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600:, 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
98:
610:. 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
41:
507:
planning and supply failures led to a devastating defeat and many Danish casualties. As a result of the battle, 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. After the battle, the British occupation of Anholt continued until peace was signed at the
669:
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
519:
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
524:
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
749:
The underlying message from the Anholt lecture, given in 1999 at the Royal
Marines Museum, Eastney, was the importance of this victory as a watershed in garnering support for the officer corps of the Royal Marines, which had been a "poor relation" up to that point. Promotion was more forthcoming in
614:
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
506:
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. The Danish army had a larger fighting force than the British, but a lack of
643:
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
685:
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.
638:
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.
789:
or higher), this senior officer was referred to as a Major, to avoid any confusion with the
Captain of the ship. Maurice's correspondence refers to Torrens as the 'Major-Commandant', which is in keeping with this
750:
the Navy than in the Marines. This sentiment is communicated in the March 2011 press release from the museum, which refers to the outcome of Anholt as having 'won many supporters among senior naval officers'.
529:, 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.
981:
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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 Gjerrild beach in
550:, 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,
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644:
wounded, five captains, nine lieutenants, and 504 rank and file as prisoners, as well as three pieces of artillery, 500 muskets, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition,
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Royal Navy claimants of this clasp were limited to four officers and one rating: Captain Maurice, Lieutenant Luckraft, Surgeon Gray, Midshipman Moss, Able Seaman Davies
906:
871:
216:
566:, the British governor on the island. This arrangement reflected the inequality of status between Royal Navy officers, and Royal Marine counterparts.
330:
102:
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forced the gunboats to move off westwards. The gunboats made their escape over the reefs while the ships had to beat round the outside.
670:
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
651:
s two captured gunboats resulted in another two lieutenants of the Danish Navy, and 119 men falling prisoner. Captain Joseph Baker of
532:
Captain Nicolls, of the Royal Marines, the British governor on the island, had heard of the plans to recapture Anholt and deployed a
269:
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also captured some small merchant vessels, but on 13 April 1810 four Danish gunboats captured her. In August 1810 Anholt became a
910:
209:
456:, which the British had stationed off Anholt to act as a lighthouse, struck Anholt Reef and sank. On 18 May 1809, the 74-gun
323:
274:
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this due to the current limitations on Danish shipping following British naval successes. Ultimately, this proved fatal.
520:
pre-war state to facilitate the movement of British men of war and merchantmen navigating the dangerous seas there. King
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contains a letter from Captain Maurice stating '500 prisoners, a number greater by 150 men that the garrison I command'
682:
450:, the Dano-Norwegians had closed their lighthouse at the easternmost point of Anholt. In January 1809, the bomb-vessel
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proposed taking his Danish prisoners to Randers and exchanging them for the officers and crew of
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634:, but found herself in shoal water as night approached and gave up the chase. On the way back,
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596:. The Danish fleet was unaware that frigates were on the way to protect the British base on
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8:
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Søkrigen i de dansk-norske farvande 1807-14 : fra tabet af flaaden til freden i Kiel
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735:
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377:
239:
114:
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427:, a conflict between the United Kingdom and Denmark-Norway that was part of the wider
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in 1814. There is a monument commemorating the battle in the village on the island.
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A landing party of seamen and marines under the command of Captain William Selby of
415:(25–27 March 1811) was a successful British military operation under the command of
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32:
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To avoid confusion, if there was a Royal Marine captain on a ship (usual for a
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466:, under Captain Askew Hollis, led in a squadron that also included the frigate
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James (1827), Vol. 5, p.344. Armed vessel crewed by volunteers commanded by
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Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars involving the United Kingdom
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542:, to scout the coast of Jutland whenever the weather was fair.
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against the Danish-held island of Anholt under the command of
308:
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received information that the Danes would attack Anholt.
