Battle of Dybbøl

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Not to be confused with Battle of Dybbøl (1848).
Battle of Dybbøl
Part of the Second Schleswig War
Dybbol Skanse.jpg
Battle of Dybbøl by
Date7 April – 18 April 1864
Location
Dybbøl, Denmark
Result Prussian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Prussia Prussia  Denmark
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Prussia Prince Friedrich Karl Denmark Gen. George Daniel Gerlach
Strength
11,000 (first wave) 26,000 (in reserve)
126 guns[1]		 5,000 (at the defences) 6,000 (in reserve)
66 guns
11 mortars[2]
1 ironclad warship [3]
Casualties and losses
263 killed
909 wounded
29 missing
Total:
1,201		 700 killed
554 wounded
3,534 captured
Total:
4,834
Map of Dybbøl 1864. It shows the 10 redoubts which the Danes defended.

The Battle of Dybbøl (Danish: Slaget ved Dybbøl; German: Erstürmung der Düppeler Schanzen) was the key battle of the Second Schleswig War, fought between Denmark and Prussia.[4] The battle was fought on the morning of 18 April 1864, following a siege that began on 2 April.[5] Denmark suffered a severe defeat which – with the Prussian capture of the island of Als – ultimately decided the outcome of the war,[6][7][8] forcing Danish cession of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.[9]

Background[]

Following the annexation of the Duchy of Schleswig in November 1863 by Danish king Christian IX (who was also the Duke of Schleswig), Prussia and Austria invaded Jutland in January 1864. The defending Danish infantry was equipped with French M1822 percussion muskets converted to Minié rifling and with Tapriffel M1864s. The Prussian army used the Dreyse needle-gun, a breech-loading rifle that could be loaded while the user was lying down. Since the Danes had to load their older muzzle-loading rifles while standing, they were easier targets for the Prussians.[10]

Dybbøl had also been the site of a battlefield in the First Schleswig War.[11] Dybbøl fort, also called 'Dybbøl Skanser', lies on a short blunt peninsula that defends against access to the fort by land and featured an enclosed pier for the ferry across the Alssund to Sønderborg on the island of Als. It was constructed between 1861 and 1864 and consisted of seven large and three smaller redoubts.[12]

Prelude[]

On February 7, 1864, 20,000 Danes along with 500 cavalry, 66 field cannons and 1,100 fortress artillery arrived at Dybbøl from the Danevirke by orders of general Christian de Meza. The front of the ramparts was just 2 km. long and the 10 earth redoubts at Dybbøl were unimpressive compared to Dannevirke's 27. The Prussians arrived on February 8. By February 20, the Prussians had a total of 37,000 men, 1,200 horsemen, and 126 guns at Dybbøl. On February 22, the Danish outposts were forced back, but the Prussians remained passive for several weeks, while the Danes would expand and improve their defenses. Between the fortifications, the army dug a number of trenches, just as the terrain in front of the redoubts was provided with traps. In this locked situation, Prince Friedrich Karl decided to shell the Danes with artillery. From March 15, the Dybbøl Mill was under constant fire, and on April 10 the mill was set ablaze by the Prussian troops. The mill cap and wings burned and the shaft crashed. On March 17, Danish troops attempted an attack on the Prussian outposts, but were repulsed.

Despite being outnumbered and outmatched, the Danes did have one major advantage in that they had more or less unchallenged command of the sea and were able to deploy the modern ironclad Rolf Krake to the scene to support ground forces at Dybbøl with shore bombardments from its turret-mounted eight-inch guns. For much of the siege Rolf Krake was used as a mobile heavy seaborne artillery platform and the Prussians were almost helpless to counter it, since they had no naval forces of their own capable of matching the Danish navy, a fact that sapped Prussian morale.[13] For this reason, some Danish generals thought that the Prussians would not dare to mount a frontal attack.

On March 28, the Prussians attempted to charge the Danish positions. The attack was repulsed with help from the Rolf Krake. A British war correspondent reported that the Prussians' failed attack had given the Danish soldiers new courage. However, it lasted only a few days before the Danes' hopes were extinguished. The Prussians had so far kept cannons in reserve with a view to an attack on Als, but instead they focused them at the Dybbøl redoubts. On April 2, a bombardment of Sønderborg began, in which large parts of the town were set on fire. The Prussians also set up batteries, the most dangerous of which were located on the Broager Peninsula. After advancing to Broager, the Prussian High Command established a footbridge between the twin towers of the Broager church. From here, they could shell the redoubts at Dybbøl Banke.

