First Schleswig War
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First Schleswig War | |||||||||
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Danish soldiers return to Copenhagen, 1849, by Otto Bache (1839-1927), 1894 |
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Schleswig-Holstein Prussia |
Denmark Swedish-Norwegian volunteers |
The First Schleswig War (German: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg or Three Years' War (Danish: Treårskrigen) was the first round of military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The war, which lasted from 1848–1851, also involved troops from Prussia and Sweden. Ultimately this war was inconclusive and a second conflict erupted in 1864: the Second Schleswig War.
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[edit] Overview
After the Napoleonic Wars most of Europe experienced a national awakening, including the German-speaking parts of Europe, as "Germany" was split up into numerous independent principalities. The Germans living in Schleswig and Holstein suggested that the two "indivisible" duchies should form a single country within a united Germany. From 1806–1815 the government of Denmark had claimed Schleswig and Holstein to be parts of Denmark, which was not popular among the Germans.
The childlessness of King Frederick VII of Denmark worked in favor of the Germans, as did the ancient Treaty of Ribe, which stipulated that the two duchies must never be separated. A counter-movement developed among the Danish majority population in Northern Schleswig and (from 1838) in Denmark, where the Liberals insisted that Schleswig had belonged to Denmark for centuries and that the Eider River, the historic border between Schleswig and Holstein, should mark the frontier between Germany and Denmark. The Danish nationalists thus aspired to incorporate Schleswig into Denmark, in the process separating it from Holstein. The Germans conversely sought to confirm Schleswig's association with Holstein, in the process detaching Schleswig from Denmark.
The Revolutions of 1848 brought matters to a head. In March 1848 these differences led to an open uprising by Schleswig-Holstein's German majority in support of independence from Denmark and of close association with the German Confederation. The military intervention of the Kingdom of Prussia helped the rising: the Prussian army drove Denmark's troops from Schleswig-Holstein.
Nationalist circles in Denmark advocated "danification" of Schleswig (but not of Holstein), as Danish national culture had risen much in past decades, and by now the south half of Schleswig spoke German.
This war between Denmark on the one hand and the two duchies and Prussia on the other lasted three years (1848–1851) and only ended when the Great Powers pressured Prussia into accepting the London Protocol of 1852. Under the terms of this peace agreement, the German Confederation returned Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. In an agreement with Prussia, the Danish government in return undertook not to tie Schleswig more closely to Denmark than to its sister duchy of Holstein.
For more about the previous history and political events, see History of Schleswig-Holstein.
[edit] Events
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[edit] Year 1848
- January 28: Christian VIII of Denmark issued a rescript proclaiming a new constitution which, while preserving the autonomy of the different parts of the country, incorporated them for common purposes in a single organization. The estates of the duchies replied by demanding the incorporation of Schleswig-Holstein, as a single constitutional state, in the German Confederation.
- end of January: Frederick VII succeeds his father Christian VIII.
- March 4: Frederick said that Christian had no right to deal in this way with Schleswig.
- March 27: Yielding to the importunity of the Eider-Danish party, Frederick announced to the people of Schleswig the promulgation of a liberal constitution under which the duchy, while preserving its local autonomy, would become an integral part of Denmark.
- March 24: A rebellion in Schleswig-Holstein breaks out, leading to the first Schleswig War.
The rebels established a provisional government at Kiel. Christian, Duke of Augustenborg hurried to Berlin to secure the assistance of Prussia in asserting his rights. This was at the height of the revolution in Berlin, and the Prussian government saw in the proposed intervention in Denmark in the service of a popular cause an excellent opportunity for restoring its damaged prestige. Prussian troops were accordingly marched into Holstein.
- March 29: First Schleswig War starts as Danish forces begin moving from Kolding to Rendsburg.
- April 4: Yielding to the importunity of the Eider-Danish party, Frederick withdrew the rescript of January.
- April 9: Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein forces in battle at Bov.
- April 12: The diet recognized the provisional government of Schleswig and commissioned Prussia to enforce its decrees. General Wrangel was also ordered to occupy Schleswig.
- April 23: Prussian victory in battle at Schleswig.
- April 23: German victory in battle at Mysunde.
- April 24: Prussian victory in battle at Oeversee.
- May 27: Battle at Sundeved.
- May 28: Battle at Nybøl.
- June 5: Danish victory over Germans in battle at Dybbøl Hill.
- June 7: Battle at Hoptrup.
- June 30: Battle at Bjerning.
The Germans had reckoned without the European powers, which were united in opposing any dismemberment of Denmark, even Austria refusing to assist in enforcing the German view. Swedish troops landed to assist the Danes; Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, speaking with authority as head of the senior Gottorp line, pointed out to King Frederick William IV of Prussia the risks of a collision. Great Britain, though the Danes had rejected her mediation, threatened to send her fleet to assist in preserving the status quo. Frederick William ordered Wrangel to withdraw his troops from the duchies, but the general refused, asserting that he was under the command not of the King of Prussia but of the regent of Germany. Wrangel proposed that, at the very least, any treaty concluded should be presented for ratification to the Frankfurt Parliament. The Danes rejected this proposal and negotiations were broken off. Prussia was now confronted on the one side by the German nation urging her clamorously to action, on the other side by the European powers threatening dire consequences should she persist. After painful hesitation, Frederick William chose what seemed the lesser of two evils, and:
- 26 August: Prussia signed a convention at Malmö which yielded to practically all the Danish demands. The Holstein estates appealed to the German parliament, which hotly took up their cause, but it was soon clear that the central government had no means of enforcing its views. In the end the convention was ratified at Frankfurt. The convention was essentially nothing more than a truce establishing a temporary modus vivendi. The main issues, left unsettled, continued to be hotly debated.
