Battle of Anholt The Battle of Anholt ( 25 – 27 March 1811 ) occurred during the Gunboat War , a war between the United Kingdom and Denmark - Norway . It was an attempt by the Danes to recapture Anholt , a small Danish island off the coast of Jutland , which the British had captured in 1809 . The Danish army had a larger fighting force than the British , but a lack of planning and supply failures led to a devastating defeat and many Danish casualties . The battle proved a decisive British victory with the result that the British occupation of Anholt continued until the peace treaty in 1814 . There is a monument commemorating the battle in Anholt village . Strategic background to the battle . Early in the Gunboat War the Danes had closed their lighthouse at the easternmost point of Anholt . In January 1809 , the bomb - vessel " Proselyte " , which the British had stationed off Anholt to act as a lighthouse , struck Anholt Reef and sank . On 18 May 1809 , the 74 - gun Third Rate HMS " Standard " , under Captain Askew Hollis , led in a squadron that also included the frigate " Owen Glendower " , , , and . Together they captured the island . A landing party of seamen and marines under the command of Captain William Selby of " Owen Glendower " , with the assistance of Captain Edward Nicolls of the " Standard " s marines , landed . The Danish garrison of 170 men put up a sharp but ineffectual resistance that killed one British marine and wounded two ; the garrison then surrendered . The British took immediate possession of the island . Hollis , in his report , stated that Anholt was important in that it could furnish supplies of water to His Majesty ' s fleet , and afford a good anchorage to merchant vessels sailing to and from the Baltic . However , the principal objective of the mission was to restore the lighthouse on the island to its pre - war state to facilitate the movement of British men of war and merchantmen navigating the dangerous seas there . King Frederick VI of Denmark declared the recovery of Anholt to be the highest priority and gave orders in February 1810 for the collection of the necessary troops and gunboats , under the overall command of General Tellequist . Winter ice and late storms hampered the expedition which set sail three times from Gjerrild Bay , just north of Grenå , without reaching Anholt . Eventually , when British warships started to be seen , the window of opportunity had disappeared and General Tellequist gave the order to abandon the expedition for that year . Captain Nicolls , of the Royal Marines , the British governor on the island , had heard of the plans to recapture Anholt and deployed a gunboat , the , to scout the coast of Jutland whenever the weather was fair . " Grinder " also captured some small merchant vessels , but on 13 April 1810 four Danish gunboats captured her . In August 1810 Anholt became a stone frigate , and was notionally classified as a 50 - gun ship . Although the island garrison consisted of Royal Marines , it was a ship in the eyes of the Admiralty , and the officer commanding the Marines , Captain Torrens of the Royal Marines , was ultimately accountable to Captain Maurice of the Royal Navy , the British governor on the island . This arrangement reflected the inequality of status between Royal Navy officers , and Royal Marine counterparts . Battle . At the beginning of March 1811 Vice Admiral Sir James Saumarez received information that the Danes would attack Anholt . " Tartar " sailed from Yarmouth on 20 March and anchored off the north end of the island on 26 March . On 24 March , a Danish fleet of 18 gunboats with 1000 Danish marines on board left Gjerild beach in Jutland . The Danish fleet was unaware that frigates were on the way to protect the British base on Anholt , known as Fort York , and had been reinforced with artillery . The Danes landed some 1000 troops in the darkness and fog and attempted to outflank the British positions . The Danes landed on the northern beach of Anholt early in the morning and marched towards Fort York , a bastion built in extension of the lighthouse and now manned by 380 British marines . On 27 March the garrison sighted the enemy off the south side of the island . Maurice marched to meet them with a battery of howitzers and 200 infantry , and signaled " Tartar " and " Sheldrake " . The two vessels immediately made every endeavour to beat south but the shoals forced them to stand so far out that it took them many hours . There was a failure to co - ordinate any Danish plan of battle and the fighting ended in sporadic encounters . The Danish soldiers , without supplies , became thirsty and tired . The batteries at Fort Yorke ( the British base ) and Massareenes stopped the assault . The Danes launched a final attack on Fort York at 10 in the evening , led by a Major Melsted . With raised sword he led a charge by a small party of men towards the Fort , but a British bullet ended his life and settled the battle . The Danish attempts to take Fort York failed due to a combination of poor planning , a lack of provisions and a failure to bring field artillery - much of this due to the current limitations on Danish shipping following British naval successes . Ultimately , this proved fatal . Gunfire from " Tartar " and " Sheldrake " forced the gunboats to move off westwards . The gunboats made their escape over the reefs while the ships had to beat round the outside . " Tartar " chased three gunboats towards Læsø but found herself in shoal water as night approached and gave up the chase . On the way back " Tartar " captured two Danish transports that it had passed while chasing the gunboats ; one of them had 22 soldiers on board , with a considerable quantity of ammunition , shells and the like , while the other contained provisions . " Sheldrake " managed to capture two gunboats . The Danes on the western side managed to embark on board fourteen gunboats and make their escape . The battle cost the British only two killed and 30 wounded . The Danes lost their commander , three other officers , and 50 men killed . The British took , besides the wounded , five captains , nine lieutenants , and 504 rank and file as prisoners , < ref name = The European magazine , and London review , Volumes 59 - 60 ( 08 / 06 / 2011 ) . > " The European magazine , and London review , Volumes 59 - 60 " contains a letter from Captain Maurice stating ' 500 prisoners , a number greater by 150 men that the garrison I command ' < / ref > as well as three pieces of artillery , 500 muskets , and 6 , 000 rounds of ammunition . In addition , " Sheldrake " s two captured gunboats resulted in another two Lieutenants of the Danish Navy , and 119 men falling prisoner . Captain Joseph Baker of " Tartar " proposed taking his Danish prisoners to Randers and exchanging them for the officers and crew of , which had wrecked in February . Consequences . As a result of the Battle for Anholt , the Royal Marines won many supporters among senior naval officers , which helped to further their cause for fairness in terms of service and officers ' promotion . It was customary for senior officers to be presented with ceremonial swords , to commemorate significant victories . As well as Captain Maurice receiving a sword , Captain Torrens received two swords , one from his brother officers , and another from the non - commissioned officers and privates . This latter sword was purchased by the Royal Marines Museum , on the 200th anniversary of the battle of Anholt , and all three are on display at the Royal Marines Museum . In 1847 the Royal Navy authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with the bar ‘ Anholt 27 March 1811 ’ to reward this action . Forty men claimed this bar , mainly Royal Marines . Two hundred years later , in March 2011 , Danish and British naval authorities attended the inauguration on the island of a new memorial to those who lost their lives in the battle .