Bombardment of Copenhagen (1428)

Bombardment of Copenhagen
Part of the Dano-Hanseatic War (1426–1435)

In 1428 Hanseatic ships attacked Copenhagen twice
Date6 April – 15 June 1428
Location
Result Hanseatic victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Gerhard VII of Holstein
Johann Beere
Jakob Bramstede
Jan Russenberg
Tideman Soling
Denmark King Eric
Denmark Queen Philippa
Strength

in April 260 ships with 12,000 men
in June 80 ships with 6,800 men

  • Lübeck: 2,000
  • Hamburg: 1,000
  • Rostock: 1,000
  • Stralsund: 1,000
  • Wismar: 1,000
  • Lüneburg: 800
unknown number of ships
manned with 3.000 soldiers and sailors
Casualties and losses
unknown 30 killed, only three ships escaped undamaged

During the Dano-Hanseatic War (1426–1435) the Danish capital Copenhagen was bombarded twice by ships from six Northern German Hanseatic towns. A first attack in April 1428 was repelled, but a second attack on 15 June was successful. The Danish fleet which anchored in Copenhagen was mostly destroyed, with only three ships surviving. For the first time in the Northern European history of naval warfare ship artillery was used over longer distances.