"Danish Army of the Napoleonic Wars, Part 1" Topic

I have started what should be a rather long and detailed series of blog posts about the Danish Army of the Napoleonic wars.

This first one deals with the background material – the history of Denmark's participation in the Napoleonic wars, from the first battle of Copenhagen in 1801 to the capitulation of Norway to Sweden in 1814. It includes some OOB information for the Danish forces that participated in the Russo-Swedish War of 1807-1808, the Assault on Stralsund (and the death of Major von Schill) in 1809, and the Danish Auxiliary Corps that fought in North Germany in 1813.

I had written a similar article for the original NEWA Courier back in 1973 (!), but it wasn't actually published until 1977, and that was in the short lived magazine "Little Wars", published by TSR (they inherited the Courier's library of unpublished submissions).

This version will be updated with the new information I have collected since then. This is not an easy army to get detailed and complete information on, and I am fortunate to have access to a number of sources that are not easy to come by. Of course, any corrections or additions are most welcome, especially by anyone in Denmark who might have access to additional information only available in Danish.

link

I hope you find the series of interest; it will include detailed information on organization, uniforms, and standards, probably spread over 9 – 10 posts and several months.

Peter

Looks tremendous, blog added to favourites, thank you very much.

My Thanks to you, also, Gonsalvo!

Useful information. Thanks for your efforts as it will be helpful to gamers and history buffs.

Thanks, guys. It will come out gradually over time. Working on part 2 now.

Peter

Great. Always wanted to game with these.

Nice. Oddly (or not) I was just saying on here the other day how cool the Danes uniforms were.

A worthwhile project and nicely done, Peter.

The Danes are definitely on my "to do" list for down the track.

Great project Gonsalvo!
With lots of material available, some manufacturer may yet hear the call and produce the figures for this overlooked and underrated, not-so-little army.
Looking forward to Part 2!

Gonsalvo,

Excellent. This will inspire me to build a Danish Army for 1813.

One question. I have seen a account of the battle of Sehestedt on 10 December 1813 between Walmoden's KGL and Hanoverians on one side and the Danes on the other. The Danes apparently claimed they had caused 3,500 allied casualties against a loss of only 550 themselves, although Beamish (in his History of the KGL) puts losses on both sides as 1,000. This battle is not mentioned in your blog.

Rod

I have that 'Little Wars' issue. I bought it when it came out.
Though my focus has been on the 1848 and 1864 wars, I got a lot of information from several Danish musuems. Their gift shops are easy to deal with or you can get a friend in Denmark to get the information for you.

They have some great booklets on uniforms and wars as well as uniform postcards. I have a set from the napoleonic wars in particular.

Our articles on Danish Military history of the 1800s were in Time Portal passage about 10 to 15 years ago.

Musketier: Yes, that is a side agenda, that perhaps a manufacturer will decide to tackle the Danes. The last range that I know of (in 25/28mm) were Minifigs.

Rod: I'll have to see what I can find out on Sehestedt

Rudy: I have several of the booklets from Denmark, but it is worth looking for more!

Peter

Peter
You may already have this but Tradition Magazine did an article on the battle of Boden, 4th December 1813 involving the Danes and Walmoden's Corps.
Issue 64 also has a nice plate on the cover.

link

@ Gonsalvo,

I managed to get hold of a copy of that Courier/Little Wars magazine over here in the UK c.1978, via the old Games Unlimited shop in Kingston-on-Thames*. I bought a pair of 15mm Danish armies from (I think) Tabletop Miniatures, to convert into one large one at 1:20 for the Newbury "Sound of the Guns" rules.

[* For those who recall the shop, Eamon is still alive – and well – and living in Germany with a lovely lady named Helga, and regularly plays bridge with the last surviving descendants of FM von Blucher and GL Osten-Sacken. ]

Cam.

Yes I have that and three other articles from Tradition; Dave Sweet passed them along to me from his Dad, Charlie's collection, knowing of my interests.

Peter, this may more that you wanted to know, but here goes.

Last May, I had the good fortune to visit the military museum in Copenhagen. In the bookstore I found a work entitled "Den Danske Haer I Napoleonstiden 1801-1814: Handbog om uniformer, faner, udrustning og krighistorie" by Hans Christian Wolter, et al. As far as I can tell, it was published in 1992.

