Battle of Als

Battle of Als
Part of the Second Schleswig War
Wilhelm Camphausen's painting of The storming of Als by the Prussians
Date 29 June – 1 July 1864 Location On and near the island of Als Result Prussian victory
Belligerents
Denmark	Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Peter Frederik Steinmann	Herwarth von Bittenfeld
Strength
10,000	23,000
Casualties and losses
216 dead 462 wounded 1878 prisoners 536 missing	372 casualties Including 7 missing

The Battle of Als (Danish: Slaget om Als; German: Übergang nach Alsen) was fought on 29 June 1864 during the Second Schleswig War between Denmark and Prussia. It was the last major engagement of the war, as the Prussians under General Herwarth von Bittenfeld secured the island of Als – occupied by 9,000 Danish troops, including the garrison of Dybbøl which had retreated there – in a night attack masterminded by the Chief of Staff (later Field Marshal) Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal.

The Prussian command gave orders for the crossing of the Alssund – the narrow strait separating Als from the mainland of Jutland – to begin in the night of 28–29 June 1864. The Commander-in-Chief had selected Øster Snogbæk, at the northern end of the strait, as the crossing-place, the nearby Sottrup Storskov woods providing cover which enabled the preparations to be hidden from the Danes. At midnight, the Prussian troops were gathered for the assault, without packs and wearing Feldmützen (forage caps) instead of helmets.

At 2 a.m. 2,500 Prussian soldiers started crossing the Alssund, between the village of Sottrupskov and the Sandbjerg Estate, in small boats. The Danish modern armoured warship Rolf Krake was in Augustenborg fjord, and sailed to the Alssund where it caused the Prussians severe difficulties and stopped the crossing. But after that the Rolf Krake, obeying a misunderstood order, suddenly turned around and sailed away; the Prussian troops continued the crossing. At 2:15 a.m. the Prussians landed in Arnkil and under heavy fire took the Danish entrenchments. This let them build a pontoon bridge over the Alssund. Of the Danish army, Regiment No. 5 went north to Sønderborg, and Regiment No. 18 fought the Prussians near the village of Kær. The Danes eventually retreated to Kegnæs, some surrendered, some were evacuated by ship. The Danish army lost nearly 3000 men (dead, wounded or captured) on Als.

Memorial stone in Sottrupskov: "Here rest five Prussian soldiers of the 24th Regiment, drowned during the crossing to Als on 29 June 1864"

Legacy

Following Denmark's defeat by the Austro-Prussian army, Als became part of Prussia and later Germany until the referendum of 1920.

Johann Gottfried Piefke, the famous German march composer, dedicated his "Der Alsenströmer" to the battle.

External links

• The capture of the Island of Als
• Video of "Der Alsenströmer" march by Johann Gottfried Piefke
• Google Earth air view of the area

References

• George Bruce. Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (ISBN 0-442-22336-6).
• "Kampen på Als den 29. juni 1864" (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2007-05-25. 
• https://web.archive.org/web/20071012165639/http://www.milhist.dk/1864/1864/1864_dk.htm (Danish)

Coordinates: 54°59′00″N 9°55′00″E / 54.9833°N 9.9167°E / 54.9833; 9.9167