Military history of Denmark

793 – 1050 The Viking Age

Main article: Viking age

• 793 Vikings raid Lindisfarne monastery on Holy Island in the North Sea. This is considered the start of the Viking Raids
• 810 Friesland is attacked by Danish Vikings
• 855 Danish Viking army besieges Paris, though never capturing the city
• 866 Large Danish Viking army arrives in England
• 876 King Alfred cedes East and North England to the Danes thus establishing the Danelaw
• 911 Emperor of Western Francia Charles the Simple surrenders what will later be known as Normandy to Viking chief Rollo.
• 920 The Danelaw is reconquered by England
• 982 London is sacked by Vikings
• 1013 'Svend Tveskæg' attacks England and is recognised as the new King of England
• 1016 Viking army meets an English army at Ashdon. The battle ends in an English defeat

Early period

• 1043 Magnus I of Norway defeats the Wends at Lyrskov Hede
• 1157, 23 October Valdemar I defeats Sven on Grate Hede in the Danish civil war
• 1184, 21 May A Danish fleet of 125 ships under Absalon defeats a Vendish fleet.
• 1219, 15 June In the battle of Lyndanis in Estonia the Danish flag falls down from the sky, at least according to legend (see Dannebrog)
• 1362 Valdemar Atterdag defeats a Hanseatic fleet (see Hanseatic League) that was besieging Helsingborg, and forces Lübeck to conclude peace

Union wars 1434 – 1523

• 1434 A Swedish peasant rebellion breaks out against the Danes
• 1448 Disagreements over who should be the new King after Christoffer the Third's death, leads to war between Denmark and Sweden
• 1455 After 7 years of war Danish King Christian the First is recognised as King over the Union
• 1463 Another outbreak of rebellion against the Danes in Sweden
• 1471 In the Battle of Brunkeberg, the Danes suffer complete defeat at the hands of the Swedish
• 1472 Peace is concluded
• 1497, 29 September King Hans attempts to grab power in Sweden after internal disturbances. His army of German mercenaries defeats a Swedish army in the battle of Rotebro and he is recognised as King of Sweden
• 1500, 17 February King Hans is defeated in the battle of Dittmarsken
• 1501 A Swedish rebellion breaks out and King Hans loses most of Sweden
• 1501 The Swedes attack Norway but are forced back. Stockholm surrenders to the Swedes
• 1510 Lübeck declares war on Denmark and Sweden joins Lübeck
• 1511, 9 August A Danish fleet forces the Lübeck fleet to fall back at Bornholm, and the rest of the war they remain in port
• 1512, April Denmark concludes peace with Sweden and Lübeck
• 1517 A rebellion in Sweden flares up again. In August a Danish army is deployed at Stockholm, but is defeated at Vedla
• 1518 Another Danish army is deployed at Stockholm, but is not capable of forcing a decisive battle
• 1520, 6 April A Danish army defeats a Swedish peasant army at Uppsala and occupies Stockholm
• 1520, 8 November The Swedish army is defeated. King Christian the Second acquires the title of King of Sweden, and orders all the Swedish nobility executed. This day is known as the bloodbath in Stockholm
• 1521 Swedish Gustav Vasa reconquors all of Sweden and the Union is dissolved Gustav is declared King of Sweden

War with Lübeck and 'The Counts Feud' 1534 – 1536

Main article: Count's Feud

• 1534 A Civil War named the Count's Feud breaks out. Captain Clement raises a Juttish peasant army
• 1535, 9 June A Danish and Swedish fleet fights a naval battle against Lübeck. The battle ends in a draw but in the coming days the Lübeck fleet is destroyed
• 1536, 11 June In the Danish Civil War a Danish peasant army is massacred in the battle of Oxnebjerg
• 1537, 16 January Lübeck concludes peace with Christian the Third. The Civil War ends when Copenhagen surrenders to Christian the Third

War against The Netherlands 1542 – 1543

• 1542 War breaks out between France and the German Emperor. Emperor Charles V supports Frederick II, Elector Palatine for the Danish crown, and Denmark participates in the war on the side of France
• 1543 Denmark declares war on Netherlands, that are under the rule of Charles
• 1544 Denmark concludes the Treaty of Speyer with the German Emperor

