Chapter 13 – International Mediation
A few days later, after Bismarck stirred things up and put on the pressure, Austria and Prussia reached an agreement. Both armies would continue attacking Denmark unless the Danish government agreed to full independence for the two duchies. Naturally, Denmark could not accept such a condition, since losing Schleswig alone meant losing over thirty percent of Danish territory. At home, Danish nationalists would certainly accuse the cabinet of betraying the country. Compared to giving up without a fight, actually losing in battle was more likely to earn the Danish public's sympathy—showing that the government had tried, but the Germans were too treacherous.
Denmark rejected the demands of the German states, and so the coalition's war machine moved forward once again. On March 8, having received orders from Vienna, the Austrian Imperial Army took the lead by launching an offensive, winning the Battle of Veile. Then, on March 15, the Danish navy declared a blockade of the Prussian coast, bringing its fleet into the war. The newly founded Prussian navy responded. Both navies clashed fiercely in the waters around Jasmund. At that time, the Prussian navy was still in its early stages, whereas Denmark had long been a strong maritime power in northern Europe. The outcome was predictable: two days later, the Danish navy achieved a tactical victory in the Battle of Jasmund. The weaker Prussian fleet was no match for Denmark at sea, although it avoided complete destruction.
That same day, the Prussian army attacked a new Danish position at Dybbøl. First, they bombarded Dybbøl with large-scale artillery fire, then launched an infantry assault under cover of the guns. Confronted by the ferocity of the Prussians, the new Danish commander refused to repeat the mistake of General Meza. Instead of retreating again, Danish forces used stubborn resolve to repel Prussia's probing attacks multiple times over the course of a single day. Even so, this fighting was just a prelude, and Prussia's main blow was still building up.
On April 18, about a month later, the Battle of Dybbøl began. After many hours of shelling, the Prussians launched a full-scale offensive. Hundreds of cannons targeted the Danish positions at Dybbøl, and despite heavy fire from the Danish flagship, Helrolf, anchored near the coastline, the Prussians advanced fiercely. The Helrolf could only slow their progress; it could not halt the Prussian assault on land. Under the blanket of artillery bombardment, Danish troops huddled in their fortifications while Prussia, using superior manpower, pushed forward. Before long, the leading Prussian units reached the edge of Dybbøl's defenses.
By then, most of Dybbøl's fortifications had practically collapsed under heavy shellfire. Many improvised structures were already in ruins. Taking advantage of that rubble, the Prussians managed to penetrate Danish lines. Seeing the tide turn against them, the Danish commander ordered a withdrawal from Dybbøl and left the Eighth Danish Brigade to cover the retreat. That brigade resisted courageously, suffering terrible losses—over a third of its strength—but still succeeded in protecting the main Danish force as it pulled back.
Once beaten at Dybbøl, the Danes, short on manpower, also had to abandon their effort to recapture Fredericia, which the Austrians had seized earlier. Through multiple engagements, the allies had taken almost half of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula territory (including Schleswig). Any remaining Danish hope for victory seemed extinguished.
Meanwhile, these successive Danish defeats caused the British government to decide on intervention. Preserving the balance of power in Europe was Britain's baseline goal; they could not let major changes reshape the continent. Earlier, the British government had issued a stern warning to Prussia, which verbally agreed to pause hostilities on April 12. But Bismarck delayed it until April 25, by which point Prussia had full control of Dybbøl. With backing from Russia, France, and Sweden, Britain then proposed to step in and address the war in Jutland, saying the Schleswig question should be settled by multiple European nations.
Austria and Prussia, having secretly coordinated, replied that as long as the 1852 Treaty was not used as the basis of any agreement, and as long as the duchies were linked to Denmark only by a "personal" bond, then the two powers would approve such a settlement. The meeting opened on April 25 in London, presided over by British representative Viscount Palmerston. Britain criticized Prussia and Austria for endangering Europe's peace, but the German delegates claimed the current situation was inevitably messy. Count Beust, representing the German Confederation, demanded that all countries recognize Augustenborg's sovereignty over the duchies.
Although Austria leaned toward something resembling the 1852 Treaty, Prussia had already shown it wanted the duchies. If Prussia wished to fulfill that ambition, it first had to ensure that Schleswig was fully separated from Denmark. So Prussia's representative insisted on complete independence for Schleswig, which left Austria in a dilemma. Should Austria oppose, it risked losing its influence within Germany entirely, but if it did not oppose, Prussia would grow even stronger. In the end, Austria decided that German influence mattered most. Unifying all German lands was also part of Austria's aspirations, so reluctantly it backed Prussia's call for Schleswig to become fully independent, provided some joint authority would supervise it. They would figure out the next steps later.
To reassure Britain, France, and Russia, the Prussian envoy promised that Prussia would not seek any territory beyond the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, meeting those powers' demand that control of the Baltic outlet not be seized by any one great power. Sweden made no clear statement, given its past rivalry with Denmark. Sweden was actually quite willing to see Denmark weakened by Prussia and Austria, as long as the German coalition did not swallow the entire Jutland Peninsula—an outcome that would create a greater strategic threat for Sweden.
Clearly, neither Prussia nor Austria really cared about Denmark's position, and Britain and the others tacitly accepted Prussia's demands. Denmark rejected the proposal. The London Conference did not truly resolve the Jutland Peninsula issue but did bring a temporary halt to the Austro-Prussian offensive. During the talks, Denmark completed its last wave of mobilization. Most of its efforts in the Jutland Peninsula had failed, and Danish forces shifted to the island of Als to continue resisting. In June, Prussian troops began massing across from Als. The Second Schleswig War was about to enter a new phase.
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