Battle[]

Early engagements[]

From April 7, the Prussian artillery began to shell the Danish positions, in order to wear out the defenders, and then launch the decisive attack. On April 11, they intensified the shelling by sending hundreds and thousands of grenades at the Danish defenses. They also expanded the trenches so that they would be just approx. 300 meters from the redoubts. Daily skirmishes were fought between the two sides, with hundreds of casualties. Morale among the Danes was low, as many of them had gotten their ears damaged from the loud noises of grenades. Some had become half blinded by the gunpowder smoke, and exhaustion had become a common occurrence, because of the endless shelling, which would last for almost two weeks until April 18.

Prussian attack, April 18[]

In the morning of April 18 1864 at Dybbøl, the Prussians moved into their positions at 2 a.m. The 33 batteries at Broager opened fire on the Danish positions at 4 am and the bombardments would last for 6 hours. To defend the Dybbøl position, there were 5,000 Danish soldiers in the redoubts, the trenches and the area in behind. Additionally, there were 6,000 in reserve behind the front line. A total of 11,000 tired Danes against 37,000 fresh and well-equipped Prussians. There could be no doubt about the outcome. At 10 am after a signal from the Prussian commander-in-chief Prince Friedrich Karl, 10,000 Prussians charged the redoubts. The Prussians directed their cannons at the area behind the redoubts, in order to prevent the Danish reserves from reaching them.

The fight for Redoubt II at the Battle of Dybbøl by Wilhelm Camphausen

Out of the 10 redoubts, Redoubt VI was the first to fall; It was attacked by the Prussians from three sides, and the Danish reserves could not reach it in time. Meanwhile, on the southernmost point of the battlefield, 1,000 Prussians attacked Redoubt I which was defended by only 70 Danes, who were quickly overwhelmed. Redoubt III, which was defended by 19 Danes, was attacked by another 1,000 Prussians. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Danes refused to surrender. Smidth, the redoubt’s 23-year-old officer, was hit and seriously wounded, but not before he had shot a Prussian soldier who was trying to plant the Prussian flag on the rampart. The Prussians penetrated the redoubt, but the fighting continued inside of it, until the Danes finally surrendered. 10 of the defenders had been killed. The Prussian losses were 10 officers and 128 men. Redoubt V had a number of closed palisades behind it, but during the siege, they had been breached and the Prussians took it after 5 minutes.

2,000 Prussians reached Redoubt II, and a 30-pound powder back was placed at the palisades, which was then lit. However it blew up too early, and even though an entrance to the redoubt had been made, 5 pioneers burned to death and another 5 were wounded. The person who lit the powder bag was pioneer Carl Klinke, who is said to have ran towards the palisades shouting: "Ick bin Klinke. Ick öffne dit Tor!" ("I am Klinke. I open the gate!"), before blowing himself up. Klinke was regarded as a hero, and become a symbol of courage and self-sacrifice. Redoubt II was attacked by the Prussian 2nd column ,but the defending Danes managed to push them back out. The reinforcing 1st and 3rd columns attacked from the southern part of the redoubt. They were at first repulsed, but took it after two more attacks. Danish Corporal Rasmus Nellemann broke the pole of a Prussian flag, which had been placed on top of the redoubt. He was shot to death, before he went to remove a second one. The Danes in the northern part of Redoubt II, surrendered after 20 minutes.

Illustration showing the Prussians attack one of the Danish redoubts

The Prussian 4th column, whose task was to take Redoubt IV, was met with such fierce fire from the defending Danes, that the column came into disarray. Regardless, they attacked the trench on the left and broke through the Danish position. The redoubt was now attacked from both the front and from behind, and fell after hard fighting. After having held out for around 30 minutes, Redoubt IV fell to the Prussians.

Counterattack of the 8th brigade[]

Painting by Vilhelm Rosenstand depicting the counterattack of the 8th Brigade during the battle.

Destruction of the retreating Danish forces was avoided when the Prussian advance halted by a counterattack by the 8th Brigade,[5] until another Prussian attack threw them back; that attack advanced about 1 km and reached Dybbøl Mill, and therefore contributed to the soldiers on the northern flank (the crew at redoubts 7-10), avoiding large losses or capture. It has subsequently been debated why the counterattack only came after half an hour of fighting. Some sources assume that due to the loud sounds that came from the battle, it was impossible to hear the signal, while others suggest that the brigade's commander hesitated to give orders for the counterattack.

The 8th Brigade fought hard, but when Friedrich Karl deployed additional reserves, it retreated with heavy losses. In that counterattack the 8th Brigade had lost 1,399 of its 3,000 men,[5] but it had allowed the remnants of the 1st and 3rd Brigades to escape to the pier opposite Sønderborg. At 13:30 the last resistance collapsed at the bridgehead in front of Sønderborg. After that there was an artillery duel across the Alssund.

