The 2nd Schleswig-Holstein War

(1864)

Although the 1^st Schleswig-Holstein War had resulted in a Danish victory over the Schleswig rebels who wanted to join Holstein in the German Confederation, it had not resolved the question of what to do with the two duchies in the long term.  Eventually, in 1863, the Danes made it clear that they favoured effectively annexing Schleswig, joining it to the main Danish helstat and cutting it away from Holstein, which would be allowed to go it’s own way except for the fact that the Danish king would retain his position as Duke.

This solution pleased no-one.  The pro-Denmark Nationals in both States wanted to ensure their current, privileged, status continued; the anti-Danes wanted a complete break for either one or both States.

On 15^th November 1863, just as things were coming to a head, the Danish king, Frederick VII, died. If anything, this complicated the matter further:  as Salic law seemed to technically prevent the next Danish king, Christian IX, becoming Duke of Schleswig and Holstein.  The Danes favoured ignoring this problem and continuing with their plans to annex Schleswig.  The German Confederation was divided:  some wanting a successor appointed (“who” was another question), some suggesting that one or both states should be allowed to join the Confederation.  In addition to this, Prussia, under Bismark, was working towards its own goal:  annexing Holstein, and maybe Schleswig, for itself!

On 18^th November, the new Danish King signed a bill that bound Schleswig closer to Denmark:  effectively breaching the terms of the peace treaty that had ended the first war.  A combined Saxon-Hannoverian Division occupied Holstein in December, to protect it from Danish “aggression”, and under strict orders to act defensively only.  In response, the Danes withdrew their forces from Holstein peaceably, content to keep hold of Schleswig as had been their intention all along.

Austria and Prussia also sent troops, but with the stated aim of occupying Schleswig as well.  The Saxon-Hannoverians disagreed with this more aggressive policy, and withdrew their men and, by the end of January 1864, only the 55,000 Prussian and Austrian troops, united under the Prussian von Wrangel, remained.

Facing them were the 39,000 or so soldiers of the Danish army:  drawn up in Schleswig behind a defensive works known as the Dannewerk that stretched for 13 1/2 miles right the way across the peninsular.  Following their strategy from the first war, the Danes also had forces at Dybbøl and Frederica:  ready to threaten the right hand flank of any force advancing into Jutland and able to be reinforced/supplied by sea from the Danish Islands.

On 31^st January 1864, the Prussians ordered the Danes to withdraw their troops from Schleswig.  They refused and, on 1^st February, the Austro-Prussian forces crossed the Eider Canal and the war began. The Austrians advanced from Rendsberg, the Prussians from Kiel, encountering light Danish resistance around Windeby.

On 2^nd February, the Austrians made contact with the Danes at Torfschuppen, and the Prussians were more heavily engaged at Missunde.

On 3^rd February, the Austrians attacked Schleswig Town, strongly held by the Danes as part of the Dannewerk, and with detachments in the nearby villages of Jagel and Overselk.  The Austrians began their attack late in the afternoon, and succeeded in taking both Jagel and Overselk at the point of the bayonet, but sustained heavy casualties in doing so.

The next day, the Danish commander, de Meza, decided that the Dannewerk could not be held with the amount of men he had at his disposal, and ordered a retreat into the positions prepared at Dybbøl and Frederica.  This began on 5^th February, despite appalling weather conditions that led to the abandonment of 150 heavy cannon to the enemy and the removal of de Meza from command on the 9^th as a result of political fallout – the Dannewerk was, after all, supposed to be impregnable.

On 6^th February, the Danish rearguard, retreating through Flensberg, was attacked by the Austrians just north of Oversø.  The Danish line was broken, and they lost almost 1000 men to the Austrians’ 325 or so.  The rest of the Danish army was allowed to retreat into the Dyppøl fortifications, although the Cavalry Division and one infantry division retreated into Denmark proper.

The Austrians advanced to occupy Northern Schleswig, the Prussians faced the Danes at Dyppøl, which was protected by four lines of defence, the second of which consisted of ten earthwork forts.  The Danes had placed most of their men behind the first and second lines of defence: the third and fourth (more networks of fortified positions and villages) were manned by strong outposts.

