Chapter 14 – The Kingdom's Ambition
There was no stopping now. Everyone could see Prussia's true intentions, and Bismarck was about to take the first big step toward his life's greatest achievement. Once the Danish main force on the island of Als was defeated, Denmark would lose its final bargaining chip in the war.
On June 29, at the Als Fjord, Als Island lies to the east of the Jutland Peninsula, connected by the Als Fjord, which is an extension of the Baltic Sea and not very wide. The waters between Als Island and Jutland were calm under sunny skies, giving the Prussian army a clear view. Taking advantage of these conditions, the Prussians set out to cross the fjord and move on Als. Prussian engineers built floating bridges across the water, and ferries loaded with troops and weapons set off, their steam engines roaring. Ships crowded the narrow fjord, sails and funnels everywhere. Danish lookouts, using telescopes, spotted the fast-approaching Prussian vessels and immediately reported to their superiors.
The Danish troops, who had hastily withdrawn to Als Island, were battered by repeated defeats, leaving morale low and organization weak. They had had no time to build proper fortifications on Als. All they could do was fire artillery at the Prussian landing forces, but scattered shelling could not stop the determined Prussians. Protected by gunboats, thousands of Prussian soldiers landed with ease. Fierce fighting broke out along the shore. The Danes tried to use makeshift defenses to block the Prussian advance, but more Prussian artillery was continuously ferried in on ships and over the floating bridges. Once the artillery was in place, the landing force attacked again, and the Danes quickly fell into disarray. Their temporary fortifications were wiped out by the first round of shelling.
Prussian infantry then stormed the Danish positions, and the demoralized Danes raised the white flag after a brief stand. Als Island became the site of the final large-scale battle between the coalition and Denmark. With its garrison surrendering, the Second Schleswig War was nearly over. Just a few days later, on July 3, the Battle of Lundby took place, ending in another allied victory. Denmark lost all remaining capacity to fight.
Forced to the negotiating table, the Danish government, as the losing side, announced it would stop resisting. Austria and Prussia halted their advance, both sides stopped hostilities, and the war ended. On August 10, 1864, King Christian IX of Denmark signed a preliminary peace treaty, giving up his rights to the two duchies and backing both the Austrian Empire and the King of Prussia. Then, by the Treaty of Vienna on October 30, Denmark ceded these territories to Austria and Prussia.
This Second Schleswig War saw Denmark's borders pushed back 250 kilometers, losing 40 percent of its territory and nearly the same share of its population. Its total population dropped from 2.6 million to 1.6 million, including 200,000 Danes in Schleswig. Denmark's power on the Jutland Peninsula was greatly reduced. Meanwhile, Prussia seized leadership over the Duchy of Schleswig and stationed its army in that region, gaining the important port of Kiel. The Kiel Canal let Germany avoid the Danish Straits, significantly improving Prussia's access to the sea. Austria, for its part, gained Holstein. With victory going to Prussia and Austria, the Second Schleswig War came to a close.