1807 Bombardment of Copenhagen
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2024
- In 1807, with France ascendant and demanding that neutral nations choose a side, Britain feared that Denmark would join France and, for the second time in six years, prepared a fleet to strike preemptively. This time the people of Copenhagen would suffer the consequences.
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Script by JCG
#history #thehistoryguy #Napoleonicwars
In Denmark, this is widely being referred to as "the first terror-bombing attack in history".
Not just in Denmark.
Hvilket det mere eller mindre var
Britain was concerned Denmark would side with France, so Britain gave them a reason too side with France
True, buuuuut without the fleet they feared
well yes and no. Britain didnt fear denmark, they feared her fleet. So they took it and afterwards it didnt matter what denmark did
@@JB17521or They were just as concerned about Napoleon using the Danish Belts to restrict British access to the Baltic and its vital supplies for the navy. Attacking Denmark gave Napoleon those islands and convinced Russia to join the Continental System, largely cutting off those supplies from the fleet.
@@JB17521or Britain basically went "these guys could be trouble" almost freaking LOST to Denmark in the naval battle... Denmark was neutral and then just get attacked by the UK cause they were scared of the combined potential of the spanish, French and Danish navy (it would likely eclipse the Royal Navy). Thats the definition of being scared of someone. Also Denmark had a lot of wood to just rebuild their fleet, so they definetly wanted to at least immobilise their fleet for the duration of the war, which is why they went for a "pre-emptive strike". But England has always to some degree feared other Naval powers or superpowers (Spain and Denmark-Norway being the 2 main ones I can remember, France aswell tbf)
@@CritiqueCS The Dano-norwegian fleet alone exclipsed the british fleet in European waters, the problem for the UK was they were a significant power on all oceans, whereas others weren't.
In 1801, the Danish navy was among the largest in Europe, although it was not fully equipped at the time of the battle. The most important result for Denmark (and Norway) of the events of 1801 and 1807 was the dissolution of the Danish-Norwegian kingdom. After the loss of the fleet, the kingdom was unable to defend the trade and lines of communication between Norway and Denmark. Denmark thus had little power to oppose the Russo-Swedish alliance, which forced Denmark to cede Norway to Sweden. This changed Denmark into a tiny country and a tiny power. It was also the beginning of Norwegian independence, although it would take another 90 years.
After the loss of the fleet, the king demanded that new oak trees be planted in Denmark for the construction of a future fleet. Unfortunately, it takes about 200 years for oak trees to grow large enough to be used for shipbuilding. When the country's foresters called the Ministry of Defense in 2008 to tell them the king's oaks were ready, there was no longer any interest in the 90,000 oak trees that had been planted.
Maybe the oaks will be used again in the future in an apocalypse?
Yep. Still bitter over it. The British disregard for our attempts at neutrality, as well as their paranoia and arrogance, makes their actions feel entirely unnecessary, yet those actions basically made Denmark irrelevant until the latter half of the 20'th century. Still is in many ways, but we at least hit above our weight in diplomacy.
@@asbjounderstandable. The US fought two wars with the British on either side of y’all’s two conflicts. The frustrations are not dissimilar.
@@loganw1232, old-growth oak would be a choice material for flooring and furniture-making.
@@goodun2974 And just a cool forest to visit!
I (British) was in working in Copenhagen and they brought it up, they were still mad about it. I had never even heard of it happening.
Yep. We still mad about it mate.
Not so much mad, but saddened it would lead to the forced dissolution of Denmark-Norway, as well as decimation of our capital and the complete eradication of Danish naval power.
British unjustified paranoia leaves a bitter taste, as Denmark was only interested in not getting involved whatsoever. The arrogance and disregard is so clear in the chain of events, that we felt betrayed in many ways. We just wanted to tend to our own.
This along with the loss of Schleswig-Holstein in the 1860's, cemented Denmark as one of Europe's smallest and least powerful states (though with an excellent strategic position), whereas, in the previous centuries we had been a trading powerhouse. We never really recovered.
Fun side note. The British destruction of the Danish fleet, prompted the king to order a new plantation of oak to pe plated so we could rebuild our fleet. It's not that long ago (2005-2015 i think), the then Queen of Denmark was informed that her trees were ready for harvest and ship-building.
@@asbjo, that old-growth oak, although not in demand for shipbuilding these days, might be a valuable export commodity now, for flooring and furniture.
