Sea battle near Heligoland (1849)
The sea battle off Heligoland
| date | June 4, 1849 |
|---|---|
| place | off Helgoland , North Sea |
| output | The battle is broken off for diplomatic reasons |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 1 sailing corvette 1 paddle steamer |
1 steam frigate 2 steam corvettes |
| losses | |
|
no |
no |
.svg){kind=small}
The naval battle near Heligoland was a combat act of the Schleswig-Holstein War , which was fought on June 4, 1849 in the German Bight between three ships of the Imperial Fleet and a Danish sailing corvette and later also a paddle steamer.
The battle was the only one of the Reichsflotte and on the German side the only one under the black-red-gold flag.
course
On June 4, an association consisting of the steam frigate Barbarossa and the steam corvettes Lübeck and Hamburg under the leadership of Admiral Karl Rudolf Brommy sighted the Danish sailing corvette Valkyrien near Helgoland . Brommy had left Bremerhaven on a reconnaissance trip against the Danish blockade.
A brief firefight developed between the German ships and the Danish corvette. The technical superiority of the German ships forced the Danish captain Andreas Polder to set course for the then British Heligoland. Although England was neutral during the war, it allowed the corvette to stay off the island. The bastion on the island also fired warning shots at the German association.
Polder awaited the arrival of another Danish ship, the paddle steamer Gejser under the command of Lieutenant Jørgen P. F. Wulff. In front of the modern ship with its two 60-pounder cannons, Brommy turned away, also because he realized that two Danish frigates would shortly appear on the battlefield to reinforce his opponents. The Danish ships pursued the German association as far as the Elbe estuary off Cuxhaven , then returned to their blockade positions.
The battle in the German press
The battle in the "Vossische Zeitung"
In its edition of June 7, 1849, p. 5, the Vossische Zeitung published the following note about the battle:
Cuxhafen, June 5th, Vorm. (pr. electr. = magnet. Tel.)
- 6 o'clock in the morning. The three German war steamers, "Barbarossa", "Hamburg" and "Lübeck" arrived here late from the Weser yesterday evening and anchored in the roadstead. Commander Abendroth went on board soon afterwards.
- 7:30 a.m. According to fairly consistent reports from people who were on board the German war steamers yesterday evening, the latter were supposed to leave Bremerhafen at 9 a.m. yesterday morning, but had only left at 11 a.m. They caught sight of the Danish Corvette on this side of Heligoland, but when the steam boat appeared, it immediately set all sails and went seaward with constant alarm = shooting for the Danish frigates standing westward.
- Benefiting from the fresh northern breeze, the Corvette managed to pass Helgoland. During that time the "Geyser", coming from the Elbe, immediately went west to the frigates and now returned with them, which prompted the commander of the German war steamers not to risk everything at once to retreat to the Elbe . The “Geyser” and a frigate chased our steam boats up to the vicinity of the large lightship in front of the Elbe and the “Geyser” threw another bomb from there, which burst in the air.
- There was a great deal of fire from both sides, but with no particular success; none of the Danish bullets could reach our steamboat, while it is said that some of our shots hit well. The commanders of the German steam boats are extremely satisfied with the courage of their men.
- - 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Today our surroundings have a festive appearance, because in honor of the German steam flotilla everyone who is in possession of a flag flags here. - For a while around noon one could clearly perceive the thunder of cannons again towards the sea. - The German war steam boats "Barbarossa" and "Lübeck" as well as the ships "Ellen Simpson", "Rapide" and "Anita" are still anchored here in the roadstead. German war = steam boat "Hamburg" at 2:45 a.m. from here, probably to Glückstadt. 4 a.m. Nothing in sight.
The battle in the rest of the German press
Remarkably, the battle was not mentioned at all in the oldenburg press at the time. Neither in The Observer. A Volksblatt , still in Der Oldenburgische Volksfreund, there is a reference to the advance to Heligoland in the editions, although the military operations in Schleswig-Holstein were reported extensively and Grand Duke August von Oldenburg had close ties to the imperial fleet, as he favored Brake as a port of war . Brake (Unterweser) , where part of the fleet was stationed, did not yet have its own press at the time.
The Neue Preußische Zeitung ( Kreuz-Zeitung ) only mentions in short notes of June 6th and 10th, 1849, that Danish warships would block the mouths of the Elbe and Weser . Here, too, the battle in front of Heligoland was not mentioned at all.
Why this reluctance was exercised in the German press is still unknown. However, the operations in Schleswig-Holstein and the suppression of revolutionary efforts in the Palatinate completely dominated the main headlines.
The battle in Brommy's battle report
The Reich Ministry of the Navy
I am proud to announce that I weighed anchor at ten o'clock this morning and left the roadstead of Bremerhaven, accompanied by the two steamers Hamburg and Lübeck.
At 12:30 p.m. I saw the Danish blockade squadron in the north of me, consisting of three frigates, a corvette and a steamship. The latter came from the Elbe, the Corvettes were to the north and east of me. I hunted the latter, but they sought the protection of Heligoland. I let the cannon load blindly, to load it once, on it.
We approached Heligoland at around one quarter a.m. - when the Corvette fired its cannons one after the other on the port side, which my crews answered with a happy hurray and began to shoot themselves.
From 4:21 pm to 4:47 am, twenty shots of grenades and bullets rang out from the Barberosse and seventeen from Hamburg and the same number from Liibeck. On the whole the aim was good, but the distance too great for great damage to be done.
It fills me with the greatest joy to see the joyful courage with which the not well-rehearsed team went into the fire for the first time. I have not disappointed myself in my expectations about the efficiency of my crew and I believe that the Reich Ministry would excuse me if I dared to say that an undisciplined crew, who did not yet know their ship, never fired a cannon, never tested these cannons , suddenly, at the first departure towards the enemy in order to get them used to the enemy fire. Officers, NCOs, sailors, soldiers, and boys were inspired by the same patriotic zeal. They only knew the pain of having to go to the Elbe without a sign of victory. Unfortunately I had to give up the pursuit of the Corbette, as two frigates and the steamship came to support them, but the third headed for Wangeroog to prevent us from returning. At the same time, three cannons were fired at us from Heligoland to warn us that we were on neutral ground; - so we had to turn around, especially since the wind increased, and therefore gave priority to the frigates over us, especially since the wind became stronger.
The German fleet has finally managed to set sail once - it was a good start and I have every reason to hope that things will always get better.
Roadstead of Cuxhaven, on board the Barbarossa June 4, 1849.
R. Brommy, Captain of the Sea
From: Uhlrich, p. 93f.
See also
literature
- Hans Christian Bjerg: Dansk Orlogshistorie 1510-2010 . Copenhagen 2010.
- Claus Uhlrich: Carl Rudolph Brommy. The admiral of the first German fleet . Berlin 2000.
- The sea battle at Heligoland . In: Illustrirte Zeitung , Leipzig, year 1849, No. 27.
Web links
- Overview of the Naval War 1848-52 (Danish)
- Overview of the Reichsflotte (German)