Charlemagne began his wars against the Saxons in 772.
The first campaign followed escalating conflict between the Frankish kingdom and the pagan Saxons, including an attack on the Christian church at Deventer. Charlemagne invaded Saxon territory, defeated or subdued several groups, and destroyed the Irminsul, a major Saxon sacred symbol, near Eresburg. The campaign reached the Weser before he shifted his attention to Lombard Italy.
The Saxon Wars were not a single short conflict. They became a cycle of invasions, rebellions and forced settlements lasting roughly 32 years, from 772 to 804. Saxon resistance continued under leaders such as Widukind, who eventually accepted baptism in 785, but resistance and Frankish reprisals continued afterward.
The date 782 is a frequent distractor because it marked the Massacre of Verden, one of the conflict’s most notorious episodes. The wars ultimately brought Saxony into the Carolingian realm and were accompanied by coercive Christianization.