Battle of Fredericia The Battle of Fredericia was fought between soldiers of Schleswig - Holstein and Denmark on 6 July 1849 at Fredericia in Denmark . The battle was a part of the First Schleswig War , which was a conflict between Schleswig - Holstein , supported by several German states , and Denmark . Denmark won the battle . Background . In 1849 , Danish southern Jutland was invaded by 61 000 Schleswig - Holsteinian and German troops , and Danish troops located there withdrew to northern Jutland . As they withdrew , Denmark left 7 000 men to garrison their fortified town of Fredericia , along with a reserve on the island of Funen . Prittwitz , a Prussian commander , ordered the Schleswig - Holsteinian army to besige the town and the siege began on 9 May under the commander of General Eduard von Bonin , whilst the Danish garrison was led by Colonel Lunding . Prelude . The Schleswig - Holsteins constructed 4 redoubt s , which would bombard the town and cover them from a Danish sally . Trying to prevent the construction of the third redoubt , the garrison sallied on 13 May but the third redoubt was completed by 15 May . From 16 to 20 May , Fredericia was shelled . Most of the population was moved to Funen , and four of the most densely built areas of the town were destroyed by fire . Unable to see into the town , and judging by the fact that the fires were put out quickly , Bonin believed that the damage was not significant . The Schleswig - Holsteins had not completely cut off the town , and the garrison was able to be relieved several times by troops based in Funen , so Bonin decided to cut off access between the two Danish areas . As a result , he ordered two more redoubts to be constructed , of which one was completed , near the beach between Funen and Fredericia . On 30 May , Danish troops launched another sally , damaging what had been constructed so far , and spiking 9 cannons . The Schleswig - Holsteins were not able to completely cut off the town , but the threat that that could still happen prompted Lunding to urge his superiors to launch an attack soon . Danish commanders agreed that a major attack would be made north of the town , with General Olaf Rye ' s 5th Brigade tasked with taking the strongest redoubt , the Treldeskansen ; whilst diversionary landings by two fleets each of 22 ships ( each had 1 steamer , 4 gunboats , 5 transports and 12 sailing ships ) would be launched north and south of Fredericia to draw away enemy troops . The battle was ordered to begin on 5 July but a delay in one of the brigades receiving their orders led to the battle being postponed until the next day . The Schleswig - Holsteins had expected an attack to occur on 5 July , and its army had been waiting in earthworks all of that day . As the Danish troops deployed for the attack in the first hour of 6 July , the Schleswig - Holsteinian troops were sleeping in their camps . A dense fog shrouded the Danish soldiers as they moved , and straw placed over the streets and the noise of the wind reduced the sound they were making as they traversed through Fredericia , resulting in their deployment not being detected . Battle . The battle began at 01 : 00 on 6 July , with Bonin ' s view of the battle obscured by darkness . The third and fourth Schleswig - Holsteinian redoubts , as well as a nearby mortar battery , were attacked by General De Meza ' s ' Avantgarden ' formation . The fourth redoubt was taken , as well as the battery , and Danish engineers worked to destroy what had been captured . The third redoubt , defended by a part of the 4th Jaegerkorps under the command of Major Schmidt , was able to repulse the Danish attack . Meanwhile , Olaf Rye had ordered 2 of his 5 battalions to bypass the Treldeskansen ( the fifth redoubt ) so that they could block Schleswig - Holsteinian reinforcements from reaching it , whilst the other 3 attacked the redoubt , supported by the batteries ' Marcussen ' and ' Meincke ' . Rye , wanting to move forward to observe the assault better , rode on a horse towards the redoubt . Riding unescorted , his horse was killed , and he went by foot to the ' Marcussen ' battery where he got another one . Riding north of the Treldeskansen with a company from the 4th Reserve Battalion , his new horse was shot . Around 03 : 00 , he was shot in the thigh and in the lower abdomen , and died from his wounds a short time after . The fighting at the Treldeskansen had turned into a stalemate , but the reinforcement of the Danish troops with the 8th Battalion from Moltke ' s Brigade and the half - battery ' Tillisch ' led to the capture of the redoubt , along with 300 prisoners , by 04 : 00 . Major Stuckradt , commander of the Schleswig - Holsteinian 1st Brigade , which was located on Bonin ' s left flank , initially decided to withdraw his forces to Egeskov via Rands Fjord , but after being informed that Danish gunboats were guarding the fjord he ordered that his formation move towards Bredstrup . With the 6th Battalion from the west , the 8th Battalion from the north , and a company of the 7th Battalion from the second redoubt , the Schleswig - Holsteins counter - attacked , causing the Danish 2nd Lette ( Light ) Battalion and 2nd Jaegerkorps to retreat , and the attempt to destroy captured Schleswig - Holsteinian equipment stopped . Bonin ordered his last reserve , the 8th Battalion , to press the attack . The Danish Schleppegrells Brigade counter - attacked against the battalion . The first Danish attack against the battalion was repulsed , and whilst they were preparing to launch another one , the sun rose and allowed Bonin to see that the Schleswig - Holsteinian 1st Brigade was retreating . This caused him to order a general retreat to Stoutrup , and the Danish troops began to pursue . De Meza followed the retreating Schleswig - Holsteins with the Danish advance guard towards Egum and Stallerup , and blocked the withdrawal of the 1st Brigade , capturing 750 prisoners as a result . The left wing of the Schleswig - Holsteinian army was heavily battered , and the area between the town and Rands Fjord was now free from Schleswig - Holsteinian troops . Meanwhile , the Schleppegrells Brigade , supported by 2 companies from the 6th Reserve Battalion , captured the first and second redoubts . In an effort to cover the retreat , the Schleswig - Holsteinian right wing attempted to fight the Danish troops at Stoutrup with two battalions , but they were forced to withdraw from the settlement by the Danish 3rd Jaegerkorps of the 3rd Battalion . To the east of Stoutrup , the Schleswig - Holsteinian artillery park was located , with 100 wagons , a couple of guns and thousands of cannonballs and grenades captured . By 09 : 00 , the main fighting had ended . Aftermath . The Danes stopped their pursuit at a ravine west of Fredericia . They had sustained 1 892 dead , wounded , and unwounded captured soldiers ; whilst Schleswig - Holstein had suffered 2 995 . Despite being outnumbered over 2 : 1 and sustaining about 500 more dead and wounded , Denmark achieved a victory over Schleswig - Holstein . As a result of the battle , a cease - fire was implemented between the combatants in the First Schleswig War , and all German troops had left Denmark by 25 August . The fighting between Danish and German troops would resume about a year later , when 27 000 Germans and 37 000 Danish troops engaged in the battle of Isted on 24 and 25 July 1850 .