The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-06 00:00:00

THE WAR IN DENMARK.

(From the limes Special Correspowlent with the dllicd

Armies)

BROACKER, April 1.

I rode up yesterday afternoon to the Ruhenberg
(the Danish Avnbjerg), where several companies
are stationed as reserve and support to the troops
further in advance, and where I found a numb‘, „f
officers seated at dinner round a table ;-a the open
air. Leaving my horse there I pr ,seeded to explore
the Prussian trenches, passie,g,
through the zigzags
up to the first pare.':iel, which was established
in the night frorhisionday to Tuesday without oppo-
sition on the, put of the Dines. The works are
very E"acensive, and a good deal has been done in a
sl'airt time; but there is a great deal more to do
before they will be as they ought to be. The un-
dulations of the ground have been skilfully availed
of to make the approaches out of the enemy's sight.
For security's sake, and to be in conformity with the
most approved practice, the trenches require deepen.
ing, and this will doubtless be done. They were not
working yesterday, because the throwing up of the
earth would have been seen from the Danish bat-
teries, and doubtless have drawn their fire; but if it
were considered very urgent to expedite these opera-
tions, it might be possible to work in the day, un-
seen by the enemy, deepening the trench, and leav-
ing the loose earth to be thrown up at night. All
is iu the rouc,h at present, the work being only in
progress. Doubtless, in a few days these trenches
will be, as they ought to be, as clean and accurately
cut as fortifications. On a general view, however, I
should say the works do credit to the Prussian En-
gineers. The worst point about them is insufficient
protection on the side towards the sea, but probably
it is thought that from that side little danger is to
be apprehended, precautions having been taken
against a repetition of the Rolfe Krake's exploits in
that direction. The parallel is at various distances
from the forte, the nearest being about 600
yards. "Don't show too many heads, gentle•
men," said the officer en duty to our party
of four, as we lay forward on the bank of
newly-raised earth, peering over its summit at
the enemy. Bat the Danes behaved like gentle-
men, and allowed ns to have a quiet stare at their
forts and at them as they stood about among their
earthworte In their long dark great coats. No. 7,
to 'jar left front, looked big, but lifeless; nothing
moved about it. Nearer to us was No. 6, the Mala-
khoff of the position, which will repay some loss in
capturing it, since from it are commanded Nos. 1 to
5, all the forts upon its left. Moving on towards
our left we got a distant view of Nos. 8 and 9 ; No.
10, which lies back and on lower ground, cannot,
1 apprehend, be seen from any point of this part of
the lines. We had begun our pedestrian ramble by
going down close to the north shore of the Vemming-
band, passing by the spot where the 18th Regiment
suffered and was thrown into some disorder on
Monday morning by the Rolf Krake's sudden volleys
of grape at very short range. Ilene° we worked our
way northwards, nearly to the high road, at a point
in front of the easternmost houses of West Duppel.
There the Danish ad sauced sentries stood so near to
us that we could almost distinguish their counte-
nances with the naked eye, as we before, with
glasses, had seen the faces of the men about the
batteries. It was the first time since the affair of
March 17 that I had been quire close to the fore-
most towns of West Duppel (East Duppel, I may
again state, since I sometimes see it spoken of as if
in existence, was totally destroyed and razed some
time ago by the Danes fcr strategical reasons),
which I found had all been gutted by the flames,
whereas, in the rearmost part of the village, near
the church, there are not a few houses still unin-
jured. As evening was approaching, and some of
us had to ride far to quarters, we there suspended
our investigations for the day, although one of our
party, of pacific pursuits, but martial instincts,
would gladly have lingered in hopes of hearing
a Danish shell burst in the neighbourhood. One
result of my ramble was to inspire me with
the belief, which I previously did not very strongly
hold, that it is the intention of the Prussian Gene•
rals to proceed against the Dupplo intrenchments
in the form of a regular siege, and not to risk a dash,
which might cause this army a heavy loss, unac-
companied by any gains. So we have many weeks'
work before us. In eix it was lately estimated by
a very competent judge that the assault might be
given, but I know not whether that period includes
possible delays from bad weather and other causes.
The trenches yesterday were very dry for trenches,
where ono so often gets over boots iu mud. We had
had np to yesterday 15 or 16 days of dry weather,
broken only by one rainy afternoon, and, moreover,
means have been taken to drain the trenches by cut-
ting small ditches in the slopes downwards from
them. Here and there one came to a soft place, but
nowhere was the mud up to the ankles. I fear
things look worse to-day. It rained hard all the
morning, and the roads, yesterday almost dusty, are
now deep in mud. It must be very soft in the
trenches, and the work will inevitably be impeded.
The Rolf Krake has again been to see us, but this
time without committing any overt act of aggres-
sion. Yesterday, between 1 and 2 p.m., as I was
sitting in a room in one of the south-weeternmei,t