Battle of Isted

Battle of Isted
Part of The First Schleswig War

The Battle of Isted by Niels Simonsen
Date24–25 July 1850
Location
Isted, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Result Danish victory
Belligerents
Schleswig-Holstein  Denmark
Commanders and leaders
Karl Wilhelm von Willisen Denmark Gerhard Christoph von Krogh
Denmark Friderich Adolph Schleppegrell †
Strength
26,800[1] 37,000[1]
Casualties and losses
2,808 killed, wounded or captured[1] 3,615 killed, wounded or captured[1]

The Battle of Isted (Danish: Slaget på Isted Hede; German: Die Schlacht bei Idstedt) took place on 25 July 1850 near the village of Idstedt (Danish: Isted), in what is today Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The battle was part of the First Schleswig War, and is the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Danes won the battle. [2]

The battle began early in the morning at around 2:00 and lasted until 19:00. The Danish took 1,072 unwounded and 411 wounded prisoners. The Danish victory failed to break the Schleswig-Holsteinian army and the war continued until 1851.[3]

The Isted Lion commemorates the battle, which was at its time the largest in Scandinavian history. The battle's anniversary, 25 July, is a military flag day in Denmark.[4]

N. F. S. Grundtvig's song "Det var en sommermorgen" ("It was a summer morning") touches on the battle of Isted.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d "SLAGET VED ISTED, 25. JULI 1850". danmarkshistorien.dk. University of Aarhus.
  2. ^ Stenild, Jesper. "Slaget ved Isted". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  3. ^ a b Ronnebech, Erik F. "Istedslaget". Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  4. ^ "Flag Days of July". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-18.