Maybe you also like to learn about HMS Saint George and HMS Defence, which were stranded on the Danish coast near Thorsminde in 1811.
Both ships had taken part in operations against Copenhagen.
@@asbjo But nobody knows if it was uncalled for because the potential outcome was prevented.
@@asbjo , What the British did to Denmark was kind of like what the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor and I'm not surprised that some Danes are still a little aggrieved about it.
My family are from Helsinør in north Sjælland. The older generations up there used the tearm 'Engelsk røver' (English Robber) to descripe a person who pretends to be good natured in order to steal from you.
And what about all our silver handed over as 'Danegeld?
@@EdMcF1 do you take credit card?
@@EdMcF1 In return for our unselfish and much needed linguistic aid, which stopped you guys from speaking your semi-"German" Old English to speak more like us instead ( there are still a lot of very similar basic words today ).
😂
Zapp Branigan was right! "With these neutrals, you don't know where they stand."
There are reasons why Machiavelli cautioned against being neutral in conflicts. Both sides will expect your support, both sides will view you as a potential enemy as they think "they must not be joining us because they're planning on siding with the enemy", and both sides will consider if it's worth invading you to to keep you from joining the enemy and so they can use you against the enemy. Countries like Switzerland get away with it because they're either too hard to invade or they're too powerful to threaten.
@@arthas640TBF fuck them neutrals
There is ALWAYS something to be learned with The History Guy.
A man who deserves to be remembered!!
Thank you, THG for sharing this "dark side" of the Napoleonic wars. It is tempting to think that war in the early 19th was only between armies, but frequently it did affect civilians. Great visuals, too.
What is the light side?
dark side of British Imperialism.
When researching for a paper on Danish reactions to the defeat against Prussia and Austria in 1864, which crippled the country, I came across plenty of diaries and letters from elderly Danes at the time, who still considered the Germans as a lesser evil than the British, despite having fought two wars against them within 15 years.
Not surprisingly so. The British called the attack and act of self defense. SELF DEFENSE is attacking a neutral country? Let me convey a little secret to you Brits. Britain is an ally now, but we have never forgotten what they did in 1801 and 1807. Nor will we ever forget. And we will never completely trust them when they can attack us and call it self defense.
And don't think I'm anti British. I have British ancestry and have visited your country several times. We just don't trust you. And for good reasons.
When you look at Great Britain now and then, They haven't changed their habit of promising this and that and not keeping it. Nor have they significantly changed their habit of putting up demands to gain a goal, yet not being entirely truthful about their reasons or the actions they will take if not met. Actions perhaps being less deadly now, but nevertheless still in a vein that they would never accept being exposed to themselves. So, in essence, the British government is still the same as then and not really to be trusted.
The Dane receive back, much of the territory lost; during the war of 1864. It was a stipulation of the treaty of Versailles, that Slesvig be returned to Denmark.
@@michaelmayo3127 Partially correct. The treaty of Versailles only stipulated, that a vote should be held in the lost Duchies. In the end only the Norhern half of Slesvig returned after the vote, as the majority in the south voted for staying in Germany. No election was held in Lauenburg and Holstein, as it was considered a certain vote for staying in Germany anyway.
@@benjaminchristensen8485 After ww2 the question was raised again, but the Dane declined the offer.
"majority in the south voted to stay" this was becsue the German administration over run Slesvig with German citizens and they also got to vote.
@@michaelmayo3127 It didn't quite go on like that.
In the post war years, Denmark still wanted all of it back, but it was not until 1920 that both countries agreed to a referendum in which the inhabitants of the area could vote for being returned to Denmark or remain with Germany.
The Germans actively moved many Germans to the region in order to influence the referendum, but couldn't move enough people in to tilt the vote for the entire area. So when the referendum was executed, the southern half voted to stay with Germany, and the northern half voted to be reunited with Denmark.
So the referendum results prompted a split which both countries accepted and Northern schleswig was returned while Southern Schleswig remained German.
It wasn't a decree from the peace negotiations that brought about a reunification. It was a referendum.
this one of the best descriptions of the event - and as a dane its great to see the whole thing from a more english perspective. We danes often see it as a national catastrophe. Denmarks navy was part of our national pride and losing it meant lossing someting essential your the way we understand ourselvs as a nation of sailors.
Fun fact: During the bombardment of 1807 a book in the old university library at Trinitatis Church was hit. Ironically enough the book was called "Defensor pacis" - meaning defender of the peace.
