Battle of Mysunde

Battle of Mysunde (1864)
Part of Second Schleswig War
Date 2 February 1864 Location Missunde, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Result Danish victory
Belligerents
Denmark	Prussia
Commanders and leaders
George Daniel Gerlach	Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia
Units involved
18. Regiment, 1. Battalion 3. Regiment, 1. Battalion 6. Fortification Battalion	1. Prussian Corps, 10 battalions
Strength
2,500 infantry 20 guns	10,000 infantry 64 guns
Casualties and losses
9 officers, 132 enlisted dead or wounded	12 officers, 187 enlisted dead or wounded

The Battle of Mysunde on February 2, 1864 was the first battle between the Prusso-Austrian allied army and the Danish army in the Second Schleswig War. The Prussian vanguard force of 10,000 men attempted to break through and outflank the Danish defenses at Danevirke, but were repulsed by the fortification garrison and two battalions of the Danish army.

Danish public opinion expected the forthcoming war with the German allies to take place at the Danevirke, placing almost mythological belief in the impenetrability of the fortification system. In practice, the fortification system had fallen into disrepair. The barracks for the soldiers had not been built, connecting roads were not constructed, and the obstacles in front of the fortifications had not been put in place. As a result, when the Danish army entered the positions in January, they had a lot of work to do, with the winter frost making digging difficult. In addition, the line of fortifications at Danevirke was far too long to be adequately defended by the 38,000 man Danish army.

Mysunde itself was a small fishing village of approximately two dozen houses on the south side of the Schlei. It was a part of the eastern fortifications of Danevirke, but the real importance of the position was due to narrowness of the Schlei at this point. This meant that it was one of the few points where the eastern flank of Danevirke was not made impenetrable by natural obstacles. Consequently, the defense of the position was of great strategic importance; a breakthrough at the crossing point would allow the Prussians to envelop and surround the Danish forces at Danevirke, while the Austrians kept the Danes pinned in their positions.

The Prussian I Corps under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia had begun its advance at 08:00 in the morning on February 2, with the purpose of taking the Danish positions at Kochendorf. However, the Prussians soon discovered that the Danish army had no intention of defending Kochendorf and had retreated northward. By 8:45, the vanguard were able to report that Kochendorf was in Prussian hands. The decision to push on and capture Mysunde was immediately taken. Three Brigades remained in reserve, while the rest of the Corps continued the advance. By 10 o'clock, Major v. Krohn leading the Fusilier Battalion of the 24th Regiment was in sight of the Danish positions at Mysunde.

The Danish position at Mysunde was essentially a series of bastions placed around the village. The two most important bastions; referred to as A and B, were placed on either side of the southern road leading into the village. The position was defended by the 6th Fortification battalion led by Captain Hertel, who had at his disposition 20 cannons and about 100 men, as well as the 1st battalion of the 18th Regiment. Bastion A had 4 24-pound and 4 12-pound guns, while Bastion B had 4 24-pound and 2 12-pound guns. All of the Danish cannon were the old-fashioned muzzle-loading smoothbore variety, rather than the more accurate and long-range breech-loading rifled cannon used by the Prussians. The 3rd Brigade was bivouacked 11 km north of Mysunde in Reserve.

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Wikipedia