Jan-March. Turmoil in the Danish government makes the german ethnic population fear a further loss of rights for their cultural group located mainly in Schleswig aand Holstein.

March 24. Prince of Nor supported by Danish units which were dominated by ethnic German soldiers occupies the fortress of Rendsburg

April 9. Battle of Bov. This battle was a series of virtually independent engagements.

Bov Town. Danish troops (3rd Chasseur Bn, 12th Infnatry Bn and a 1/2 bty of 4 guns) capture the town which was defended by S-H (three infantry battalions and a 1000 man Freikorps unit)

Kupfermuhle Woods. Danish troops advance from the northeast and clear the woods. Danes (1st Chasseur Bn + 1 company from the 5th and 9th battalions) vs S-H (Chasseur Bn + 1 Inf company + Kieler Student Freikorps company) The S-H force conducts a classic delaying action against ever increasing forces. Eventually , the S-H troops are surrounded and even bombarded from the sea which forces the command to finally surrender.

Krusa, Niehaus, Neustadt and Glucksburg. Subsequent delaying actions occurred between various Danish Advance guard and S-H Rearguard units. Harrislee. Danish encircling force (1st, 2nd and 11th battalions) are delayed by rough terrain and a S-H blocking force. The town is secured but the bulk of the S-H force escapes through Flensburg to Rendsburg.

April 10. A Prussian division (12,000) and a German Federal division (10,000) enter Denmark territory in support of the S-H Insurgent army (9000). This new army of 31,000 men now outnumbered the Danish Army of about 12,000 men.

Easter Offensive

April 23. Battle of Schleswig. German forces attack the Danish Dannevirke positions. The attack consists of two assault column. The western column is lead by a Prussian brigade (5000) and supported by the S-H Division (4000). The eastern column is lead by a Prussian Brigade (5000) and supported by a Federal Brigade (3000).

Busdorf. The Eastern column's advance guard is halted by Danish outposts and both sides reinforce their positions. The Danes stubborn defense combined with a later counter-attack forced the Germans to deploy their reserves earlier than expected which disordered the German columns. Eventually the overwelming German numbers caused the Danes to retreat. This would be a superb example of a fighting withdrawal operation. Danish forces included the 3rd Chasseur battalion and the 12th Infantry battalion. The Vanguard Brigade was reinforced by a brigade under Bulow.

April 24. Battle of Oeversee. The fresh Federal Brigade which had not been committed to battle on the 23rd, launches an attack on the exhausted Danish positions. The Danish outposts held by the 2nd Chasseur battalion delay the Germans until their ammunition is gone. They surrender but the delay enables the Danish to retreat though some units do so in a near panic state. The Prussian Army enters Jutland resulting in a formal invasion of Denmark rather than just supporting the revolting forces. The invasion turned into only an incursion as Russian political pressure encouraged the Prussia Kaiser to order a withdrawal by May 26. Another aspect of the incursion was the formation of a Pan-Scandinavian alliance and the sending of a 4,500 man Swedish Brigade to the island of Funen as support.

May 28. Sundeved Operation. Danish forces launch a major offensive against the German Federal division (7,000). The 14,000 Danes conduct a naval landing and surprise the Germans. The successful operation results in a series of engagements.

May 28. Nybol Mill. The Germans halt the main Danish force but a southern flanking attack through Nybol forces the Germans back until their lines are stablized near Adsbol.

June 5. Dybbol. A German attack to recapture ground in the Dybbol area. Two Prussian brigades lead the assault with the rest of the army in reserve. The Germans had initial success and outpaced their reserves. Danish reinforcements arrived and the counterattack (Foot Guard + 3rd Chasseurs, 2nd Line Bn and 4th line Bn) pushed the Germans back to positions near Nybol

August 1848 to March 1849

A cease fire was in effect to allow for negotiations. Both armies had been enlarged. The Danish army had 41,000 men. The Schleswig army had 19,000 men with 14,000 in a front line Division. The German Federation deployed 46,700 men in four Divisions. The Prussians were in one division. A second Division was composed of men from Saxony and Hanover. The other two Divisions included troops from over twenty client states. The Danes continued to control the sea which restricted German movement to non-coastal roads.

More Danish Schleswig-Holstein War Chronology: 1848-1850

Introduction
1848
1849
1850