Second Schleswig War 1864

In 1863 the Liberal government prevailed on the new Danish king, Christian IX, to sign a new joint constitution for Denmark and Schleswig, making Schleswig an integral part of the Danish state. German nationalist sentiment in Europe was outraged. King Wilhelm I of Prussia proposed to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria that the two leading powers of the German Confederation should occupy the duchies in order to prevent the violation of an international agreement (the London Protocol of 1852) that had guaranteed the separate status of Schleswig. The emperor agreed, at least in part because of the diplomatic ramifications of letting Prussia act alone.

The Danish position against Prussia and its ally, Austria, was hopeless. The war was fought in two stages. Austrian and Prussian forces invaded Denmark on February 1, 1864. Dybbol (Duppel), the main Danish defensive position blocking the advance was besieged by Prussian forces on March 30th and captured on April 18th. Shortly after, a ceasefire took effect, on April 25th, and negotiations commenced at the London Conference. Discussions failed to produce an acceptable solution and fighting resumed on June 25th. The main Austrian contribution was the breaking of a Danish naval blockade of the Elbe and Weser rivers at the Battle of Heligoland. Meanwhile the Austrian and Prussian armies continued to advance. Danish military resistance was crushed and Denmark sued for peace on July 20, 1864.

The brief war against Denmark demonstrated the strength of the reorganized army of the Hohenzollern Prussia. This war would be the first of three wars in just six years by which the Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, would largely succeed in unifying Germany under Prussian dominance and in making the new state the foremost military power in Europe. Danish hopes for foreign assistance proved illusory, and by the Treaty of Vienna signed on October 30, 1864, the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein became the joint possession of Prussia and Austria; Prussia would now turn on its former Austrian ally to establish its leadership of the German Confederation.

References

Clodfelter, 304-5; COW46; EB - Schleswig Holstein; Kohn, 142-3.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

Western Europe

Belligerents

Austria, Denmark, Prussia

Dispute

Governance

Initiation Date

February 1, 1864

Termination Date

July 20, 1864

Duration

5 months, 20 days
(171 days)

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Austro-Prussian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 4,481
Austria: 500
Denmark: 2,933
Prussia: 1,048

Magnitude

3.7