A Bloody Outcome

But the core of the conflict remained, and so the war returned in 1864. Here, Denmark lost and was reduced to a miniature state. The border with Germany now lay just south of Kolding.

It was in the mid-1800s that Europe's borders were largely established. And this didn't happen through negotiation and discussion, but with ‘blood and iron,’ as the iron-fisted Otto von Bismarck said in 1862. The European map was drawn with lives at stake—hundreds of thousands of lives.

The Germans are coming

The Prussians had their own agenda. Led by Prussia, powerful forces sought to create a German state from the four free cities and 35 countries—kingdoms, counties, as well as principalities and duchies—that made up a rather loose confederation. A war could help, both to tighten up the German Confederation and to gain new territory. That’s also why they supported Schleswig-Holstein, which in 1849 could muster an army of 66,000 men, 19,000 of whom were Schleswig-Holsteiners. The Danish army comprised 41,000 men. So, the Danes were behind from the beginning and were quickly forced into retreat. A brigade withdrew to Als under the leadership of General De Meza, where they tied down a large part of the German army. General Rye executed a masterful retreat into Jutland. It was a study in delaying action, where the Danish soldiers kept the enemy engaged, leading them past Aarhus and out to Mols. Here, General Rye fortified himself with his troops, thus occupying the rebels’ soldiers and keeping them away from the siege of Fredericia.

Fredericia Fortress is built with mathematical precision. Place the sharp end of a compass in the King’s Point (which today lies at the intersection of Kongensgade and Oldenborggade) and draw a circle with a radius of 1070 meters. You’ll hit each bastion’s outermost point (marked as B, C, and D on the map). Each bastion lies at a 15° angle along the circle. The distance between the bastions’ tips corresponds to the range of a musket in 1650, so soldiers could defend the fortress when the enemy approached the walls.

From the German perspective, they had the upper hand. They had enclosed a large part of the Danish army on Als. Just as many had been driven out to Helgenæs. Fredericia was besieged by a superior force of 14,000 men, who had had plenty of time to build solid trenches and pathways to withstand a possible breakout. Standard military logic said that if the Danes were to overrun the besieging troops, they would need over 40,000 men. There were maybe 10,000 in the fortress. If the Danish army were to break the siege, they would face murderous resistance.

But the Danes had one advantage: They controlled the seas. And that, combined with the courage to defy conventional thinking, proved decisive on July 6, 1849.

July 1849 – With Lives at Stake

General Bülow had devised a bold plan and was allowed to put it into action. He ordered General de Meza to sail 5,000 men from Als to Faaborg on Funen. At the same time, Olaf Rye was to transport 4,000 men by ship from Helgenæs to the northern Funen town of Bogense. The troops gathered at Strib, and from July 3rd to 5th, they were ferried across the Little Belt to Fredericia in a shuttle operation.

The activity on the water was noticed by the Schleswig-Holstein army leadership, but the Prussian general and commander-in-chief grossly underestimated the number of troops being transferred to the fortress and was caught off guard due to the Danish generals' imagination and daring.

In the cold, clammy night Behind Fredericia's ramparts

At the war council on July 4th in the vicarage of Vejlby on Funen, the sortie was planned in detail. The soldiers were to attack at night, which was unheard of. War was something that happened during the day. In the dark, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain an overview of the battle. Communication lines were challenging, and entire battalions could lose their orientation.

Some things indeed went wrong. Just getting 19,000 men out of a fortress was a problem. It was like a football match on the battlefield. The lines didn’t connect. The flanks weren’t protected as agreed. Some units moved too far west, making them vulnerable.

The generals' briefing to the soldiers pointed to a bloody fight: 'Attack swiftly and vigorously. Use the bayonet rather than wasting time on gunfire, and all will go well.'

The fiercest fighting took place at Treldeskansen, where the 6th Battalion ran directly into the trenches and was pushed back. The next wave of about 1,000 men met the same fate. After fierce fighting and heavy losses, the fortification was captured. Both de Meza and Rye pushed the advance. In the enemy’s last counterattack, General Rye was hit and bled to death. He paid with his life. But as dawn broke, the Danes had won.

Victory didn’t come without sacrifice. In General Bülow's proclamation to the army, he praised the soldiers’ bravery and heroism but also commemorated the fallen, especially General Rye: 'Among the heroes who sealed their love for the homeland with their blood yesterday, you will painfully and sorrowfully note the noble, brave General Olaf Rye. You will remember his skilled leadership, his concern for your well-being, his tireless activity, and his participation in your dangers and struggles. His fate is noble: he died a hero’s death on the field of honor.'

On July 6, 1849, 33,000 men fought with their lives at stake. On the Danish side, General Rye and 511 other soldiers lost their lives. The rebels lost 203 men that day. In total, 2,478 were wounded—1,344 Danes and 1,134 Schleswig-Holsteiners. Many of these men did not survive.

But Denmark won. The bold attack plan resonated across Europe. If you read German newspaper reports of the battle, they simply didn’t believe it had happened. 'No one could transfer that many soldiers without being detected,' was the argument. The English didn’t believe the story either, but they were convinced that the Danes could win the war, which had implications for the subsequent peace negotiations.

Legacy

Visit the Ramparts of Fredericia. Take a guided tour or listen to the story through an audio walk: “The Ramparts’ Witnesses”—find it on the Useeum app and choose whether to listen in Danish or English