Wellington had a horse named Copenhagen. It's mother was in the British Expeditionary Force at this battle and the foal was named in commemoration. After a failed career as a racehorse it was subsequently acquired by Wellington, and remained in his ownership until it died in 1836 at the grand old age of 29.
Congreve Rockets were manufactured at the Royal Arsenal Woolwich. The rockets were notorious for accidents during manufacture. It is said they did more damage to the town of Woolwich, than they ever did to the enemy.
Great vlog as always! The building «Børsen» the Danish exchange burned in the Ides of March. They were doing renovation and fire started and there will be no party this fall to commemorate the classic 400 yr old structure. That is history worth remembering.
Thanks so much on the history of Denmark. My mother was born and raised in Copenhagen. My grandfather worked for the Danish underground getting Jewish people out of Denmark to Sweden . my mother was born in 1932 and lived thew the war she was 8 or 9 when the Germans took her girlfriend out of school and shot her in the street I can see why my mother was a little bit troubled her whole life. My dad married my mother during the Korean way he was stationed in Denmark and Germany thanks for all you do Sir 👍👍👍😎
Good morning from Connecticut, fellow classmates. For once I was early, waiting for the doors to open! Have a great Friday!
Beacon Falls CT reporting for class 5:57
@@jamesfracasse8178 Greetings, fellow Nutmegger!
Ft Worth TX checking in. Tardy for class. I'll do some extra credit homework.
@@RetiredSailor60 You are excused my friend. We’ve chatted before!
Night school in Wallingford
The first battle of Copenhagen in 1801 involved a British fleet led by Admiral Hyde Parker with Horatio Nelson as his subordinate. Since the entrance to Copenhagen was shallow Nelson took a dozen shallower draft sail of the line to engage the Danish ships and forts. 3 of his ships ran aground and Parker could see them but not the main engagement. gave the order for Nelson to withdraw. He figured if Nelson needed to retreat he would and if he didn't he would ignore the signal. Nelson held the telescope to his blind eye and said 'I really don't see the signal."
History that deserves to be remembered, indeed. Sad and disgusting that small nations are often ground into dust between the so-called "great" powers in their wars and ambitions. So it was at the turn of the 19th century, and so it is today. Britain greatly wronged Denmark; to Denmark it was a memorable defeat and humiliation. To Britain, it was a minor incident in their war aims, hardly worthy of mention. Humans, this exactly is what is wrong with us! Small nations and tiny humans are just "collateral damage." Until we learn better, we are no better than the combatants of centuries past.
Denmark was one of the most powerful nations in Europe at this point in history, having Norway under the flag, as well as Iceland (and obviously Greenland and the Faroe Islands). This moved destroyed the second largest fleet in Europe and cost Denmark Norway the year after , leading to the country declaring bankruptcy that same year. As one of my uni professors so eloquently put it, the british bombed us into the insignificance we still are today.
You learn something new every day! Thanks, Professor! 😊
I have heard of this story before and was delighted to learn many of the details concerning it. Well done, my friend and kudos to you! 😊
I feel like the Continental System could have survived with liberal trade terms. France could have effectively founded the EU 175 years earlier, and they could have been trade peers with the existing British Empire rather than adversaries. Too bad Napoleon was doing the same old wealth-extraction-from-client-states model. If everyone was making money, no one would have complained.
You have also to understand that France was financially in a terrible situation mainly because of the blockade done by the British.
We should not reverse the responsibilities, as the British do. It’s the wars financed by British gold that pushed France to develop that model of client state and then to try to implement the continental system which push Napoleon to 2 bloody wars in Spain and in Russia.
If Napoleon did one error it’s probably after the Peace of Amiens where he should have be more open towards the British merchants but at that time France was incapable to be competitive economically after a decade of embargo.
I don't see how that would be advantageous to France
@@ZS-rw4qq avoiding war and doing trade? How would it not? Establishing spheres of influence was maybe too advanced of a concept for Napoleon, and you too apparently.
@@taxirob2248 not all trade is good
@@ZS-rw4qq understood but stability is worth a fortune on its own
One curious history. One very large problem of loosing the fleet, was to find pine trees of sufficient size for the masts of the vessels. So, an admiral called Von Langen, ordered the planting of a considerable number of suited pine trees in the wood north of Copenhagen. It is said, that in the mid 1980'ies, the forest administration called the Ministry of Defence, and told them "Your pine trees are ready" The answer is unknown. But Von Langes Pine Trees (Von Langes Graner) can still be found in the wood, north of Klampenborg
Several other people commenting here said similar things about the planting of *Oak* trees in the 1800s to make timber for future ships; ships which are no longer made of wood. That makes a bit more sense if the story relates to oak trees because they're quite slow-growing compared to pines, which are pretty quick-growing by comparison.
