Dengang Jeg Drog Afsted - A Danish AAR

[metalinvader665]

Is Prussia at war with anyone else or suffering from rebellions? Why haven't they brought their full force down on you?

But definitely a well-played war on your part. I'd annex all of both Slesvig and Holsten for maximum pretty borders. Looks like if you keep winning you'll be able to get peace with the German states before long.

 

[Tommy4ever]

Wow, I have no idea how you're going toe to toe with Prussia and winning - it's very impressive!

 

[Admiral Fisker]

The Three Years War, Part II

Christian Julius de Meza
​

The rest of 1848 went relatively quietly by, without any major confrontations. The first confrontation between Danish and Coalition forces in the year of 1849, was fought on the 8th of February near the village of Seevetal, south of Hamburg. A small Hessian Army numbering 9000 men under the command of Gen. Georg zur Lippe was marching towards Hamburg, unaware of Gen. de Meza's presence. The inferior Hessian Army was defeated in half an hour, and all 9000 men were either killed, wounded or captured. A joint Saxon-Oldenburgian Army numbering 9300 men suffered a similar fate eleven days later, at the village of Nusse, close to Lauenburg. These two minor battles had only cost the Danish Army 375 men - dead and wounded.

The Battle of Lübeck

Danish Forces at Lübeck
​

De Meza had been advancing towards Lübeck, a major port in North Germany, and an important strategic point. The Prussians had entrenched themselves in an old Hanseatic fortress. Commanding the Prussians was de Meza's old foe from Schalensee - Heinrich Cordemann. De Meza had planned to take the city by storm, and on the night between the 23rd and 24th of May he ordered his men to attack. The Danish Infantry started by storming the gates, which allowed the cavalry to enter the town. The cavalry suffered severe losses during the initial assault, this was due to many Prussians having hid themselves in the houses and apartments of Lübeck. However, The Danish infantry managed to take the fortress by force within a few hours. The Prussians reorganised outside of the city, and counterattacked at 1:20 AM. The Prussian cavalry was quickly cut down by the Danes, and was forced to retreat south. The Prussian infantry soon followed suit. And by sunrise the Danish flag waved over the city of Lübeck, the only Prussians left in Lübeck were either dead, captured or wounded. A glorious victory.

The Battle of Lübeck - A Decisive Danish Victory

The Constitution

D.G. Monrad - The Mastermind of the Constitution
​

On June the 5th, the Constitution of Denmark was signed by Frederick VII. Denmark had been an absolute monarchy since 1660, when Frederick III staged a coup, overthrowing the Rigsråd. Denmark, the oldest monarchy in the known world was now a constitutional monarchy, with a liberal constitution known as "Danmarks Riges Grundlov". The mastermind of this constitution was no doubt the National-Liberal politician D.G. Monrad, considered a genius by many. Despite the Constitution mainly being a National-Liberal accomplishment, the conservative politician Adam Wilhelm Moltke was elected as the first Prime Minister of Denmark.

 

[Mikkel Glahder]

Are the prussian Military tech inferior to yours, or do you just have a really good general?

 

[Admiral Fisker]

Are the prussian Military tech inferior to yours, or do you just have a really good general?

I think it's my general.

 

[Nikolai]

Go Denmark! Much prefer mighty Dane overlords to pathetic Swedish sissies.

 

[Guinee]

Glory to Daneland!

 

[guillec87]

that's a lesson the Prussian General Staff won't forget easely

 

[Admiral Fisker]

The Three Years War, Part III

Vi byde fjende trods,
vi byde fjenden trods,
når kongen er med os,
ja, når kongen er med os.
Med draget sværd han står,
han snakker ej, men slår,
så dansk som han var ingen konge her i mange år.
De lader, som de tror, at han inte mer er fri,
og selv vil de dog ha' ham i det tyske slaveri.
Se, derfor vil jeg slås som tapper landsoldat.
Hurra, hurra, hurra!
(Fifth verse from the Danish marching song "Dengang Jeg Drog Afsted")​