The two sides faced each other until 18^th February, when the Prussians launched a probing attack and the Danes began to evacuate their infantry.  On the same day, the Prussians engaged Danish troops at the (Danish-Schleswig) border town of Kolding and, pursuing them, crossed into Denmark proper.  This “invasion of Denmark” was against the stated war aims of the Allies, and was to have serious repercussions: with both Britain, the Austrians and the German Diet strongly objecting.

On 22^nd February, the Prussians at Dyppøl managed to take the outposts of Ragebøl and Dyppøl Village, despite continuing bad weather, the Prussians losing around 40 men in the action as opposed to the Danes’ 530 or so.

Meanwhile, the Prussians had been working on the reluctant Austrians and, on 6^th March 1864, the Austrians agreed that military necessity demanded that the war aims be changed to include the occupation of Southern Jutland, protecting the current Prussian left flank and threatening the Danish fortress of Frederica.  According, on 8^th March, the Austrians supported by the Prussian Guard, started for Frederica.

Skirmishing took place near Gudso, and a larger action at Veile.  The Danes were forced to retreat again, falling back towards Mors via Skanderborg, Viborg and Skive, finally investing Frederica itself.

Meanwhile, Duppøl had been the subject of several heavy clashes (5^th, 13^th and 14^th March) and an ill-advised Danish counterattack (16^th March), the result of which was to drive the Danes out of their outposts back to the forts and trenches of defensive lines one and two.

On 28^th March, the Prussians launched a major attack on Duppøl:  which was only just repulsed by the Danes, who were assisted by the monitor “Rolf Krake”.

The Prussians then decided to bombard the Danes prior to a second major assault.  Between 29^th March and 18^th April, they brought up heavier siege guns, and dug several siege parallels.  The bombardment was so fierce that the Danes were unable to repair the damage and, on April 18^th, two days prior to a conference scheduled in London to discuss the war, the Prussians attacked again.

The Attacking Prussians numbered 37,000 men, verses a defending Danish force now 11,000 strong.  Forts 1-7 were stormed, with great loss on both sides, and the Prussians now began to bombard forts 8 and 9.

The Danes decided to retreat to the island of Alsen, and did so under cover of a counter-attack by the 8^th Brigade which the Prussians eventually contained with some difficulty.

The rest of the Danish positions fell to the Prussians one by one as the Danes retreated across the bridges to Alsen.  Prussian losses were approximately 270 killed and 900 wounded or taken prisoner; the Danes lost 808 dead, 909 wounded, 2800 prisoner and 215 missing, and lost 118 artillery pieces and 40 colours.

On 20^th April, the London Conference began, but failed to achieve anything.  The Prussians transferred units to Frederica, which was evacuated by the Danes on 28^th/29^th April, with 219 guns being abandoned to the enemy.

An armistice was declared on 12^th May, but peace negotiations failed to agree a new frontier line, so hostilities were renewed on 26^th June. 

The Austrians, however, were convinced that diplomacy now held the key to ending the war, and refused to countenance any further hostile actions to the north or east.  Not so the Prussians, and on 29^th June a force of 24,000 soldiers attempted to storm Alsen.  The 12,000 Danish defenders were smashed out of their lines in fighting that continued until 1^st July:  with both sides losing about 350 dead or wounded, although the Danes lost a further 2700 taken prisoner or straggling.

With their forces consolidating their positions in northern Jutland, the next major actions were on the Danish west coast, where the Austrians took the islands of Syyllt (13^th July); Rømø (14^th July) and Føhr (15^th July).  On the 19^th they captured the main Danish defence fleet in the area after tricking its commander that an armistice was already under way.

The actual armistice began on 20^th July, and signalled the end of the war, although a treaty wasn’t formally signed until 30^th October 1864. The Danes were forced to surrender Schleswig and Holstein to joint Austro-Prussian administration, and to pay a war indemnity.  It was this joint administration that was to lead to the Austro-Prussian war of 1866:  at the end of which Prussia formally annexed both Schleswig and Holstein.

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