The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-09 00:00:00

THE WAR IN DENMARK,

The official &cults Anzeiger of to-day says that the
embargoes laid upon ships by Denmark, as well as
by Prussia, can only, according to international law,
possess a provisional character. By an understand-
ing with Denmark, an interval of six weeks after
the outbreak of hostilities must be allowed, to permit
of the return of vessels.
Full accounts of the first fight at Missunde con-
tinue to be received. Battalions of the 15th, 24th,
35th, 53d, and 60th Regiments of Prussian infantry
were engaged. Of these the Fusilier battalion of
the 15th and the Ist battalion of the 60th Regiments
suffered most. The first corps alone lost seven offi-
cers, some of whom were killed and some wounded.
It is admitted that the men conducted themselves
very bravely, and in the midst of the heaviest fire
stood their ground as firmly as though they were
on parade. Grape and canister fell among them
like hail as they proceeded to storm the Danish
works, and when they were close to the batteries
the Danes still kept firing heavily into the storming
columns, so that their baptism by fire which the
Prussians underwent was a severe proof of their
courage. The fight lasted from 11 in the morning
till half-past 4. Many inhabitants of Eckernforde,
Kiel, and the neighbourhood of Missunde were pre-
sent as spectators,
,and for the most part wore white
bands round the arm, such as are worn by the
Austro-Prussian army, so that they
might be known
as friends to the Scleswig-Holstein cause. These
civilians rendered good service in conveying the
wounded from the field, and in so doing showed
considerable courage, as many of them unquestion-
ably risked their lives. Some of the Prussian troops
camped out on the open field for some nights. In
the town of Eckernforde, and in theviliages between
there and Missunde, each house is so fall of soldiers
that the numerous strangers attracted to the
neighbourhood could find no accommodation what-
ever. A great want of food had been experienced
by all, and especially of bread, meat, and milk.
The country people no longer take any into the
towns, as all that can be procured is required for
the soldiers.
Respecting the fight at Selk on Wednesday last
it may be mentioned that Upper Selk lies to the
southward of Selk-Noer, a lake which flows west-
ward fromSshleswig in connection with thelladelye
Noer, but is separated from the Schlei itself by a
small dam, over which goes the road from Eckern-
forde to Busdorf, Frederichsberg, and Schleswig.
On the south of the Selk-Noer is Nottorf, on the

line of railway, to the north-east of Geldorf, while
to the north-west of Lottorf lies the village of Jagel
near the Rensburg and Schleswig road. These
places form a triangle, towards the south-east front
of which the Danes were posted at the commence-
ment of the day. The Austrians, however, com-
pelled them to retire from the triangle and occupied
Jagel and Upper Selk, the base of the triangle, then
took Konigsberg, between the road and the Selk-
Noer, and pressed northwards towards Wedelspang,
where the first line of the fortifications of the
Danewirke position is situated, and which extends
on the east to the Schlei, and on the west to a place
know as the Red Krug. The second line of defen-
ces, with the blockhouses, begins at Busdorf, which

lies near a pond. The fire of the second line domi-
nates the first. The fight itself is thus described by

