International Mediation

A few days later, after Bismarck's incitement and urging, Austria and Prussia reached an agreement.

The Austrian army, along with the Prussian army, continued to advance against the Danes, unless the Danish government agreed to the complete independence of the two duchies.

The Danes, of course, could not agree. Losing Schleswig would mean losing over thirty percent of Danish territory, and the nationalists within Denmark would undoubtedly brand the cabinet government as traitors.

Compared to surrendering without a fight, defeat would clearly garner more sympathy from the Danish people. It wasn't that the government hadn't tried; it was that the Germans were too despicable.

The Danish government rejected the terms of the German states, and so the allied forces' war machine was set in motion once more.

On March 8th, the Austrian Empire's army, after receiving orders from home, initiated the war and won the Battle of Dybbøl.

On March 15th, the Danish navy announced a blockade of the Prussian coast, entering the fray. The newly formed Prussian navy responded.

The fleets of both sides engaged in fierce combat in the Kattegat Sea. At the time, the Prussian navy had only recently been established, while Denmark was a traditional naval power in Northern Europe. The outcome of the battle was, naturally, predictable. Two days later, the Danish navy achieved a tactical victory in the Battle of Dybbøl.

The weak Prussian navy was no match for the Danish navy, and Denmark firmly held control of the seas. However, the Prussian navy preserved its fighting strength and was not annihilated.

On the same day, the Prussian army also launched an assault on the new position the Danish army had established at Dybbøl. Prussia first mobilized its artillery for a massive bombardment of the Dybbøl position, followed by an infantry attack under artillery cover.

Facing the ferocious Prussian army, the new Danish commander naturally dared not repeat General Meza's mistake. This time, he did not choose to withdraw from the battlefield. The Danes, with tenacious resolve, repelled the Prussians' probing attacks multiple times within a single day.

However, this engagement was merely a prelude; the Prussian army's main offensive was still being prepared.

A month later, on April 18th, the Battle of Dybbøl erupted. After dozens of hours of artillery preparation, Prussia launched its final assault. Hundreds of cannons simultaneously bombarded the Dybbøl position, and under the covering fire of the flagship Herluf Trolle's naval guns anchored near the Danish coastline, they fiercely attacked Dybbøl.

As the Danish flagship, the Herluf Trolle could not possibly halt the Prussian land offensive and could only slow the advance of the Prussian army.

Under the overwhelming artillery barrage, the Danes could only huddle in their fortifications. The Prussians seized the opportunity, relying on their numerical superiority, and advanced towards the Dybbøl position.

Gradually, the vanguard leading the charge reached the edge of the Dybbøl position.

The Dybbøl position, under the powerful artillery fire of the allied forces, was already on its last legs. Many hastily constructed fortifications had been reduced to ruins by the bombardment.

The Prussian troops who reached the Dybbøl position, using these ruins as cover, successfully penetrated the Danish lines.

Seeing that the tide had turned, the Danish commander-in-chief had no choice but to order his troops to abandon Dybbøl, leaving only the Danish Army's Eighth Brigade to cover the retreat.

The Danish Army's Eighth Brigade fought with fierce determination to cover the main Danish force's withdrawal.

However, they suffered heavy losses. The Danish Army's Eighth Brigade was almost decimated by the vast Prussian army, losing over a third of its strength. Nevertheless, they admirably completed their mission of covering the main Danish force's retreat.

Following their defeat in the Battle of Dybbøl, the Danish military, limited by troop numbers, was forced to abandon its efforts to retake the Fredericia region, which had already been occupied by Austrian forces.

As a result of the allied forces' series of battles, nearly half of the Danish territory on the Jutland Peninsula (including Schleswig) was lost. The Danes' hope for victory had been extinguished by the allied forces.

Meanwhile, Denmark's successive defeats led the British government to decide to intervene. Maintaining the balance of power on the continent was Britain's bottom line; they could not allow significant shifts in power among the European nations.

Previously, the British government had issued a stern warning to Prussia, which Prussia had verbally agreed to, promising a temporary ceasefire on April 12th.

However, Bismarck postponed this plan until April 25th. During this period, Prussia gained control of the entire Dybbøl area.

After securing the support of Russia, France, and Sweden, the British government proposed intervention in the Jutland Peninsula conflict, suggesting that the entire Schleswig issue should be decided by a council of European nations.

Austria and Prussia, having already secretly reached a consensus, stated that they would agree to a resolution as long as the 1852 treaty was not the basis for the decision, and the duchies were only linked to Denmark by personal union.

The conference convened in London on April 25th, with British representative Viscount Palmerston presiding.

Britain accused Prussia and Austria of acts of war that threatened European peace.

However, the German representative merely stated that the issue was unavoidably chaotic.

Concurrently, Count Beust, representing the German Confederation, demanded that the nations recognize Augustenborg's sovereignty over the duchies.

Although the Austrian Empire leaned towards a solution similar to the 1852 treaty, Prussia had already revealed its ambition to acquire the duchies.

For the Kingdom of Prussia to realize this ambition, it first had to ensure the complete independence of the Duchy of Schleswig.

Therefore, the Prussian representative insisted on the complete independence of the Schleswig region from Denmark.

This placed Austria in a dilemma. If Austria opposed it, it risked losing its influence in Germany entirely. If it did not oppose it, it risked Prussia's growing power.

After weighing the pros and cons, Austria still felt that its influence in the German region was more important. Unifying the entire German region was also a desire of the Austrian Empire.

Thus, it reluctantly supported Prussia's claim for the Duchy of Schleswig to achieve full political independence, but under the constraint of a joint institution, with no further steps considered at that time.

To appease Britain, France, and the Russian Empire, the representative of the Kingdom of Prussia stated that Prussia would not seek any territory beyond the two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

This satisfied the other major powers' requirement that control of the Danish Straits, the gateway to the Baltic Sea, should not fall into the hands of any single power.

The Swedish representative remained silent. Historically, Denmark was Sweden's rival. If Prussia and Austria could weaken Denmark's power, Sweden would be pleased to see it happen.

Of course, this was predicated on the German allied forces not swallowing the entire Jutland Peninsula, which would have placed Sweden in a strategically more perilous position than Denmark.

Clearly, Prussia and Austria had not considered the Danes' feelings. Britain and other countries had also tacitly accepted Prussia's terms. The Danish government rejected the proposal.

This London conference did not fundamentally resolve the Jutland Peninsula issue but did temporarily halt the offensive actions of Prussia and Austria.

Taking advantage of the conference, the Danes completed their final mobilization. Most of the Danish army's attempts on the Jutland Peninsula had already failed.

The troops retreated to Als Island to continue their resistance. In June, Prussian forces began to gather on the opposite shore of Als Island. The Second Schleswig War was about to enter a new phase.