The Express.
London, England, 1864-04-22 00:00:00

THE WAR IN DENMARK.

(nom ous incIAL

DANISH HEADQUABTFJIB,
ULIEEI3OL, Aram 16. 6 rx.

In language not very elegant, but familiar to
even the least pugilistic Englishman, we have heard
how some defeated bruiser came wearily up " to
time" and received "punishment" with unshaken
courage. The scenes thus described are my best
illustration of what is now going forward on
Dybbol bill. Deserted by her allies, and hard
pressed by • merciless enemy, Denmark stands
doggedly at bay. A small force of devoted men is
expected to defend its position against overwhelm-
ing numbers ; and, unlike our own armies: when
they have conquered a more numerous foe,
the weaker side has here the inferior weapons.
It may be questioned whether any troops,
save perhaps the Confederates at Charleston, have
ever been under such a fire es is poured upon
Dybbol-hill. Old-fashioned campaigners, who
thought 12-pounder guns heavy artillery, and fought
every summer in the Low Countries, would find
nineteenth century warfare simply astounding.
Changes have come into all branches of the military
art. Enfield rifles, iron-clad ships, and twenty
other improvements might well bewilder the re-
turning ghost of a "buff jerkined warrior." But
this systematicdestruction by monster cannon would
stagger even the modern soldier ; the Danish
garrison is exposed to attacks that no reso-
lution can long defy. An enemy provided
with beautiful breech-loaders, and in vastly
greater strength, was sufficiently formidable,
especially when he brought many veterans
against a brave body of national militia. Yet these
advantages were not considered enough to overcome
the steady valour of that handful of Danes. Dybbol
VIM held and fortified by them during six weeks,
despite the presence of a Prussian army. The
enemy waited for fine weather, allowed Dybbol hill
Ito be entrenched before his eyes, and slowly col-
lected his siege trait,. Had time brought help to
Denmark, as most people fancied that it must, this
cautious German policy would have been fatal to
its admirers ; and February 22 ought to have
ranked as a great historical day, fur the Prussians
then made their famous demonstration in front of
Dybbol, and decided not to storm the hill.
This unaccountable delay was useless to the Danish
cause, for no foreign assistance arrived. Winter
passed away, the roads became sound, and Mar-
shal Wrangel began to receive supplies of heavy
battering guns. A month ago he opened fire from
Broagerland, shelled Sonderburg, occupied
Arubjerg—in fact commenced the siege. Since
then we have seen every kind of attack upon Dybbol
hill, except the one manoeuvre that would certainly
have taken it, viz., an assault by the whole Prussian
army. For a month has this glorious defence been
protracted. England and France left Denmark to
her cruel fate, as she naturally rejected the Ger-
man offer of an armistice, which required all prizes
to be given up, and even the expected Conference
was heartlessly postponed. Thus a great power,
stung by defeat, has put forth all its might to crush
these gallant but unfortunate Danes.
Gradual approaches towards No. 6 and No. 2,
the burning of Sonderborg, incessant cannonading
from Brosgerland, with the threat of crossing
Alasund, have been varied by many alight attempts
at surprise. Rifled guns sweep the shore of Alen,
fusee shells burst in air over the advanced
position. Every redoubt is hammered out of shape,
with their artillery mostly silenced. 'Tie a con-
test of flesh and blood against scientific annihila-
tion, in which justice, although backed by daunt-
less courage, must inevitably go down before mere
engineering skill. Two delusions current in Ger-
many respecting this siege should be emphati-
cally contradicted. First, as regards the
damage inflicted on their enemies by the
Danish fire, secondly, concerning the nature
of those bugbear defences so feared amongst the
Prussians. There are certainly a few rifled cannon
possessed by Denmark, but they cannot make head
against such pieces as the enemy has now brought
to bear. NVhilst of Dybbol works I will only say,
that if victory rewards his rather timid strategy,
Marshal Wrangel will marvel at the trouble such
intrenchments have cost him. Without regular
fortifications or bomb proofs, the Danes hold on
desperately to a line of ruined forts, connected by
low curtains. No shots are returned in exchange
for constant battering, and each yard of the hill
side has been ploughed up by Prussian shells.
It was like watching some victim under torture
to see these last days' bombardment One felt
almost ashamed of doing nothing to help in the de-
fence. Day after day the terrible fire continued :
Dybbol Mill was knocked to shivers. It seemed
clear that unless a diversion occurred our poor
friends who had sung so gaily for King Christian,
and longed so eagerly to meet the enemy, would be
fairly shelled out of their works. Whether they
could have endured many hours more of those
murderous detonaters, and whether an assault, if
delivered on Thursday night, would have succeeded
can never be known. The storm of shells sud-
denly ceased, and for two days past we have had
comparative quiet. As I remarked above, the
Danish army is now waiting, like an exhausted
gladiator, for the next " round." A savage and
shocking business it is—this destruction of a
small patriotic force by the artillery of a foreign
despot.

ULLESOL, Aram 16, 10 P.N.

Still the mysterionsailence along our front. I saw
to-day some splendid practice from a battery before
No. 10, upon the tik-de-poet. One shell craabed
right into a house near the southern bridge. People
scattered in all directions, but none were hurt.
Another shell flew straight towards the bridges,
but struck ground and burst too soon. Had not
human beings been exposed to it, this firing was
very pretty to look at. With life in danger the
interest became painful. A flash in front of No.lo,
a scream of the whizzing projectile, and before its
track of sound is completed a dust cloud where the
detonative has exploded. From the hill above
Sonderborg everything can be seen. Men lie close
behind their breastworks on DybSol hill. Now
comes a shell. Ah, heaven bare mercy, it will strike
where that group is taking shelter ! No, hurrah !
the earth flew up far beyond, and they are safe.
Changes of wind and position, however, affect the
sounds of passing shells so much that no theory
should be formed upon them. From the hill where
I stood there were visible three converging lines
of fire—one against No. 2 from Broagerland, the
next towards No. 6 from Dybbol village, and the
third into No. 10 and the Mk-de-pont from Arub-
jerg. Sometimes they gave us a random shot that
might fall anywhere, and these, when sent across
Abound from Arubjerg, were very unpleasant.
The forte had a wretched battered appearanoe ;
and that once crowded road between the rained
mill and the bridges was deserted. Dybbol hill
looks strangely odd and unsafe, although nothing
was being done. For such effects as are here
mentioned do not constitute a bombardment in the
modern sense of th►t word. All former siege*,