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Historical background
The campaign of 1849 started with
a Schleswig-Holstein & German invasion of Southern Jutland,
with 61.000 men. 46.000 German reichtroopers in three divisions,
one Kurhessian-Bavarian (1st Div.), one Hanoverian (2nd Div.)
and a Prussian (3rd Div.), and the Schleswig-Holstein army
of 16.000 men.
The Danish army´s
withdrawal up north in Jutland
The withdrawal was dictated by
the position of the important parts of the Danish country.
The Danes wanted to protect the Northern part of Jutland,
and at the same time they wanted to defend Als with its bridgehead
at Sundeved, and the island of Funen with its bridgehead at
Fredericia. The Schleswig-Holstein army had to follow the
movements of the Danish army, if it wanted to occupy Jutland
and still keep the supply lines open.
About 15.000 men under general De
Meza withdrew to the island of Als, just separated from Jutland
by a small strait. The bridgehead on the eastern coast of
Jutland, at Sundeved was taken by the Germans. To oppose the
threat to his supply lines the Schleswig-Holstein commanding
general, Prittwitz, left 20.000 German “Reichtroopers”
at Sundeved. The rest of the Schleswig-Holstein army followed
the retreating Danish army. At the fortified city of Fredericia,
the Danes left a garrison of 7.000 men, plus a reserve on
the Island of Funen - also just separated from Jutland by
a small strait (the Little Belt).
The Prussian commander (Prittwitz)
left the whole Schleswig-Holstein army to lay siege on Fredericia.
The rest of the Danish army, under general Olav Rye retreated
further North, and fought several small delaying actions.
Finally he withdrew to another small peninsula on the Eastern
coast of Jutland (“Helgenæs”). The Germans
could not move further North, because they then would have
the Danish army behind it. This Danish tactic was possible
because the Danish navy was almost totally superior at Sea.
So the Danes had all the advantages
in this situation, when the German/Schleswig-Holstein army
was separated in three parts with several days march between
them. With the help of the fleet, it was possible for the
Danes to concentrate the bulge of the army against any part
of the German army.
The siege of Fredericia
Fredericia was besieged by the Schleswig-Holsteinian
army under General Bonin on the 9th of May 1849. Fredericia
is located on the South and East side of Jutland surrounded
by a strait “Little Belt”, which at that place is
rather narrow. The distance from Fredericia to the ferry station
(Strib) on Funen is only about 1300 yards. The fortifications
consisted of a main rampart with nine bastions, and the moat
around the rampart was 10 yards wide and 5 yards deep. Commander
of the garrison (7.000 men) was Colonel Lunding.
The besiegers constructed 4 redoubts
(no. 1 - 4). Their function was to shell the town, and cover
the Schleswig-Holsteinian army against a sally from the garrison.
The garrison made a sally on the 13th of May to prevent the
construction of redoubt no. 3, but it was never the less finished
on the 15th of May. From the 16th of May and for 4 days the
Schleswig-Holstein army shelled the town.
The population was evacuated to Funen.
Four of the most densely built areas in the town were destroyed,
but as the fires were quickly put out, and as it is impossible
to observe the inner town from outside the rampart, General
Bonin believed the damage to the town to be insignificant.
As the garrison constantly was relieved and given 6 days rest,
by transferring troops to and from Funen, Bonin decided with
all means, to stop communication between Fredericia and Funen.
So he constructed two redoubts near the beach, North of the
fortress - redoubt no. 5 (Treldeskansen) and redoubt no. 6
(which actually never was finished). In a sally on the 30th
of June, the Danes destroyed some of those earthworks, and
spiked 9 cannons (one 168 lb. mortar, three 84 lb. howitzers
and five 24 lb. smoothbores). And those cannons were still
not in function at the actual battle 6 days later. But the
sally could not prevent redoubt no. 5 from being finished.
So now the Schleswig-Holsteinians
had surrounded the town from sea to sea, and seriously threatened
to cut the communication with Funen. Therefore Colonel Lunding
urged his superior commanders not to delay a major outbreak
much more. Several attack plans were discussed, and the commanders
settled for a major attack, north out of the fortress, combined
with “fake” landing demonstrations with two “fleets”
of each 22 ships (1 steamer, 4 gunboats, 5 transports and
12 sailing ships), north and south of the fortress. Those
demonstrations prevented several of the Schleswig-Holsteinian
forces from participating in the battle.
The battle should have started on
the 5th of July, but one of the Danish brigades didn’t
receive its orders in time. Instead it was suggested that
the army should attack at 01.00 am. This was a lucky decision
for the Danes, as the whole Schleswig-Holsteinian army had
been waiting all day long on the 5th of July in the earthworks
for a attack that never came. At dusk on the 5th of July most
of the troops retired to their camps for the night - they
wouldn’t get much sleep.
The battle of Fredericia
It had been raining heavily the
previous days, but the night of the 6th of July, was quiet
and warm, with a clear sky. A dense fog concealed the movement
of the Danish troops from the Schleswig-Holsteinians. During
the morning a slight wind from north, helped to muffle the
noise of the moving Danish troops. Furthermore all the streets
of Fredericia were covered with straw to damp all sounds from
the army. The attack started at 01.00 am.
“Avantgarden” under general
De Meza attacked redoubt no. 3 and 4 and also the nearby mortar
battery. It also covered the open space between redoubt no.
4 and 5. They took redoubt no. 4 and the mortar battery, and
the engineers started the demolition immediately. But the
attack bogged down in front of redoubt no. 3, which was defended
by a small part of the Schleswig-Holsteinian 4th Jaegerkorps
under their leader Major Schmidt. Soon the Schleswig-Holsteinians
counterattacked with the 6th Battalion from the west and the
8th Battalion from the north, and one company of the 7th Battalion,
who was occupying redoubt no. 2.
The Danish 2nd Lette (Light) Battalion
and the 2nd Jaegerkorps wavered and retreated. The demolition
of the earthworks stopped. General Bonin ordered the last
of the Schleswig-Holsteinian reserves of the second brigade
(the 8th Battalion) to press the attack further forward. He
hoped that not all the Danish attackers had left the fortress
through the few narrow gates, but he was wrong.
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