Battle of Lüneburg Heath

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The Battle of Lüneburg Heath (also called the Battle of Ebstorf) was a conflict between the army of King Louis the Younger and the Norse Great Heathen Army fought on 2 February 880 CE, at Lüneburg Heath in today's Lower Saxony.

Following defeat by Alfred the Great at the Battle of Edington,^[1] the Norse Great Heathen Army moved from England to pillage the Duchy of Saxony.^[2] The army of Louis met the Norsemen at Lüneburg Heath. The Saxons were routed in a snowstorm, with the army being destroyed or captured.^{[citation needed]}

Known combatants include Marquard of Hildesheim, Theodoric of Minden,^[3] Lothar I, Count of Stade, an unidentified count named "Bardonum"^[4] and Bruno, Duke of East Saxony^{[5][page needed]} who, according to the chronicles Annales Fuldenses^{[6][page needed]} and the Gesta Francorum,^[a] drowned in a river during the Saxon retreat. Those killed were recognized by the Catholic Church as the Martyrs of Ebsdorf, whose feast day is 2 February.^{[citation needed]}

The Norse army was subsequently defeated at the Battle of Thimeon later that month and finally checked at the Battle of Saucourt.^{[citation needed]}