Sea battle at Heligoland (1864)
Frigates Schwarzenberg , Radetzky , Niels Juel and Jylland , Corvette Hejmdal . In the background Prussian gunboats. (Engraving of the naval battle)
| date | May 9, 1864 |
|---|---|
| place | off Helgoland , North Sea |
| output | tactical danish victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 2 screw frigates 1 screw corvette |
2 screw frigates 1 paddle steamer 2 gunboats |
| losses | |
|
14 dead |
32 dead |
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Missunde - Königshügel - Danewerk - Schlei - Oeversee - Jutland - Vejle - Jasmund - Düppeler Schanzen - Fredericia - Helgoland - Alsen - Lundby - North Frisian Islands
The sea battle near Helgoland was a sea battle in the North Sea that occurred on May 9, 1864 during the German-Danish War between the naval forces of Prussia and Austria on the one hand and Denmark on the other. The Austrian commander Wilhelm von Tegetthoff broke off the engagement when his flagship caught fire and withdrew with his squadron into the protection of the neutral waters of Heligoland , which at that time belonged to Great Britain . Although the battle ended in a tactical Danish victory, it no longer had any bearing on the course of the war, as a general armistice came into effect on May 12 and Denmark had lost the war.
This was the last sea battle between wooden ships and the last in which Denmark was involved.
Course of the naval war before the naval battle
After the beginning of the war on February 1, 1864, Denmark declared a sea blockade against all ports in Schleswig-Holstein on February 26 , and against all Prussian ports on March 8. The Danish naval blockade was secured first by the screw frigate Niels Juel and later by the screw corvette Dagmar . The latter brought up the Hamburg schooner Tekla Schmidt off Texel on March 18 .
Since the Prussian Navy was too weak to oppose the Danish, Austria dispatched a squadron from the Mediterranean Sea under the ship's captain Wilhelm von Tegetthoff with the two frigates Schwarzenberg and Radetzky and the gunboat Seehund at the beginning of March 1864 . The seal was damaged in an accident in the English Channel and had to call at an English port. At the beginning of May the rest of the Austrian squadron reached the North Sea.
Because of the impending war, Prussia had ordered a small squadron under the command of Corvette Captain Gustav Klatt to return home from the Mediterranean. It consisted of the paddle steamer Preussischer Adler and the two gunboats Basilisk and Blitz . The two squadrons united off Texel .
Denmark for its part formed a North Sea squadron under Orlogskapitän Edouard Suenson at the end of March , which consisted of the Niels Juel , the Dagmar and the screw corvette Hejmdal . His duties included protecting Danish merchant ships , arresting German ships and fighting enemy warships in the North Sea. After the Dagmar was replaced by the Jylland screw frigate , the Danish squadron patrolled the North Sea and awaited the Austrians.
The ships involved
| Denmark ( Edouard Suenson ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ship | Ship type | Cannons | crew | commander |
| Niels Juel | Screw frigate | 42 | 422 | Gottlieb |
| Jylland | Screw frigate | 44 | 327 | Spar |
| Hejmdal | Screw corvette | 16 | 260 | Lund |
| Austria ( Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ship | Ship type | Cannons | crew | commander |
| SMS Schwarzenberg | Screw frigate | 51 | 498 | Tegetthoff |
| SMS Radetzky | Screw frigate | 37 | 372 | Jeremiah |
| Prussia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ship | Ship type | Cannons | crew | commander |
| Prussian eagle | Paddle steamer | 4th | 110 | Klatt |
| SMS Blitz | Gunboat | 3 | 66 | Mac Lean |
| SMS Basilisk | Gunboat | 3 | 66 | Look |
The naval battle
The Danish squadron came from the north on May 9, 1864. Around 10 o'clock a ship was sighted off Heligoland; it was the British frigate HMS Aurora . Soon thereafter, the Danes discovered another five ships heading south-southwest. The two squadrons headed towards each other, and around 1:15 p.m. the Schwarzenberg opened fire. The Danes only returned fire at a much closer distance. The Austrians took a more westerly course in order to cross the course in front of the Danish ships, whereupon they turned a little to port. While the Prussian gunboats remained behind, the Danish and Austrian ships passed each other under heavy fire at a distance of about 1800 meters. Tegetthoff immediately turned around to prevent the gunboats from being cut off. With a south-west course, the two squadrons then ran on a parallel course under strong mutual fire. While the Niels Juel and the Schwarzenberg attacked each other, the fire from the Jylland and the Hejmdal was concentrated on the Radetzky . The Prussian gunboats were so far away that their fire was ineffective.