The Battle of Kaltenkirchen

Frederick VII inspecting his troops before the battle
​

Frederick VII joined Gen. de Meza and his Staff in late September. The Prussians were yet again preparing to advance into Holstein, this time under the command of a young officer by the name of Adelbert von Moltke. De Meza had planned to entrench himself at the village of Kaltenkirchen located 35 km's north of Hamburg, and engage the Prussians there. At dawn on the 3rd of October the Prussian fife and drum could be heard in the distance, the battle of Kaltenkirchen was about to begin. De Meza wrote in his notebook "These Prussians are playing such cheerful music, I find this highly inappropriate." At 11:30 AM the Danish infantry opened fire on the advancing Prussian forces, who quickly retreated south. The Prussian cavalry was sent forward to protect the retreat, but was yet again defeated by the Danish cavalry, this time led by Friderich Adolph Schleppegrell. Everything so far had went as expected, and now it was time for the infantry to advance. Gen. von Krogh was tasked with flanking the retreating Prussian forces, and was given the Danish right flank to execute this task. De Meza and Gen. Bülow would advance directly towards the Prussians. Frederick VII chose to courageously lead his men from the front. The Danish fife and drum began playing "Dengang Jeg Drog Afsted" at 13:00 PM, the Danish assault had begun. Meanwhile the Prussians had managed to reform, and had prepared themselves for this attack. Adelbert von Moltke's troops opened fire upon the advancing Danes around 13:20 PM, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. However, the presence of Frederick VII inspired the Danes to fight on. But despite his troops bravely fighting on, de Meza still found himself outnumbered by an enemy who possessed better ground. After about an hour of fighting de Meza's saviour appeared - Gen. von Krogh had managed to flank the Prussians. Observing this, de Meza and Gen. Bülow ordered the Danes to charge the Prussian positions. Glode du Plat showed exceptional courage during this charge, capturing eight Prussian cannons, and Gen. Adelbert von Moltke, earning him a promotion to Major-general. The charge however also cost Olaf Rye his life, a brave Danish Major-general and a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. The Prussians however, now found themselves in full retreat. The largest battle of the war had ended, and Denmark was the victor.

The Battle of Kaltenkirchen - The Largest Battle of the War​

The Battle of Hollenstedt

General Christoph von Krogh on his Horse
​

Shortly after the battle of Kaltenkirchen Gen. de Meza got the news, that his Hamburgian foe Hasso von Roon anticipating a Prussian victory as Kaltenkirchen, had formed a new army with reinforcements from Oldenburg, Bremen and Mecklenburg and was aiming to liberate Hamburg. Gen. de Meza hurried to intercept Gen. von Roon, which he did just south of Hamburg, at the village of Hollenstedt. When the Danes arrived at the battlefield, Gen. von Krogh quickly took the initiative by ordering his cavalry to charge, allowing his infantry to surround the Coalition forces. Within just a matter of minutes Gen. von Krogh had performed a Cannae on his German foe, which was completely annihilated after half an hour of fighting. Among the captured were Gen. von Roon himself, who was treated with the utmost of respect due to his brave assault during the battle of Hamburg less than an year before.

General von Krogh's victory at Hollenstedt​

 

[Mikkel Glahder]

Those are quite some victories, you should take Lübeck and Pomerania.

 

[Admiral Fisker]

Those are quite some victories, you should take Lübeck and Pomerania.

That would put me over the infamy limit, so I think I'll just take Lübeck.

 

[Rovsea]

Are the prussian Military tech inferior to yours, or do you just have a really good general?

In my experiences with PDM, the Prussians almost always have as maxed military tech as possible.

 

[Rovsea]

Nice AAR! I know that you must have quite a good army composition, and I'd be willing to bet that you've gotten the occasional lucky roll or two, but aside from that, I think that this entire AAR so far has shown what an entrenched, modern army with good composition and a good leader can do.

 

[Jacobi-99]

Subbed

 

[guillec87]

Is Austria still neutral? they can reclaim Schleswig und Holstein too, can't they?

