Nelson Signal Battle Copenhagen 1801 ship deck captain admiral telescope Battle ship Fleet sea Water Sailing Sail marine navy
In the Battle of Copenhagen, a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, fought against and decisively defeated a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on April 2, 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's order to withdraw, destroying many of the Dano-Norwegian ships before a truce was agreed. Copenhagen is often considered to be Nelson's hardest fought battle, surpassing even the heavy fighting at Trafalgar. Parker had given Nelson the twelve ships-of-the line with the shallowest drafts and all the smaller ships in the fleet, while he himself stayed with the remainder of the fleet to the north-east of the battle, screening Nelson from external interference and moving towards Copenhagen to engage the northern defenses. (William Bligh of Bounty fame, commanded Glatton, one of Nelson's ships.) Nelson's plan was for the British ships to approach the weaker, southern end of the Danish defenses in a line parallel to the Danish one. As the foremost ship drew alongside a Danish ship, it would anchor and engage that ship. The remainder of the line would pass outside until the next ship drew alongside the next Danish ship, and so on. The frigate Desiree, together with small gun-brigs, would rake the Danish line from the south, and a force of frigates, commanded by Captain Riou of the Amazon, would attack the northern end of the line. Troops would assault the Tre Kroner fortress once the Fleet had subdued the Danish line of ships. Bomb vessels would sit outside the British line and bombard the Danes by firing over it. Should the British be unable to subdue the stronger, northern defenses, the destruction of the southern ships would be enough to allow the bomb vessels to approach within range of the city and force negotiation to prevent the bombardment of the city.
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