431:. It was an attempt by the Dano-Norwegians to recapture
827:
The European magazine, and London review, Volumes 59-60
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Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars involving Denmark
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which the British had captured in 1809. Early in the
582:At the beginning of March 1811, Vice-admiral Sir
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872:"Royal Marines Museum - Precious sword bought"
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932:Naval History of Great Britain 1793 - 1827
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488:. Together they captured the island.
45:An aerial view of the island of Anholt
812:"Maurice, James Wilkes (1775-1857)".
312:
198:
578:Plan of the events on 27 March 1811
13:
14:
993:
938:
860:. 6 April 1811. pp. 651–652.
661:, which had wrecked in February.
495:, with the assistance of Captain
840:James (1827), Vol. 5, pp341-345.
814:Dictionary of National Biography
558:, was ultimately accountable to
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945:Sailing ships of the Royal Navy
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681:authorized the issuance of the
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768:Wandel, C.F. From the Danish:
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630:chased three gunboats towards
1:
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759:James (1827), Vol. 5, p.130.
715:James (1827), Vol. 5, p.341.
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7:
739:. 23 May 1809. p. 736.
683:Naval General Service Medal
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801:Who's who in Nelson's Navy
423:, taking place during the
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522:Frederick VI of Denmark
421:Jørgen Conrad de Falsen
16:Part of napoleonic wars
930:James, William (1837)
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183:50 killed and wounded
121:Commanders and leaders
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189:2 transports captured
180:32 killed and wounded
175:Casualties and losses
672:Royal Marines Museum
417:James Wilkes Maurice
187:2 gunboats captured
934:. (London), Vol. 5.
816:. 37. 1894. p. 107.
857:The London Gazette
736:The London Gazette
580:
472:, and the vessels
275:La Romana's Escape
972:March 1811 events
967:Conflicts in 1811
706:, Lieutenant R.N.
442:off the coast of
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909:. Archived from
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874:. Archived from
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26:Battle of Anholt
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81:British victory
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33:Napoleonic Wars
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939:External links
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913:on 12 May 2014
907:"New memorial"
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493:Owen Glendower
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772:. pp, 261-2.
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57:27 March 1811
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915:. Retrieved
911:the original
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880:. Retrieved
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368:2 March 1808
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229:of 1801–1814
227:English Wars
170:2 transports
168:18 gunboats
163:1 brig-sloop
90:Belligerents
31:Part of the
18:
852:"No. 16473"
785:classed as
731:"No. 16260"
704:Henry Baker
448:Gunboat War
425:Gunboat War
341:Gunboat War
289:Gunboat War
270:West Indies
161:1 schooner
956:Categories
787:Third-rate
690:References
679:Royal Navy
564:Royal Navy
515:Background
458:Third Rate
435:, a small
353:Copenhagen
159:1 frigate
803:. p. 246.
665:Aftermath
646:Sheldrake
641:Sheldrake
624:Sheldrake
607:Sheldrake
525:north of
453:Proselyte
501:Standard
463:Standard
393:Grimstad
378:Saltholm
240:West Kay
152:Strength
62:Location
799:Tracy.
790:custom.
658:Pandora
594:Jutland
562:of the
554:of the
544:Grinder
539:Grinder
534:gunboat
499:of the
474:Avenger
444:Jutland
917:1 June
882:7 June
653:Tartar
636:Tartar
628:Tartar
620:Tartar
602:Tartar
598:Anholt
589:Tartar
570:Battle
536:, the
484:, and
478:Ranger
440:island
437:Danish
433:Anholt
398:Lyngør
388:Anholt
373:Alvøen
166:1,000
78:Result
67:Anholt
649:'
612:Major
527:Grenå
504:'
486:Snipe
383:Silda
919:2016
884:2011
632:Læsø
622:and
604:and
482:Rose
461:HMS
411:The
358:Køge
260:Køge
157:381
54:Date
958::
854:.
733:.
720:^
674:.
480:,
476:,
69:,
921:.
886:.
332:e
325:t
318:v
218:e
211:t
204:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
