The battle at Schleswig 23rd April 1848
 Prussia had just entered the war on the Schleswig-Holstein side. The German forces under the Prussian general Wrangel,
 constituted more than 32000 men with 74 pieces og artillery against 10,000 Danish troops with 32 guns, three times as
 much power as the Danish army had. On a cold and wet spring morning, the Germans attacked, but the Danish forces
 under Colonel  Læssøe defended themselves skillfully, and the losses were limited. However, a terrifying large number of
 the wounded died  shortly after the battle. 
 After the high-flown and not very realistic optimism from the March days in Copenhagen in 1848
 the battle led to an acute attack of dejection in Denmark. The army was withdrawn to the island Funen and Jutland was left
 wide open to the Prussian troops of general Wrangel.

The Battle at Slesvig

 Nyboel and Dybboel June 5th 1848
 From Als, general Hedemann and colonel Schleppegrell performed an attack on Nybøl, 28 May 28^th 1848. This victory and the
 subsequent at Dybbøl June 5^th caused excitement among the Danish population, but some reluctance of the gteat nations.
 But opposite Russia would not allow Prussia to cross the narrow water Konge-aaen and thus into the kingdom.

 After termination of the armistice with Prussia the hostilities resumed on April 3rd. 

 In 1849 The Danish army consisted of 41,000 men, while the Prussian and Schleswig-Holstein armies were able to pattern
 65,000. Facing this power the Danes decided to retreat northwards.
 After having won the battles of Haderslev Avnbøl and Ullerup, the Danes were ready to attack on the enemy army at Bov, but
 was ordered to withdraw to Als and Kolding.
 This happened because of a failed maneuver with the cruiser Christian VIII and the frigate Gefion  April 5^th in Eckernförde
 fjord, where they tried to keep the Schleswig-Holstein army in the belief that a landing could take place there.  Both ships
 were lost.


 The fightings at Haderslev on April 3th 1849
 The Northern Jutland Corps under Major Rye moved on April 3th into Schleswig from Kolding.
 At 05.00 am Lieutenant Colonel Irminger marched off with 2 battalions, 4 artillery pieces, a batery of espingols and the cavalry
 division Hegermann-Lindencrone . By the Aller Inn they attacked a Prussian cavalry patrol and forced it apart. At 3.00 pm they
 encountered the enemy in a very hilly terrain at the city Haderslev. This infantry combat forced  the enemy was into the city,
 and fierce street combats occurred 
 The houses and mills that lay at South Bridge, which the enemy had arranged fordefense, was quickly captured and soon the
 whole town was occupied by Danish troops. In the battle  three Danish soldiers were killed and six  wounded.


 The battle at Adsboel April 3th 1849
  On the morning the Danish army started the advance from Als. The brigade took first sight of the enemy at Aunboel where
 some enemy posts  were observed in the woods south of the road. The town of Adsbøl itselv was occupied with infantry and
 artillery.
 During a severe attack the town was bypassed to the north of Nyboel and past Fiskebaek. The attack on the town was
 supported  by 2 grenade cannons.
 After an artillery and infantry combat the enemy was forced through and out of the town where two of the Danish guns were
 placed in the cemetery. Then the enemy is chased across the fields and through the wood in front of Graasten.
 The Danish casualties were 2 killed, 21 wounded and 2 missing.


 The Battle of Egernförde April 5^th  1849
  In this attack from the sea participated the frigate Gefion and the cruiser Christian VIII, and some transport vessels. They
 should attack the batteries around the  fjord, which were in German Schleswig-Holstein  possession. But the two big ships
 could not maneuver in the narrow fjord. Then they tried to get the two paddle steamers Hekla and Geyser to drag them out,
 but they were also fired upon and thus not very manoeuvrable. The fight started kl.4.00 am. In the afternoon Gefion had 
 surrendered. Christian VIII became so hardly damaged by shelling from the Prussian field and beach batteries, it also had to
 lowerthe flag. Fire broke loose on board Christian VII and at 8 pm the cruiser exploded. Gefion was after the conquest
 repaired and was part of the German fleet under the name of Eckernförde. Since the Federal fleet was  dissolved in 1852 the
 ship was taken over by Prussia and was again named Gefion. The ship was in active service until approx. 1870, and was then
 a barracks ship until it was scrapped in 1891.
 The battle ended with 105 dead, 61 wounded and nearly 1000 prisoners. The dead were buried in a cemetery in the northern
 part of the Eckernförde.  


