Chapter 14: Kingdom Ambition
It was impossible to give up. Prussia's intentions were known to everyone. Bismarck was about to complete the first step towards a major achievement in his life.
As long as the Danish main force on the island of Als was defeated, the Danes would lose their last bargaining chip in the war.
June 29, Als Island Fjord.
Als Island is located in the eastern part of the Jutland Peninsula, connected to the Als Fjord. The fjord is an extension of the Baltic Sea, and the waters of the fjord are not wide.
The fjord between Als Island and Jutland Peninsula was calm, and the sunny weather provided a wide view of the sea. Under favorable natural conditions, the Prussian army began to march towards Als Island and tried to cross the fjord.
Prussian engineers built pontoon bridges on the sea, and personnel and weapons began to be loaded onto the ferries in the bay.
With the roar of steam, the ferry advanced towards Als Island. Thousands of sails competed and hundreds of boats raced for the current. The narrow Als Fjord was densely packed with ships.
The Danish observer observed the sea situation through a telescope and saw that the Prussians were driving towards the coast at a high speed. Seeing this scene, he immediately reported to his superiors.
The Danish army retreated hastily to the island of Als. Due to the blow of successive defeats in the war, their morale was low, their organizational ability was far from enough, and they did not have enough time to build fortifications on the island in a short period of time.
The Danish troops on the island could only use artillery to interfere with the Prussian landing forces, but sporadic artillery fire could not stop the Prussians' determination.
Under the cover of gunboats, thousands of Prussian troops easily landed on the coast of Als Island. The two sides began a fierce battle for the coast.
Denmark can now only rely on simple fortifications to block Prussia, but the Prussian artillery is being transported to the rear continuously via ships and pontoon bridges.
After the artillery support was in place, the landed Prussians launched an attack. The Danes soon fell into chaos, and the makeshift fortifications were destroyed by Prussian artillery fire in just one round.
As the Prussian infantry charged the Danish positions, the demoralized Danish army raised the white flag after a brief resistance.
Als Island was the last large-scale battle between the Allied Forces and Denmark. With the surrender of the garrison on Als Island, the Second Schleswig War came to an end.
A few days later, on July 3, the Battle of Lundby broke out, the coalition forces won, and Denmark lost all resistance.
The Danish government had to sit at the negotiating table and negotiate with the German countries. As the losing party in the war, the Danish government announced that it would give up resistance. Prussia and Austria also stopped their steps. All hostile actions between the two sides stopped and the war ended.
On August 10, 1864, King Christian IX of Denmark signed a preliminary peace treaty, relinquishing his rights in the two duchies in favor of the Austrian Empire and the King of Prussia.
In the Treaty of Vienna on October 30, Denmark ceded all these territories to Austria and Prussia.
Second Schleswig War.
Denmark's territory retreated 250 kilometers, losing 40% of its territory and nearly 40% of its population. The total population dropped from 2.6 million to 1.6 million, including 200,000 Danes in the Schleswig region. Denmark's strength on the Jutland Peninsula was greatly reduced.
Through this war, Prussia seized control of the Duchy of Schleswig, and its army began to enter the Schleswig region and captured the important port city of Kiel. The Kiel Canal was an important channel for Germany to bypass the Danish Strait, greatly enhancing Prussia's ability to go to sea.
The Austrian Empire also acquired the Duchy of Holstein in this war. The war ended with the victory of Prussia and Austria, and the Second Schleswig War came to an end.
(End of this chapter)
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