This is a hardbound book – about coffee table size – and runs to 286 pages, including index. It is chock full of information about Danish uniforms, flags, weapons, and unit histories. There are period illustrations – some in color – and line drawings throughout.

Now, my Danish is worse than yours – that subject just isn't emphasized in Arkansas's institutions of learning. But I'm betting a good Danish-English dictionary would be worth the investment. Yes, I couldn't leave town without a copy!

Again, this may be more that anyone cares to delve into the topic. But if you're deeply interested in the Danish forces for this time period, I'd recommend it (and a dictionary).

Frank – that sounds fantastic – I shall have to investigate. Was it the Tojhus Musee where you purchased the book?

To make it clear, I am more than willing, nay eager to hear of new sources of information and new inquiries. That's how we add to and refine our knowledge! I make no claim to being any kind of authority on the subject, I just have a long standing interest in same and have accumulated references that 95% of folks wouldn't have. Certainly, though, some like Frank and others will have materials that I lack or am unaware of.

My plan is to correct errors in any of y posts as they are found, and or add new posts as more information comes in.

So, keep the comments and suggestions coming, please!

Peter

Yes, sir, that was the museum – my receipt says "Tojhusmuseet." The attendant and the other museum personnel I spoke to had a great command of English; there were several copies of the book on hand; I bet if you emailed them, they'd arrange to ship one to you for cost and postage. If you need anymore information about the museum (address, etc.), I've still got that information from our trip.

Another interesting point about that museum, although slightly off topic. I walked past one exhibit and did a double take: it was a complete set of Federal infantry and cavalry uniforms, circa 1860. One of the guards saw the look on my face, chuckled, and confirmed it: according to him, right before the Civil War, the Danes were considering uniform changes, and they obtained a complete set of U.S. uniforms to inspect. Small world! Really a neat museum.

Here are a few link's I have found over the years:
link
link
chakoten.dk/indexe.html

11th ACR:

Thanks! Last two are good links, which I have already (first seems broken, but I think this is what you had in mind):

link

Frank:

Thanks again. I'll contact them. The Tojhusmeet has the contact address on their website. It's almost too bad it's print rather than an electronic format from the standpoint of running it through an online translator for a rough idea of what the text says.

<somehow posted twice – deleted>

Rod:

Rod,

Is this the account of Sehestedt you had read?:

link

There is a lot of great information on this Legacy site; the Danish military of the Napoleonic Wars. I am wondering if I should copy some or all of it as an addenum to the blog posts to avoid its disappearing forever….

Peter

Peter

Peter,

It was not, but the account your link goes to is the best description i have seen of this battle. Many thanks.

I saw it in a query on a website (I cannot remember which one) about the Orbats for this battle. Having never heard of the battle before I followed the links and it took me to George Nafziger's comprehensive free downloads of Orbats of the Napoleonic Wars gifted to the US Army website. One of these was Walmoden's for Sehestedt, but not the Danish one as such (although there is an overall one for the Danish Army of that period).

There is a brief description in "The History of the King's German Legion" by Beamish, which is available online.

Rod

Peter,

Another question. Who were the Polish Uhlans mentioned in this account? Were they actually a Polish Army unit, or one of the three French lancer units in Polish uniform?

Rod

If you come to Copenhagen, you should drop by our club.

krigsspil.dk/index.html

Whivh by the way is having a mini con at Tøjhusmuseet 16-17/11.

dffcon.dk

Actually, the last range of Nap. Danes would be Falcon Figure UK [15mm]. They are correct and have all proper figs for 1813 if I remember correctly. Wasn't there another company that was supposed to come out with 25mm Nap. Danes and Swedes a few years ago?

Great info, Gonsalvo! Keep it up. If you live in the States, contact OMM, as they might have a copy of 'Den Danske Haer' lying around. I bought mine when it first came out and wouldn't part with it for any amount!

Our friend Gonsalvo has upgrade his good job.

The Danish Army of the Napoleonic Wars, Part 8: Artillery

See here
link

Hope you enjoy!.

Amicalement
Armand

By he way, I did acquire a copy of Den Danske Haer a few months back courtesy of an information exchange with another gamer… now I have to teach myself some basic Danish!

And of course, the Perrys are in the process of releasing some Danes now (28mm) as well!