@@goodun2974 The US Navy still maintains an oak forest for the maintenance of USS Constitution.
I've never heard about this historical event before, interesting story. That's what I love about this Channel, you learn something new every day(or night). Great video, informative as always THG
I appreciate you and thank you for making content.
The Brits have a way with their neighbors...Napoleon brought that out in them.
understandable when you neighbours with France
The French are a grouchy bunch
@@davidmrenton Agree, look at the history Spain, Italy and Germany had with regularFrench invasions. Prior to 1870 the rest of Europe regarded France's relationship wih the German states as a bully.
Norway became largely independent in 1814, because Denmark-Norway was on the losing side of the final Napoleonic Wars.
When Norway went from being a posession of Denmark to being in a union with Sweden in 1814, Norway got its own constitution, its own parliament and own Prime Minister, own political parties, control of its own currency etc - almost complete independence, really.
The average Norwegian citizen even had more democratic rights than the average Swedish citizen during the Union, because of the relatively progressive Norwegian constitution. For example, a higher % of people could vote in Norway than in Sweden.
Basically the only thing Norway did not have control over was foreign affairs.
As well as the appointment of the King - though he needed the approval of both prime ministers.
Norways refusal to grant approval of the new king in 1905 is what directly led to Norway leaving the Union.
Norways struggle to establish its own consular/diplomatic system and the Swedish denial of this was a main factor in what led Norway to refuse the new king.
The events of 1814 is celebrated yearly in Norway as Constituion Day, by far the biggest celebration of the year.
In contrast, the full independence in 1905 is much less talked about, and barely celebrated, if at all.
And then Norway turned to Denmark and asked to make a Danish Prince into king of Norway.
@@jimmywayne983 Yep
@@Spacemongerr I was just trying to point out that the Norwegian view on Denmark and past relations , still had (and have today) most Norwegians feel a connection with Denmark that is stronger than the connection to Sweden.
Not only language wise, but also in regards to monarchy, colonial history ect.
@@jimmywayne983 I'd say it's about equal, perhaps more toward Sweden.
More Norwegians travel more often to Sweden than to Denmark, and we are exposed more to Swedish media than Danish media - particularly in childhood.
I think most Norwegians can name the Swedish parliament, but a much much lower number know the name of the Danish parliament.
We also have a lot of Swedish immigrants, they are the 2nd largest immigrant group, after Poles. Danes are quite far down the list. So as a Norwegian, I have met many more Swedish people than Danish people.
But you have a point about history and language. Written anyway, the standard-Norwegian vocabulary and spelling is much much closer to Danish than Swedish. However, it is easier to talk with a Swede, since the Danish pronunciation is so..yeah..you know.
The description seems accurate.
Much later the English would demand the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir not leaning that an agreement could be made that would be more acceptable- such as returning the ships after the war? Letting sailors join the English or similar. In Mers-el-Kébir they again killed potential allies and damaged ships.
Perfidious Albion!
100% Gensoul's fault. He had standing orders that included the option of moving the fleet to US waters.
@@kevinobrien2311 Seem to be a lot of Hitler fans on CZcams.
Darlan refused to negotiate despite being given virtually the whole day to decide. Looking at how quickly the French collapsed Somerville had no choice.
@@johnallen7807 Darlan wasn't even there. Agree Somerville had no choice though.
What a coincidence. I devour historical fiction and have for many years. I just started Sharpe's novels by Bernard Cornwell, and one of the early books covers the siege of Copenhagen.
I have to be careful I've recently gotten back into historical miniature wargaming with World War 1 airplanes, and now I'm itching to do Napoleonics as well.
If you enjoy Sharpe, you would probably enjoy the books by RIchard Woodman about Nathaniel Drinkwater. One of the books is called "The Bomb Vessel". This is based on the 1801 battle, but the series starts with "The Eye of the Fleet", from 1782. The story then has a gap (Drinkwater was on the Royal George when it sank, and his midshipman's papers were lost before he got his commission) and restarts in about 1797/8 from memory. Similar sort of stuff to Sharpe, but naval. they are very good imo.