The Battle of Dybbøl was the first battle monitored by delegates of the Red Cross: Louis Appia (1818–98) and (1818-98).[14] Danish forces withdrew to the island of Als;[12] the Prussians used the fortifications as a staging point to attack the island in late June the next month.

Casualties[]

During the battle around 3,600 Danes and 1,200 Prussians were either killed, wounded or missing. A Danish official army casualty list at the time said 671 dead; 987 wounded, of whom 473 were captured; 3,131 unwounded captured and/or deserters; total casualties 4,789.[citation needed] The 2nd and 22nd Regiments lost the most. Also, the crew of the Danish naval ship Rolf Krake suffered one dead, 10 wounded.[15] 263 Prussians were killed during the battle. Johannes Neilsen's The Danish German War 1864 (1991) provides the following: 808 dead, 909 wounded, 2,872 captured, and 215 missing for the Danes with 1,201 casualties and 263 deaths for the Prussians.[12][5]

Aftermath[]

Redoubt I, the day after the battle.

While the battle of Dybbøl was a defeat for the Danes, the activities of the Rolf Krake along with other Danish naval actions during the conflict served to highlight the naval weakness of Prussia. In an attempt to remedy this, the Austro-Prussians dispatched a naval squadron to the Baltic, which was intercepted by the Danish Navy at the Battle of Helgoland.[16]

A truce followed the battle from 12 May until 26 June, with negotiations beginning in London on a new border between Denmark and the German Confederation. Denmark wanted a border on the River Eider but this was rejected as unrealistic. The war then restarted.[5]

The inflexible attitude of the Danish government in London led to their diplomatic isolation at negotiations in Vienna, resulting in a peace treaty on 30 October 1864.[17] The treaty turned the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein into an "Austro-Prussian condominium, under the joint sovereignty of the two states."[18] The German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, had taken one of the first steps toward launching the German Empire that would dominate continental Europe until World War I.

Legacy[]

See also Second Schleswig War - Consequences.

A ceremony of national commemoration is held at Dybbøl on 18 April each year. Danish soldiers appear in period uniforms. The 140th anniversary (in 2004) was a special event in Denmark. Sociologists still refer to the Battle of Dybbøl when commenting on the relationship between Danes and Germans.

The initial reaction in Denmark was difficult to accommodate psychologically. Contemporary newspapers did not blame the soldiers, but the army's return to Copenhagen received no cheering crowds or other acclamations as had occurred after the Danish victory in the First Schleswig War.[19] Because the battlefield itself was annexed into the German confederation, Danes were unable to access it.[19] Immediately following the war, German monuments started being planned.[20] Germans erected the 24-metre Düppel-Denkmal, along with a similar Alsen-Denkmal on the island of Als, to commemorate the battle on what was originally Danish redoubt 4, in the middle of the battlefield.[20] The monument at Dybbøl was dedicated 'in eternal memory to the victorious fallen in the storming on the Dybbøl redoubts 18 April 1864'.[21]

Historic Dybbøl Mill with bust of King Christian IX

While the monument does not explicitly stress a German importance to the battle and depicts heroism on both sides,[21] the monument 'has consistently been interpreted as a victory monument'. While the architect may have intended the monument as dedicated to the fallen rather than victory, with no direct references to victory itself, both German and Danish commentators – even at the dedication of the monument – have viewed it as representing victory and the greatness of the German nation.[22] German victory celebrations took place regularly at the monument, with the Kaiser visiting in 1890. Commemorations continued until 1914.[22] German visitation to the battlefield was common, as the place was seen as one of the focal points for unification of the many German states.[23] A large hotel was built near the site in 1885.[22]

Evening before the 140th anniversary of the of the storming of Dybbøl (18 April 1864). Danish historical reenactors on the national memorial in front of a campfire drinking coffee just before the actual performance.

Four communal graves were established for the fallen soldiers. Markers placed in 1865 carry a text in German, 'stating "here rest [number] courageous Danes/Prussians"'.[23] Officers were, over the years, further honoured with burial markers at different locations in the fortifications, with exception of Prussian Private Carl Klinke, who was made into a national hero.[24] Carl Klinke (1840-1864) who is said to have run onto the redoubt carrying explosives and igniting them by the palisades thus killing himself and blowing a hole into the Danish redoubt, was immortalized in a poem written by Theodor Fontane (1819–1898). Composer Johann Gottfried Piefke (1815-1884) dedicated the Düppeler Sturmmarsch to this battle.[25]