 

[Admiral Fisker]

The Three Years War, Part IV

For pigen og vort land,
for pigen og vort land
vi kæmper alle mand,
ja, vi kæmper, alle mand.
Og vé det usle drog,
der elsker ej sit sprog
og ej vil ofre liv og blod for gamle Dannebrog!
Men kommer jeg ej hjem til min gamle far og mor,
Kong Frederik vil trøste dem med disse hersens ord:
"Sit løfte har han holdt, den tapre landsoldat".
Hurra, hurra, hurra!
(Sixth and last verse from the Danish marching song "Dengang Jeg Drog Afsted")​

The Battle of Neutechau

The Battle of Neutechau
​

The first action of 1850 was in late November, this was due to the Prussians spending most of their time reorganising and preparing for a grand campaign - If this attack failed, then it would be clear even to the Prussians that they had lost. The man who was ordered to lead this campaign was Gen. de Meza's incompetent foe, Heinrich Cordemann. A man who had become fairly well-known for his incompetence and cowardly nature. The Danes had been warned that such an attack might occur by Adm. Edouard Suenson, who had observed the Prussian Army's movements from the coast. This had given Gen. de Meza and Frederick VII plenty of time to prepare, and the Danish Army was reinforced with a new army corps, consisting of 21000 fresh recruits under the command of Glode du Plat. Gen. du Plat managed to beat an inferior Mecklenburgian Army and capture 9000 Hessians shortly after assuming command. This would prove decisive as it meant that the Prussian Army would not be able to receive the expected reinforcements, and that the Danes would outnumber them.

In December the Prussians began the campaign by advancing towards Lübeck. The advance was halted by Gen. de Meza at the village of Neutechau, where he attacked the Prussians around 12:30 PM. Gen. Schleppegrell bravely charged the Prussians with his cavalry, where he managed to separate the Prussian forces and send the Prussian artillery fleeing. And while the charge cost Gen. Schleppegrell his life, it earned him a place in the history books as a brave and competent officer. Gen. de Meza and Gen. von Krogh took the initiative by surrounding the now separated Prussian forces and performing a Cannae. By 20:00 PM Heinrich Cordemann and the remnants of the Prussian forces were all in complete retreat.

The Battle of Neutechau​

The Battles of Labenz and Krummesse

The Royal Danish Life Guard at Labenz
​

The remnants of the Prussian Army received 10000 young recruits shortly after Neutechau, and entrenched itself near Labenz. Heinrich Cordemann was sacked for his incompetent leadership of the Prussian Army, and in his place a prominent Prussian politician by the name of Karl von Fritsch was appointed commander-in-chief of Prussian forces. Von Fritsch had no military experience, and had only got the position due to friends in high places.

On the morning of the 25th of January Gen. de Meza approached the Prussian positions, and ordered his artillery to open fire. The Prussians whom had lost all their artillery at Neutechau were unable to answer back. The bombardment continued for a few hours before Gen. de Meza ordered the left flank under Gen. Bülow to advance towards a hill near the outskirts of Labenz, where the Prussians had stationed a few regiments. Gen. Bülow bravely advanced up the hill, taking heavy casualties but ultimately capturing the important hill. Gen. de Meza, who had observed Bülow's brave advance decided go forward towards the Prussian lines, while Gen. von Krogh went around. This caused confusion among the demoralised Prussian troops, who soon fell one after another. The heavy smoke from Danish musket fire blinded Karl von Fritsch, who ran towards the Danish lines by mistake and was shot in the heart. As the smoke settled on Labenz, it became clear that the Danes were victorious once again.

Gen. de Meza proceeded to pursue the Prussians and caught them at Krummesse, where the Prussians yet again had managed to receive reinforcements. But despite this Gen. de Meza still managed to beat the Prussians, in what would become the last battle of the war. Friedrich Wilhelm IV abandoned all hope of victory after the recent fiascos on the fields of battle, and on March the 2nd, 1851, the Treaty of Lübeck was signed, ending the Three Years' War. In the treaty Denmark annexed Lübeck, while Prussia was forced to acknowledge Danish rule over Schleswig-Holstein, and abandon all claims on the area. Denmark was victorious!

The Battles of Labenz(Left) and Krummesse(Right) - The Last Battles of the War​

 

[Nikolai]

Glory to Denmark! Raise the Danebrog!

 

[guillec87]

Epic victories!!

 

[Attalus]

Could we have a map in the next update ?

 

[Jape]

Truly excellent victory and very well written. The worry now had to be a vengeful Prussia/Germany coming back for more. I'd be digging trenches if I were you!