Many places in Copenhagen, there are cannonballs embedded in the walls of houses as a reminder of the bombing. At least one baby girl born during the bombing was given the name "bombardine".
Always interesting. Happy Friday.
Wow. Way to turn a friend into an enemy. Tragic.
We have not forgotten. We feel somewhat redressed by our liberation 1945, but still.
The oak forest is situated in Mid-Jutland and is now a national park. Selected timbers where cut from the forester, during the restoration if the wooden Danish naval Frigate Jutland ( Fregatten Jylland).
Perfidious Albion, very similar to Mers-el-kebir... then it always the other side total fault of course, how they dare to have their own personal interest in having fleets and to protect their own lands... well the English started basically as pirates against the Spanish Empire in the 16th century and continued robbing every colony they could until they did the same or worst than Napoleon in India (even before him! Wellington started his carreer there)... History is really much more interesting that the usual clichés about the good ones and the bad ones...
Yeah we are pirates we created the biggest empire in history from it, and we gave you our language, let me ask you this are you mad that Britain was never punished for there crimes in the empire, that we got away with it?
@@cpj93070 Lol did I struck a nerve ? Did not England use piracy during more than a century against the Spanish Empire (the true first global empire) and robbing colonies (and trying to impose ''commerce'') wasn't the base of the British power since Cromwell ? English language, or globish in reality, is important right now because it is used in the US (the rebel colony, not from the Commonwealth), not because of Britain... In fact in the 19th century, at the British peak, it was French the international language, for diplomacy even more... And you are being ''punished'' right now, just right now... look at London and your country, it's not just plain decadence...
Thank you!
Thanks
Thank you!
Me as a Dutchman I can feel the same pain. We as well had many wars/fights with the brittish who where trying to be the mightiest country. Thats just the way how people play the game of empire
A funny sidenote of the rocket bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, was that during, and a short time after, WWII, many British claimed that London was the first Capitol to be bombarded with rockets. Even it actually was Copenhagen - and done by the brits themselves :D
Yes, it was hard on the Danish, and especially on the Norwegian people (Norway was part of Denmark for many centuries) who were dependent on the Danish to deliver food. But without a fleet, that was not possible, so Norway had to be given to Sweden who were able to not only deliver food by ship, but also overland.
The point is though we Brits beat them Germans in WW1 and 2 Denmark could never hope two during that time.
@@cpj93070 a mouse and an elephant crossed a wooden bridge. The mouse said to the elephant: "listen to all the noise we are making".... :D
@@TinaHollner Don't you find it ironic that you became allied to Britain in 1940 and liberated your country after what we did to you in 1801 and 1807? did you Danes still hate the British after that?
@@cpj93070 Eisenhower and even Montgomery could read a map and notice who controls the entrance to the Baltic Sea.
Back in the 1600 a Dutch admiral de Ruyter noticed the same fact. BTW that admiral beat the Royal Navy on several occasions. But I assume that you conveniently "forgot" that as well :D
Ohh no, no Danes hate the Brits. Only when you are patting your own shoulders too loudly for too long, we protest. And don't forget that most of England was Danish for so many years :)
And during this all Denmark lost besides the navy, was Norway.. Denmark kept all the trade colonies in India and the colonies in the Caribbean, Denmark also kept Iceland, Greenland and the faeroes Islands.
Hello from Greece, you are a great professor.
From a Dane.
Thanks so much for the video and The HISTORY.
Bernard Cornwell set one of his Sharpe novels around this event.
Then Denmark went bankrupt in 1813.
And lost Norway to Sweden in 1814.
Yeah, wasn't this episode "Sharpe's Prey" or something? In the book series?
Yessir, finished the book yesterday hah
So did they ever find the weapons of mass destruction in Copenhagen?
😂 They camouflaged the bio-labs as mobile pastry shops! Trust me bro.
@@gargoyle7863 Maybe the pastries were weapons of mass destruction???
i guess not but they found revenge for the viking attacks that happened 700 years earlier
Thanks!
Thank you!
i think it would be useful to indicate the time lapse in these thigs. They are not picking up the phone or send a Tweet. How long does all this communication and movement of troops Take?
is anyone here after the G&B test session?
Right after the king ordered oaks to be planted in both the royal forrests as well as some large private own forrests in order to get building materials for a new fleet.