- October: At a conference in London, Denmark suggested an arrangement on the basis of a separation of Schleswig from Holstein, which was about to become a member of a new German empire, with Schleswig having a separate constitution under the Danish crown.
[edit] 1849
- 27 January: The London conference result was supported by Great Britain and Russia and accepted by Prussia and the German parliament. The negotiations broke down, however, on the refusal of Denmark to yield the principle of the indissoluble union with the Danish crown.
- 23 February: The truce came to an end.
- 3 April: The war was renewed. At this point Nicholas I intervened in favour of peace. However, Prussia, conscious of her restored strength and weary of the intractable temper of the Frankfurt parliament, determined to take matters into her own hands.
- 3 April: Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein forces in battle at Adsbøl.
- April 6: Battles at Ullerup and Avnbøl.
- April 13: Danish victory over Saxon forces in battle at Dybbøl.
- April 23: Battle at Kolding.
- May 31: Danes stop Prussian advance through Jutland in cavalry battle at Vejlby.
- June 4: inconclusive Battle of Heligoland (1849), the only naval combat of the war
- July 6: Danish victory in sortie from Fredericia.
- 10 July: Another truce was signed. Schleswig, until the peace, was to be administered separately, under a mixed commission; Holstein was to be governed by a vicegerent of the German empire (an arrangement equally offensive to German and Danish sentiment). A settlement seemed as far off as ever. The Danes still clamoured for the principle of succession in the female line and union with Denmark, the Germans for that of succession in the male line and union with Holstein.
[edit] 1850
- April: Prussia, which by now was war-weary, proposed a definitive peace on the basis of the status quo ante bellum and postponement of all questions as to mutual rights. To Palmerston the basis seemed meaningless and the proposed settlement would settle nothing. Nicholas I, openly disgusted with Frederick William's submission to the Frankfurt Parliament, again intervened. To him Duke Christian of Augustenborg was a rebel. Russia had guaranteed Schleswig to the Danish crown by the treaties of 1767 and 1773. As for Holstein, if the King of Denmark could not deal with the rebels there, he himself would intervene as he had done in Hungary. The threat was reinforced by the menace of the European situation. Austria and Prussia were on the verge of war, and the sole hope of preventing Russia from entering such a war on the side of Austria lay in settling the Schleswig-Holstein question in a manner desirable to her. The only alternative, an alliance with the hated Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew, Louis Napoleon, who was already dreaming of acquiring the Rhine frontier for France in return for his aid in establishing German sea-power by the ceding of the duchies, was abhorrent to Frederick William.
- 2 July: A treaty of peace between Prussia and Denmark was signed at Berlin. Both parties reserved all their antecedent rights. Denmark was satisfied that the treaty empowered the King of Denmark to restore his authority in Holstein with or without the consent of the German Confederation. Danish troops now marched in to coerce the refractory duchies. While the fighting went on, negotiations among the powers continued.
- July 24–July 25: Danish victory in the Battle of Idstedt.
- July 28: Danish victory in cavalry battle at Jagel.
- August 2: Great Britain, France, Russia and Norway-Sweden signed a protocol, to which Austria subsequently adhered, approving the principle of restoring the integrity of the Danish monarchy.
- September 12: Battle at Missunde.
- October 4: Danish forces resist German siege at Friedrichstadt.
- October 12: Battle at Missunde.
- December 31: Skirmish at Möhlhorst.
[edit] 1851
- May: The Copenhagen government made an abortive attempt to come to an understanding with the inhabitants of the duchies by convening an assembly of notables at Flensburg.
- 6 December 1851: The Copenhagen government announced a project for the future organization of the monarchy on the basis of the equality of its constituent states, with a common ministry.
[edit] 1852
- 28 January: A royal letter announced the institution of a unitary state which, while maintaining the fundamental constitution of Denmark, would increase the parliamentary powers of the estates of the two duchies. This proclamation was approved by Prussia and Austria, and by the German federal diet insofar as it affected Holstein and Lauenburg. The question of the Augustenborg succession made an agreement between the powers impossible.
- 31 March: The Duke of Augustenborg resigned his claim in return for a money payment. Further adjustments followed.
- 8 May: another London Protocol was signed. The international treaty that became known as the "London Protocol" was the revision of the earlier protocol, which had been ratified on August 2, 1850, by the major Germanic powers of Austria and Prussia. The second, actual London Protocol was recognized by the five major European powers (Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom), as well as the two major Baltic Sea powers of Denmark and Sweden.
- The Protocol affirmed the integrity of the Danish federation as a "European necessity and standing principle". Accordingly, the duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief) and Holstein, and Lauenburg (German fiefs) were joined by personal union with the King of Denmark. For this purpose, the line of succession to the duchies was modified, because Frederick VII of Denmark remained childless and hence a change in dynasty was in order. (The originally conflicting protocols of succession between the duchies and Denmark would have stipulated that, contrary to the treaty, the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg would have had heads of state other than the King of Denmark.) Further, it was affirmed that the duchies were to remain as independent entities, and that Schleswig would have no greater constitutional affinity to Denmark than Holstein.
This settlement did not resolve the issue, and only fifteen years passed before the Second Schleswig War in 1864 resulted in the incorporation of both duchies into the German Confederation, and later, in 1871, into the German Empire.
After World War I, the Allied Powers organised a local plebiscite resulting in Northern and Central Schleswig on February 10 and 14 March 1920 respectively. Central Schleswig voted to remain German. Northern Schleswig opted for Denmark, to which Northern Schleswig was formally attached a few months later.
[edit] See also
- History of Schleswig-Holstein
- Schleswig-Holstein Question
- Second Schleswig War
- German exonyms for places in Denmark
[edit] References
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