At around 3:30 p.m. the Schwarzenberg caught fire and could not continue the fight. Tegetthoff gave the signal to abort, and the Austro-Prussian squadron withdrew, under the fire protection of the Radetzky , to the neutral waters of the island of Helgoland, which at that time belonged to Great Britain. Since the Danish flagship Jylland had received a hit in the commanders' chamber at precisely this point, which damaged its steering gear, the Danish attempt to intercept the enemy came too late. The British warship Aurora watched the action and was ready to defend British territory. Therefore, Suenson had to stop the persecution around 4:30 pm. The naval battle was over.
The Danish squadron had 14 dead and 55 wounded, the Austrian ships 32 dead and 59 wounded. The Prussian ships had not suffered any losses.
On board the frigate Niels Juel in the battle of 1864 (painting by Christian Mølsted )
The frigates Schwarzenberg and Radetzky (painting by Josef Püttner )
The Austrian flagship Schwarzenberg is on fire (painting by Johan Carl Neumann)
Frigate Jylland (Museum in Ebeltoft ), Denmark
The result of the naval battle
The Danes waited outside the territorial waters of Heligoland, but the Austrian and Prussian ships retreated to Cuxhaven under cover of darkness . The Danish squadron was ordered back to Copenhagen as the armistice came into force on May 12, 1864. The blockade was lifted and the war decided.
In both Denmark and Austria, the outcome of the battle was considered a victory. The Danish squadron was enthusiastically celebrated on arrival in Copenhagen; Austria promoted Tegetthoff to rear admiral .
Commemoration
Places of remembrance:
- Austria memorial for the dead in the battle in the park near the Palmaille in Hamburg-Altona
- Austrian war cemetery in Ritzebüttel (Cuxhaven)
- Commemorative plaque for the Austrian land and sea soldiers who died in the Hamburg hospitals at the St. Joseph Church in St. Pauli
- Memorial plaque on Helgoland in the cemetery of the nameless on the dune
- Commemorative plaque on the Tegetthoff monument at the Praterstern in Vienna.
The frigate Jylland still exists today as a museum ship and can be viewed in the Danish town of Ebeltoft .
See also
- Sea battle near Heligoland (1849)
- Sea battle near Heligoland (1914)
- Sea battle near Heligoland (1917)
literature
- Georg Pawlik: Tegetthoff and the sea battle off Heligoland . Verlag Österreich, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-7046-1627-3 .
- Jan Ganschow, Olaf Haselhorst, Maik without time: The German-Danish War 1864. Prehistory - course - consequences . Ares-Verlag, Graz 2013, ISBN 978-3-902732-16-3 .
- Erich Gröner , Dieter Jung, Martin Maass: The German warships 1815-1945 , Volume 1: Armored ships, ships of the line, battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, gunboats . Bernard and Graefe, Bonn 1982. ISBN 3-7637-4800-8 .
- Hans Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships. A mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present , Vol. 7: Ship biographies from “Prussian Eagle” to “Ulan” . Mundus Verlag, Essen 1990.
Web links
- Danish Naval History, Slaget ved Helgoland (1864). Retrieved August 27, 2010 (Danish).
- Danish Military History, The Battle of Helgoland. Retrieved August 27, 2010 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Schulz: 1864: The last victory of the Danes. In: Flensburger Tageblatt. shz.de, May 4, 2014, accessed on February 26, 2017 .
- ↑ Handout Rüdiger Wischemann, Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V., Hamburg regional association.