7-Year War 1563 – 1570

Main article: Northern Seven Years' War

• 1563, 31 July Ambition and a fight over the right to each others national weapons, war breaks out between Denmark and Sweden
• 1563, 15 September A Danish army moves into Sweden and occupies Älvsborg
• 1564, 30 May A Danish fleet under the command of Herluf Trolle, defeats a Swedish fleet between Öland and Gotland
• 1565, 9 October The war's only big battle stands at Axtorna. Rantzau defeats a numerically superior Swedish army
• 1570, 13 December A peace treaty (Treaty of Stettin) is concluded and terminates the war between Denmark and Sweden. Denmark gives back Älvsborg in return for 150.000 daler (Danish coin)

Kalmar War 1611 – 1613

Main article: Kalmar War

• 1611, 4 April War between Denmark and Sweden breaks out when Sweden attempts to break the Danish monopoly on trade with Russia
• 1611, 11 June The Swedish Army is defeated at Kalmar
• 1613, 20 January Denmark and Sweden sign a peace treaty. Denmark becomes an uncontested power nation in Scandinavia

30 Year War 1618 – 1648

Main article: Thirty Years' War

• 1618 Denmark enters the war between Catholics and Protestants
• 1626 The Danish Army under Christian the Fourth is defeated by a Catholic army in the Battle of Lutter am Barenberge
• 1628 In the battle of Wolgast, Christian the Fourth is crushed by a German army and forced to conclude peace

Thorsteinson War 1643 – 1645

Main article: Torstenson War

• 1643, December: War with Sweden breaks out because of a long dispute over the dominance of the Øresund, and dissent over the Øresund toll.
• 1643, 12 December: The Swedish Field Marshal Thorsteinson crosses the border to Holstein from Swedish territory in North Germany.
• 1644, January: Jutland is occupied by Swedish troops.
• 1644, February: Swedish troops under Gustav Horn advance into Skåne and are stopped at Malmö.
• 1644, 16 May: A Danish fleet defeats a Dutch fleet at Lister Dyb, which was sent to reinforce the Swedes.
• 1644, 1 July: The Danish Fleet meets the Swedish Fleet at Koldberg Heide. The battle ends in a decisive Danish victory, and the Swedish withdraw to the Kiel Bay.
• 1644, 12 October: A combined Swedish and Dutch fleet defeats a Danish fleet at Fehmarn. This effectively decides the outcome of the war.
• 1645, February: Peace negotiations are started in Brømsebro.
• 1645, 13 August: Denmark and Sweden conclude peace in Brømsebro. Denmark is forced to hand over Gotland, Øsel and Halland (South Sweden) as well as the Norwegian province Jemtland.

Northern Wars (Carl Gustav Krigene) 1657 – 1660

Main article: Northern Wars

Scanian War (Skånske Krig) 1675 – 1679

Main article: Scanian War

Great Northern War (Store Nordiske Krig) 1700 – 1720

Main article: Great Northern War

and

Russo-Swedish War 1788

Main article: Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)

Napoleonic Wars (Napeoleonskrigene) 1800 – 1813

Main article: Napoleonic Wars

Gunboat War (Kanonbådskrigen) 1807 – 1814

Main article: Gunboat War

First War of Schleswig (Treårskrigen / Første Slesvigske Krig) 1848 – 1850

Main article: First War of Schleswig

Second War of Schleswig (Krigen i 1864 / Anden Slesvigske Krig) 1864

Main article: Second War of Schleswig

German Occupation (Den tyske besættelse) 1940 – 1945

Main article: Occupation of Denmark

Operations in Bosnia 1994

Main article: Operation Bøllebank

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

Main article: Operation Enduring Freedom

2003 Invasion of Iraq

Main article: 2003 Invasion of Iraq

2011 military intervenion in Libya

Main article: 2011 military intervention in Libya

References

• Knud J. V. Jespersen (2004). A History of Denmark. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0333659171.