Battle of Reading (871) a camp at Reading, defended by the Thames and Kennet rivers on two sides, and by a rampart on the western side. Three days after their arrival, a party of Danes rode out towards nearby Englefield, where a West Saxon force under the command of Æthelwulf, the Ealdorman of the shire, was waiting for them. In the ensuing Battle of Englefield many of the Danes were killed, and the rest driven back to Reading. Four days later, Æthelwulf had been joined by the main West Saxon army, led by King Æthelred and his brother, Alfred the Great. The entire Saxon
Battle of Basra (871) placed the city under virtual siege, harassing it with attacks day and night and destroying the surrounding villages. They also cut off the supply routes to the city, which soon resulted in a shortage of resources. This was temporarily relieved after Mansur ibn Ja'far began organizing armed escorts for supply ships; by mid-871, however, the operation of the convoys had largely fallen apart and supplies for the inhabitants again became scarce. Hunger and disease broke out, and fighting erupted between the city factions. By late August 871, 'Ali ibn Muhammad decided that Basra had been reduced to the point where