The Dybbøl Mill, which had been destroyed during the 1849 battle on the site, rebuilt, and then destroyed again in 1864, was again rebuilt by its owners who had strong Danish sympathies. Danish visitors to the battlefield also visited the mill. Well known Danish author Holder Drachmann visited the battlefield in 1877 and wrote on his emotions felt there in a volume entitled Derovre fra Grænsen, Strejftog over det danske Termopylæ (Als-Dybbøl) [Over There from the Border. Wanderings over the Danish Termopylæ (Als- Dybbøl)]. The book became very popular: 'articulating the emotional essence of the place, it contributed to making the Dybbøl Windmill a Danish national symbol and[] memorial site'.[26] Much of the feelings expressed in Denmark of lost Schleswig land appeared in the late 1870s onwards.[27]

The battlefield itself was returned to Denmark in consequence of internationally administered plebiscites following the Treaty of Versailles.[27] Reunification was celebrated there on 11 July 1920 as a symbol of Danish nationalism; the Danish government also requested that the Düppel-Denkmal be moved to Germany, but was ignored.[27] The battlefield was purchased following donations from across Denmark and donated to the Danish state as a national park in 1924.[28] Further Danish remembrances are conducted regularly and at major anniversaries of the battle and of Northern Schleswig's reunification.[28]

The German Düppel-Denkmal was destroyed after Germany's occupation of Denmark and the end of the Second World War on 13 May 1945, presumably by members of the resistance.[29] The perpetrators were never identified, and this monument has not been rebuilt.[30] The sister German monument on Als, the Alsen-Denkmal was destroyed in June 1945. Both monuments were buried in a gravel pit.[29]

Offers of a joint anniversary with Germany in 1966 were rejected, often explained by lingering resentment by the local population of Germany's conscription of Danes living in Schleswig during the First World War[31] Since Danish accession to the European Union in 1973 and with the passage of time, the view of the battlefield as an exclusively Danish memorial has changed: German soldiers started participating in commemorations in 1998 and marched with Danish soldiers for the first time in 2011.[31]

In popular culture[]

  • 1864 – 2014 Danish television historical drama
  • In The Riddle of the Sands (1903, Erskine Childers), Chapter V, the protagonists of the novel visit a monument to the battle near Sonderburg. Character "Davies" speculates, "It was a landing in boats, I suppose".

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Dybbøl 19. april 1864 Dansk Militærhistorie
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2010-05-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-10-16. Retrieved 2010-08-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Sørensen, Marie Louise Stig; Adriansen, Inge (2015). "Dybbøl: The Construction and Reconstruction of a Memorial Landscape". In Sørensen, Marie Louise Stig; Viejo-Rose, Dacia (eds.). War and cultural heritage : biographies of place. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-107-05933-7. OCLC 908620045.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e van der Schriek, Jef; van der Schriek, Max (2011). "'Up ewig Ungedeelt!' Schleswig-Holstein 1864–1920". Journal of Conflict Archaeology. 6 (2): 154. ISSN 1574-0773. JSTOR 48601730.
  6. ^ Jürgen Müller (2006), Der Deutsche Bund 1815–1866 (in German), München: Oldenbourg, p. 46, ISBN 978-3-486-55028-3
  7. ^ "Schleswigsche Kriege". Gesellschaft für schleswig-holsteinische Geschichte. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  8. ^ "Dybbøl, Slaget på" (in Danish). Grænseforeningen. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  9. ^ Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 21–22.
  10. ^ "Arms of the Battle of Dybbøl". myarmoury.com. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 22.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 23.
  13. ^ "Rolf Krake (1863-1907)". Danish Naval History. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Dr. Louis Appia". The History of the Red Cross Movement. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  15. ^ http://www.hheriksen.dk/images/1864tab.jpg
  16. ^ Gert Laursen. "The Battle off Helgoland". Danish Military History. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  17. ^ van der Schriek & van der Schriek 2011, p. 155.
  18. ^ Schulze, Hagen (1998). Germany: A New History. trans. by Deborah Lucas Schneider. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 138–140.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 34.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 29.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 30.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 31.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 32.
  24. ^ Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 33.
  25. ^ "Theodor-Fontane-Archivs". fontanearchiv. Archived from the original on May 6, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  26. ^ Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 35.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 36.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 37.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 39.
  30. ^ "Düppeldenkmal". schutzgebiete.de. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Sørensen & Adriansen 2015, p. 40.

Sources[]

  • Tom Buk-Swienty (2016) 1864: The Forgotten War That Shaped Modern Europe (Profile Books) ISBN 978-1781252765
  • Nick Svendsen (2010) First Schleswig-Holstein War 1848 (Helion and Company) ISBN 978-1906033446

External links[]

Coordinates: 54°54′25″N 9°45′29″E / 54.90694°N 9.75806°E / 54.90694; 9.75806

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