Today the former royal forrest is now state forrests managed by the minister of culture. A few years ago he formed a letter to the minister of defense, that the oaks where now ready to be cut and used for shipbuilding....... :-)
Just finished sharpes prey yesterday & saw this video today lol wild
Perfidious Albion!
'The Irish, tongues of Silver, Hearts of Black'
😂😂We Brits are, and we created the largest empire in history and gave the world our language from this "Perfidious Albion and there was nothing no other country could do about it, you still mad we never got punished for our Empire?
Incendiary Congreve rockets were the fire starters. Many thousands were fired, including the biggest types. The largest weighed up to 300 lbs
A lot of the bigger oakthrees in Denmark is planted in 1807, as Flådeege (naval oak) because of "Slaget på Reden"
I went to Copenhagen, there's a museum that exhibits Colt revolvers, a gift from Abrahm Lincoln, kindly suggesting the Danes to stop raising toll on the Sonde (passage through to Baltic sea).
A casual check of the subsequent commentary posts talk around the formation of a future Daanish fleet by the planting of trees, but no reference to Great Britain ever returning any Danish vessels after Waterloo and the supposed end of hostilities therein. Given the Napoleonic era's penchant for Royal Navy 'prizes' of captured vessels, I suppose not-a-one was ever repatriated to Copenhagen. Is this assumption correct?
Nope. Because Denmark was forced out of neutrality due to the attack. And since it would be weird to side with the country, that had just bombed your capital, they were pushed to join with France instead.
Fast forward the end of the wars and Denmark was on the losing side, so repairations needed to be paid = no fleet + no Norway.
This eventually resulted in the Danish state declarating bankruptcy in 1809 - and many of the buildings destroyed wasnt rebuild for more than 20 years cause we were so damn broke... this is something the Danes havent forgotten OR forgiven to this day. 😢
Eh sorry about that. (this coming from a Brit)
More unfortunate events in history.
This sad moment in British history is rarely mentioned in the uk for obvious reasons. In ww2 it was the attack on the French navy for the same reasons.
Do you even know the reasons for both?
And then we bought Europas first Ironclad
I’m still annoyed
A nice summary… from the British perspective.
My Danish wife always calls the famous admiral Lort Nelson (who is popularly misattributed for having giving the bombardment order). Google translate for what lort means.
Stealing the Danish ships led to Denmark joining the side of Napoleon, when they were previously neutral. Bit of an own goal from my British perspective.
I currently live in a part of Denmark where many of Napoleon's troops were stationed. People here are shorter-legged and darker-haired than the Copenhagen region for some reason 8D. Suits me as it's about the only place in Denmark I can buy a pair of jeans in the right size.
I did a translation recently about the star-shaped Citadel you can see on the map at 6.35 which featured a fairly extensive section about the bombardment and subsequent land engagements.
When it comes to other nation's warships falling into the hands of a dominant continental land power, the British did not mess around.
#copenhagen #merselkebir
As a dane I appreciate you telling this story.
Is this where Nelson turned a "blind eye"?
Nope that was the first attack in 1801.
That was in 1801. czcams.com/video/oJy0ZM8z9pM/video.htmlsi=OV0pxj8bakM4-TBb
@@surters Thanks 😉 Been quite awhile since I've read about that. Cheer!
Nelson was dead by the bombing of Copenhagen
@MeEFMinecraft
No, Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, years later
During the bombardement a girl was born. Afterwards when christenings could happen again her father named her raketta bombardina.
'The English man, the damned thief!' Danish expression commonly used throughout the 19th century.
The English can thank two world wars, that they are not the most despised people in Europe.
Of course, the hapless advisors (read: greedy sycophants) the Crown Prince was surrounding him self with, are mostly forgotten to day, in spite of their part in the disaster.
FYI: he's saying 'Landværn' not the german 'Landwehr'
Yeah, they way he said it it sounded very German.
But Danish can be pretty hard to pronounce if you're both:
- not familiar with the language
and
- not currently trying to swallow a tennis ball
@@Spacemongerr
I've heard various jokes about our language, but the tennisball one was new 😂
The Danes in Copenhagen were known to have a swollen lower lip, causing them to spit often into a can.
😂
🤨 Oh! Wicked wicked men! Oh!
In 1801 Denmark-Norway was attacked by the british because we decided not to follow a British embargo on all of Europe to try and sanction France to death. The attack was led by Horatio Nelson under John Jervis.