The Battle of Kolding April 23rd 1849.
 The Prussians marched north, and after a few hours of fighting general Rye had to retreat the Almind area, and the Germans
 captured 20th April Kolding at April 20th and established strong positions inside and around the city. General Bülow decided
 to throw the enemy back and launched the attack on April 23^rd in the morning.
 The Battle of Kolding began with an attack on 2 flanks in the north.
   - The eastern flank, which was under direct command of General Bülow, stood ready at Taulov.
   - The western flank, which was commanded by Major Rye and General Moltke, stood ready at the Harte and Almind. They
      would capture the bridge at Ejstrup and midstream by Paaby and then  attack the enemy from there. This was an important
      part of the battle, otherwise it would be hard to pass the creek.
   - The Prussian main groups were in the east near Kolding and Vonsild, and west by Seest and
     Vranderup.
 In the morning the Danes attacked the Prussian defenses against a broad flank and met hard resistance. Bülow's brigade
 fought right up the Castle Lake and met hard resistance here.
 The brigades of Rye and Moltke had captured the bridge at Ejstrup Creek but met some resistance at the road to Vejle. The
 Prussian General Bonin felt pressure and ordered his flanks together in a wedge shape and pulled back a little, but only to
 regroup. The Danes thought the battle was won, but the Prussians returned with 12 pound guns and reinforcements from the
 areas south of Kolding and fought hard of the center of Kolding. When they were near to deprive both Rye´s and Moltke´s
 brigades, Bülow pulled back towards Vejle and Fredericia, and the battle was lost.

 
Jutland occupied
 In early May, General Prittwitz got permission to cross the border to the Kingdom and  occupy most of Jutland.


 The fighting at Gudsø May 3th and 7th 1849
  After the Danes lost the Battle of Kolding on April 23rdl 1849, General Bülow had pulled Moltke´s and Schleppegrell´s
 brigades back to Fredericia and general Rye kept his troops in the Vejle area. As the enemy apparently remained stable,
 Bülow decided on May 3^rd  to take a position west of Elbodalen and became engaged with enemy forces.. The enemy was
 pushed back through pass of Gudsoe, which was occupied and set up an outpost line with connections to Rye´s corps.
 General Prittwitz now preparied an assault on both the Danish Corps, which should take place on May 7^th in the morning.
 General Bonin and his three brigades were sent towards Gudsø. Here was General  N. G. la Cour supposed to defend the
 Danish position, with 3 battalions and 4 cannons. Because of its superior resistance, the Danes were forced to pull back to
 the fortress after a tough battle.
 Parts of Moltke´s and Schleppegrell´s brigades were then sailed from Fredericia and back to the Funen while the rest of the
 two brigades remained in the fortress.
 

Street combat in Kolding.                                                                 German picture

 General Ryes Corps pursued up north in Jutland.
 General Olaf Ryes Brigade, also known as the North Jutland Corps, of 7,000 men, which included a significant strength of
 cavalry and 16 cannons, then began his famous retreat through Jutland persecuted by General Prittwitz with 22,000 men and
 52 guns. The day after  the battles at Gudsø and Viuf on May 8^th  continued Prittwitz his  advance and and met Rye and his
 Corps in the wooded heights north of Vejle, with his right wing towards the Grejs creek. With surrounding cavalry and and a
 little frontal combat, general Rye was maneuvered out of that position and then  marched to Hedensted. The night between
 May 8^th  and May 9th  he pulled up behind Oelsted Creek and made his headquarter in Thorsted, while the cavalry stood
 further west at Hornborg.  
 On May 22nd, Rye finally got orders to put his retreat towards Helgenæs, a little  island east of Jutland and connectet with
 this,  and go into position behind some redoubts, thar was build in the beginning of 1848 and recently been partially fortified
 and equipped with 12  heavy guns and manned by a battalion.
 Until now it had been the intention for Rye to march towards Aalborg. Rye realized, that only by keeping in touch with the
 enemy and by defensive fight he was able to lure the enemy further and further away, and for that matter Aalborg was
 unfortunate because it also led Rye away  from the coast and the possibility of being shipped back to Fredericia.
 On May 24^th Prittwitz moved forward with all his strength, divided into four columns to attack the Rye Brigade in the area of
 Skanderborg. But when the attack should begin, he discovered that the Danes were gone.
 Rye had, through his intelligence, learned that the enemy would attack and now stood in the area north of Aarhus. From there
 he went, while the enemy was standing at Skanderborg, at first to the north and then east, bound for Helgenæs.



 The cavalry combat at Aarhus May 31^st 1849
 The battle took place north of Aarhus. The combat was between Danish and Prussian dragoons and hussars, and ended
  with a Danish victory.