the Gazette of North Prussia :—" The Field-Mar-
shal, with the Crown Prince and the greater part
of the staff, had halted on the road to Upper Selk;
and here many of the officers, including the Crown
Prince, became closely acquainted for the first time
with the thunder of the enemy's artillery and the
whistle of hostile bullets. All are, however, stated
to have shown the greatest joy at the commencement
of hostilities. Upper Selk was soon taken, Konigs-
berg lying to the rear of it was stormed, and the
batteries of the advanced guard were panted here
under the protection of a battalion of Austrian j agers.
On account of the thick fog we could no longer see
the retreat of the Dines, but could only perceive the
flash of the heavy guns on the batteries, and hear
the whistle of the bullets flying over our heads,
which struck behind us, bat fortunately not in the
direction where our regiments stood. Count Gon-
drecourt, who commanded the vanguard brigade,
states that he encountered two Danish squadrons
on the first advance between Lottorf and Geldorf,
but that they soon withdrew, and that afterwards
he found six Danish battalions, with one or two bat-
teries, on the height before him. After some mus-
ketry work, three battalions of the Austrian van-
guard charged with the bayonet, and the Danes,
who had so:Long bravely sustained the Austrian fire,
suddenly yielded. The struggle was renewed from
height to height, the artillery playing their part
before a change was made, and then the bayonet
charge was renewed by the Austrians. The Danes
behaved with the greatest gallantry, but they could
not hold. their ground. The 18th jager battalion
captured a Danish six pounder gun which bad been
deserted on the road before the Upper Selk. The
last position taken up by the Danes was on the
Konigsberg,whence they could not be driven by the
Austrians without great loss in killed and wounded.
The Danes then withdrew towards the Danewirke
and fired on the Konigsberg with their heavy guns
in the batteries."
A letter from Rendsburg of the 4th instant gives
some further particulars of this affair :—" The night
was tolerably mild, so that the wounded transported
from Konigsberg (or Konigs-Hugel) did not suffer
from the cold. According to authentic reports, the
loss of the Austrians amounted to 600, dead and
The Martini Regiment left a third
whom were two staff officers, and
wounded, d:cod
others., among
of its officers on the field. About 5,000 men were
engaged in the action, and the loss is at the rate of
more than 12 per cent., which will prove better
than details of the desperate nature of the struggle
and the bravery of the combatants. On the
morning of Thursday,
the day after the action,
the dead Danes lay
in rows and heaps on .the
Konigsberg and near Jagel. Their loss, besides
250 taken prisoners by the Austrians, must at
least be as severe as that of their foes. The chief
loss of the Austrians was occasioned by the heavy
fire from the Danewirke guns, while the Danes
were safe in their entrenchments, against which
the Austrian 4-Pound battery could make no im-
pression, and which was therefore bravely directed,
se as to draw the fire of the Danes towards
itself."

During the following night the positions gained
on the Konigsberg were armed with Prussian
rifled 12-pounders. On the sth a Danish battery
at Lollfuss, a portion of the town of Schleswig,
was silenced.
On Thursday morning GeneralvoninGathbelenrzeaprrool
ended to reconnoitre the country
a small staff; but they
Lwoetrteosrof,onacocbosmeprvaendiebd by
by
the
Danes, and a sharp fire
was party, hone of whom appear to
have keptbh njun r
e tala.e
As the
general afterwards rode
eeui p o
by the positions occupied by several of the Austrian
regiments he was loudly cheered by the men, and
the " Eljeus" of the Hungarians were given with
much heartiness. The Thomas Brigade, consisting
of the Coronini (Servians from the Banat), and
Prince Holstein Regiments (Venetians), were sent
forward to relieve the Gondrecourt Brigade still in
the field. The troops were all in rod spirits though
Buffeting from bad commissariat arrangements, and
from the misfortune of being encamped on a
barren place which offered no chance provisions
of any kind, as the whole district had long been
cleared of everything eatable and drinkable. The
Gondrecourt Brigade 0,-ne into quarters in the
afternoon. It was easy to see by the appearance
of the men that they were returning from a bloody
encounter. Their eyes wera sparkling with unna-
tural wildness, and they still appeared to feel the
effects of the excitement they had undergone.
Wherever General Gondrecourt was seen he was
greeted with loud cheers by the troops. The guns
they brought back with them were gaily decorated
in honour of the patron saint of the artillery, the
Holy Barbara.
The Prussian Staats Anzeiger publishes the fol-
lowing official report :•—" According to the accounts
just received at Berlin from the head quarters of
the army of Schleswig Holstein, preparations have
been made for the planting of the Prussian 12
pounder rifled battery on the Konigsberg, which
was stormed by the Austrian Brigade of Count
Gondrecourt. The number of the Danes taken