Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
Part of the War of the Second Coalition and the English Wars / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 (Danish: Slaget på Reden), also known as the First Battle of Copenhagen to distinguish it from the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought and defeated a smaller force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. The battle came about over British fears that the powerful Danish fleet would ally with France, and a breakdown in diplomatic communications on both sides.
First Battle of Copenhagen | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Second Coalition and the English Wars | |||||||
Battle of Copenhagen by Nicholas Pocock | |||||||
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United Kingdom | Denmark–Norway | ||||||
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3 ships of the line ran aground |
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As the British ships entered the harbour of the Danish fleet, several of its ships took up station in the city's inlet, forming a blockade. The Danish fleet defended the capital with these ships and bastions on both sides of the harbour inlet.[3] It was the second attempt by the British to try to prevent a Franco-Danish alliance, as the British had already entered Øresund with a fleet in August 1800, in order to persuade Denmark not to ally with France. The Danes agreed to the British terms upon hearing news of the assassination of Tsar Paul I of Russia, as his death meant the end of the Russian-led League of Armed Neutrality of which Denmark was a member.[3]