In 1807 Denmark-Norway was once again attacked by the british, because we decided not to follow a French embargo on all of Europe to try and sanction Britain to death. This attack included a young Arthur Wellesley.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't... atleast we gave rise to the two most prominent british military minds of their time.
It is worth noting that before the 2nd battle of Copenhagen the mood in Denmark was anti-french. While the army was stationed in Southern Jutland the navy was used as a further deterent since their presence would mean any french attack could only hope to secure Jutland leaving the rest of the dual monarchy free to operate.
When the navy was forcible seized by the british it left us defenseless against any french attack and thus the crown prince quickly signed a mutual defence pact with France to safeguard the kingdom... a pact that 8 years later meant Sweden, being a british ally, demanded Norway as compensation in the peace treaty.
The french stationed some 15.000 troops on the island of Funen as part of the defence pact to prevent Sweden from taking advantage of the situation by attacking Denmark. This force was led by Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte up until he was elected as crown prince of Sweden and switched sides, eventually using his knowledge of danish defenses to invade it with the swedish army.
The Danes failed to Gaard their hometown 🤷
Funny :p
(Thought ackkkshually, gaard/gård means small farm/housestead)
The Danes had to protect their border at Germany AND Copenhagen, which is basically in the other side of the country.
Not only that, but there are two water passages between the two places. There's around 250 km or 150 miles, the troops had to walk, as well as a water passage of a few kilometers and one around 15 kilometers. Impossible to do in a few days or even weeks for an entire army.
Not to forget, Denmark is small, but still has one of the longest coast lines, in the world. The British could have landed their troops in a lot of places.
It was not the Danish navy. It was the Danish merrchant navy that the British wanted. For that they needed a war. To get the war they demanded the Danosh navy. They knew that demand would be refused. They then did a terror bombardment of Copenhagen. A third of the town was burnt.
The English could then take the Danish merchant ships where theu found them and of course theu also got the Danish men of war.
Tthis has been known since at least the 1960ties when some historians got access to the relevant English archives.
Incidentally it was not Hitler who started the terrorbombings in World War II. It was Churchill.
Admiral Gensoul should have studied British naval history.
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After Britain surprise attacked the Danes destroying their fleet 1801, with noi real reason excpet "we don't like big fleets we don't control" GB made Denamrk way more pro French than needed...
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The English should pay reperations, taking into account inflation and interest.
Feeding the algorithm…
It was the first use off rockets in a war, and was seen as one off the reason for the many fires in Copenhagen!
The first use of rockets in war was almost 600 years earlier, likely in 1232 in China.
Chinese documents from the mid-1200s describe internal-combustion rocket propulsion.
By the mid-1300s the Chinese Navy was using multistage rockets, and India had also started using rockets in war.
By 1450, the Koreans were using multiple-launch rocket artillery systems.
And so on :)
Denmark did have a impressive army quality wise, but the army wasn't in Copenhagen
Why is that? Were they expecting a land invasion from Sweden or Russia?
@@OhioDan A invasion through Holstein from either the French for not supporting France, or the germans and russians for being on french side
As a Brit I think you have missed one important factor in relating this story. You did not directly mention . . . The Armed Neutrality of The North" . . . This organisation had previous "form" from 30 years earlier , when it assisted the North American insurgents during The American War of Independence. The memory of this, plus Denmarks previous commitment to it, must have heavily coloured British military thinking. I really enjoy your posts, thank you.
Weird they chose the French when the French couldn’t hurt them but the British could.
What do you mean they chose the french?
We danes were furiously angry about this terrorist bombardment until NATO bombed Yugoslavia in 1999, and today, with the whole Gaza genocide, that Denmark supports, it's like you have to straighten your back, suck it up, and be a good sport about these things you know 🤷♂
Our good friends the Britains and their peaceful "special military operation".
Did seethenhagen also get bombed?
I always thought that Britain should have taken more from Denmark in terms of territory - Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen and Faroes would make fine British Overseas Territories.
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The Russians seemed to have learned tactics from the British, only their explosives are more powerful.
Hardly. Circumstances are completely different
This was the British revenge for the Vikings raids
Yep, the British empire did gave it's usual gifts...😒
When Nelson had shelled it, the people greeted him as a conquering hero. I never understood why, until it clicked that Denmark was Protestant while Danish government was backing Catholics.
What are you talking about?
@@steffenb.jrgensen2014 It's gibberish. There's a reason he's known as Lort Nelson.