Naval Battle of Copenhagen (1428)
Hanseatic ships in front of Copenhagen, 1428 (wood engraving from 1870)
| date | April 6, 1428 to June 15, 1428 |
|---|---|
| place | in front of Copenhagen , Denmark |
| output | First Danish defensive victory, then Danish defeat |
| consequences | Destruction of a large part of the Danish-Swedish fleet |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
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| Troop strength | |
| unknown number of ships with 3,000 men |
in April 260 ships with 12,000 men, in June up to 80 ships with 6,800 men
|
| losses | |
|
30 dead, |
unknown |
In two sea battles off Copenhagen in the spring of 1428, the Danish fleet lying in the harbor was destroyed by warships from six Hanseatic cities . Initially, a first attack on Easter failed, then on June 15 the attack by the Hanseatic League was successful. For the first time in the history of Northern Europe, ship artillery was used at greater distances.
Naval battles off Copenhagen
In order to victoriously end the war that broke out in 1426 between the Danish-dominated Kalmar Union and the Hanseatic League , the "Wendish" Hanseatic cities planned an attack on the Danish capital, Copenhagen . The city was to be conquered and plundered by a landing army and the Danish-Swedish war fleet lying in the port should be enclosed and destroyed by the Hanseatic ships.
First attack in April 1428
In March 1428 the Hanseatic League assembled a joint fleet with allegedly 260 (larger and smaller) ships and 12,000 mercenaries off Wismar . After internal disputes between Lübeck and Stralsund had been resolved, the warships broke up and appeared before Copenhagen on Easter. Ten ships were loaded with stones and lime for the purpose of sinking them in front of the port and thus blocking the Danish fleet.
However, the Danes were prepared - their capital was well fortified, the port was closed. On behalf of the absent King Erik VII , Queen Philippa headed the defense (cf. the defense of Stockholm by Queen Christina 1501/02). Massive artillery fire from the land side brought disorder to the ranks of the Hanseatic ships. Some of the stone-laden ships could therefore not be sunk across the port's fairway, but sank along the fairway. Danish ships were able to sail past them and, under the protection of the land batteries, even attacked the Hanseatic fleet.
“King Erich and all his courtiers hurried out of the western gate to the city of Soro ... But one creature remained in Copenhagen, a royal heart with a royal spirit. See the picture here ... it's the Danish Queen Philippa, the English princess. She stayed in the beleaguered city, where the townspeople crowded the narrow alleys and streets with steep stairs, barriers and closed shutters and did not know what to do. She had manly courage, a manly heart; she spoke to citizens and peasants, encouraged them, encouraged them. Ships were rigged, block houses occupied, cartoons popped. There is fire and smoke, there is a good mood; God is not leaving Denmark. And the sun shone in all hearts; they shone with joy in victory from all eyes. “Blessed be Philippa! She is in the hut, she is in the citizen's house, she is in the royal palace, where she cares for the sick and wounded. I've cut out a wreath and put it around the picture, "said the godfather. "Blessed be Queen Philippa."
Since the blockade had failed and the destruction of the Danish fleet and the landing had become impossible, the Hanseatic ships withdrew and instead devastated the coasts of Zealand and Skåne in the days and weeks that followed .
Second attack in June 1428
For a second attack, the Hanse fleet now carried 40 stone-laden blockade ships. A total of up to 80 ships with 6,800 mercenaries put to sea. This time the transport ships were also equipped with artillery. Instead of the once planned conquest of Copenhagen, the elimination of the Danish fleet was now the primary goal.
Under the protection of the naval artillery , the Hanseatic fleet succeeded in sinking the 40 ships as planned and bombing the Danish fleet trapped in the port. A kind of floating battery , a raft with large-caliber guns, was used for the first time. The naval battle off Copenhagen was the first naval battle in Northern Europe in which extensive naval artillery was used.
“... and the masters shot that only three of the king's ships could have come out ... many of the king's ships have been corrupted and would be of no use even if he could get them out ... In one day he did as they heard from Danish shipmen, had 30 deaths ... "
consequences
On the way back, the Hanse fleet looted the Danish island of Bornholm . The Danish-Swedish fleet had been badly hit, but at least some of the warships blocked by the sunk wrecks in Copenhagen harbor were only slightly damaged. Three Danish ships even escaped. Shortly after the attack, seven ships were made afloat again and the fleet was replenished or restored with additional Swedish ships. At the end of July 1428 Erik's new fleet won a victory over the Vitalienbrüder, allied with the Hanseatic League and Holstein, off Kullen .
literature
- Georg Wislicenus and Willy Stöwer : Germany's sea power and an overview of the history of seafaring of all peoples , page 38f . Reprint-Verlag, Leipzig 1896
- Günter Krause: The sea battle before Copenhagen - The destruction of the Danish fleet by the Hanseatic League , In: Sport and Technology 1/1987, page 14f. Military publishing house of the GDR, Berlin 1987
- Andr Fryxell: Tales from Swedish History , page 354f . Fritze, Stockholm and Leipzig 1843
- George Childs Kohn (Ed.): Dictionary of Wars , pp . 254f . Routledge 2013