near Bridgwater, Somerset. In the summer of 878, he marched against the Danish camp at Chippenham, Wiltshire. The two armies met at Edington, 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Chippenham, where Alfred won a decisive victory. The Danes left Wessex in the autumn of 878.