 Fredericia 6th July 1849
 In 1849, Denmark, in the spring was enclosed by the Schleswig-Holstein rebels under General Bonin. Schleswig-Holstein
 have entrenched themselves in positions around the city of Fredericia and opened a artillery bombardment.
 In Fredericia Colonel Lunding was in command, and he planned together with the Army's new commanding general,
 Frederick Rubeck Henrik von Bülow, a sortie to break the siege. This  required, however, reinforcements.
 From Helgenæs, General Olaf Ryes brigade was transferred to the Funen, and a second brigade under General Christian de
 Meza came from Als by sea.  The troops were then transferred to Fredericia in small boats. The Schleswig-Holstein troops
 could not hit  these small boats with their artillery.
 The break out was finally determined by a council of war in Vejlby Rectory at Strib, July 4^th  and was launched 6 July 6^th at 1
 am.

 At the time of the break out there were 19,000 Danish troops ready in the streets of Fredericia. hey were facing an Schleswig-
 Holstein army of14,000 men.
 Although the Danes were in the majority, the Prussians had great advantage that they fought from fortified positions. It was a
 tough fight and the outcome uncertain until sunset, when the battle was settled and Schleswig-Holstein troops were on the
 run.
 There were several hundred dead, mostly Danish.  General Rye were among the dead during the storm on the redoubt
 “Treldeskansen”.

 
 Armistice
 Now Russia interfered and threatened to break relations with Prussia, which caused that General Wrangel was ordered to
 vacate Jutland. On June 2^nd 1850 a peace treaty was signed by Prussia and Denmark in Berlin and July 10^th 1850 also the
 German Confederation signed the treaty with Denmark.


 The Battle of Isted July 25^th 1850  
 After Prussia had pulled out of the war volunteered many Germans  to the Schleswig-Holsterebel army, and the Schleswig-
 Holstein forces continued the the war on their own, but without support from other German states until they July 25^th 1850
 suffered a decisive defeat in the largest  battle in the history of Denmark.
 During the Battle of Isted Moor fought about. 40,000 Danish soldiers against 34,000 of the Schleswig-Holstein rebel army.
 The Danish army, under General Krogh was now superior in number and were better educated than the rebel army. The
 German commander was the Prussian General von Willisen.
 Schleswig-Holstein had fortified themselves in a strong defensive position at Isted, where passage around the main road
 from Flensburg to Schleswig was narrowed by marshes and lakes. The defense thus had a great advantage even the fact
 that they were outnumbered .
 The fighting began at 01.00 am and especially the initial attack was costly for the Danish forces. Many of the Army's best
 officers showed great courage and were killed.
 There was a fierce fighting in the villages Isted and Upper Stolk, and at 8 am in the morning the situation was critical for the
 Danes. However, over the next hours things changed, and by afternoon General Willisen ordered the retreat.
 But the victory was dearly bought. On the Danish side 845 men were killed, including General Schleppegrell and Colonel
 Læssøe. The Schleswig-Holstein army had 534 dead.
 After the Victory at Isted the Danish army took their positions at the Dannevirke.

The Royal Danish Lifeguard at Isted.

The "Isted Lion" at the  Flensborg Cemetary

 
 The attack on Mysunde September 12^th  1850  
 After the battle at Istted the Danes fortified Mysunde to cover their left flank. Under pressure from the Schleswig-Holstein
 governor cabinet   General Wilhelm von Willisen chose to carry out an attack on Mysunde onseptember 12^th 1850 Mysunde
 was defended by first brigade and a strong artillery force under Colonel Crab.
 The attack was rejected and turned back, probably mainly because of the artillery.

The Battle                                                     at Mysunde

The attack on Frederiksstad October 4^th 1850
 
 The attack of Frederiksstad was the last major battle Three of the forst Danisk-Prussina War. After the Battle of the Isted
 Moor  the Schleswig-Holstein rebels pulled back to Holstein. From here there they several times attacked the Danes in order
 to attract the Danish troops down to the Holstein (which was a German territory.) and thus drawing the German states back
 into the war again.
 In September 1850 the Schleswig-Holstein troops commenced a major bombardment of Frederiksstad, which was fortified by
 Danish troops. After having shelled the 1600 men  Danish army under the command of Hans Helgesen for 5 days, the
 Schleswig-Holstein attacked on October 4^th 1850 with 5000 men.
 The battle lasted all night, but the morning the Schleswig-Holstein army was forced to retreat.
 During the bombardment most of the city caught fire. Both city hall and the Remonstrant Church was destroyed during the
 bombardment.

 

The attack on Frederiksstad

 German 1849 Graves at the Dybboel Cemetary 2011